It was a night when fate smiled upon John, despite the intense pain and tension he had endured on that big day. Yet the moments of joy and happiness in the players' eyes made him forget his pain and exhaustion. However, what John did not expect was the overwhelming number of messages he received early the next morning when he went out to check the mailbox. The letters were everywhere—some came with flowers, others even included cinema tickets and various offers organized in the small, quiet city.
While the smile never left John's face in that special moment, he heard Maria's voice: "John, come quickly! Come and look!"
John entered the house and found a sports program on Channel Five. It was the most popular show among football fans, usually dedicated to Premier League matches. But for the first time in the program's history, they were discussing a third-division match. The surprise was that they weren't focused on the result but rather on the tactics used by the new coach, John.
The famous presenter Fernando said, "I didn't watch the match, to be honest, but I received many messages from coaches and some followers telling me I had to watch it. Honestly, I thought it would just be an exaggeration, but that coach surprised me. If you noticed, the team played in a way that's like driving a car on the highway—you run out of fuel, then you refill the tank and keep going, repeating the process every time the fuel runs out. It seemed strange at first, but the team executed the plan incredibly well and secured very important points. I don't personally know the coach, but I hope he succeeds with his team. Who knows, maybe we'll see him here one day. He's a good coach. By the way, one of the reporters went to his house, and believe it or not, he was once an excellent player before an accident kept him away from the pitch. Also, everyone in the city where he lives loves him very much. I don't know if you can hear me, John, but I wish you the best of luck in the upcoming matches."
John sat down on the chair, and the letters fell from his hands. Emotions mixed in a truly special moment. He never thought things would take this turn. But for John, the result he had always aimed for was bringing joy and happiness into his home and to his family—the ones he would do anything for, even at the cost of his health. It no longer mattered. He had decided to keep going, to keep working for a beautiful smile that welcomed him every time he entered the house—especially when he saw her playing with their child and saying, "Look, it's your father… look, he's become very famous."
The joy Maria always brought him, every time his condition worsened or he needed to go to the hospital, was irreplaceable. Yes, he found her in his worst moments. He found her when everyone else turned their backs on him and offered no help. Maria was his greatest support, his friend, and his companion before even being his wife and the mother of his child. It was only natural for him to do the impossible just to see her happy—and that was what he had promised himself, and he would not hesitate to do even more.
After breakfast, the driver was waiting for John to take him to the hospital. After that, he would go to the stadium for a meeting with the players.
He went to the hospital first and found only the assistant to the attending doctor, who informed him that he needed to undergo several necessary medical tests in the capital at the central hospital. He said, "Listen, John, the doctor insisted that you complete all the tests listed in this prescription within three days. It's important—you must bring the results after three days. I informed Frank about this, and he said the driver will take you to the capital tomorrow to complete all the tests. By the way, one of our nurses will go with you, so there's no need to involve the team doctor. The nurse will handle everything. You just focus on doing the tests. I'll inform the nurse to take care of collecting the results, but you must come back here after three days so the doctor can explain the treatment plan."
John left the hospital. He never liked being in hospitals, but unfortunately, he had no choice. No one knew how long this would last, but it seemed it might be longer than expected. Still, John would forget everything the moment he arrived at the stadium. The first step onto the pitch erased his pain, stopped his overthinking, and made everything feel completely different.
He found everyone in the room and said, "Is everyone here?"
The captain replied, "Yes, coach, everyone is here. All arrived on time."
John said, "Excellent. Discipline—discipline is the only path that can turn failure into remarkable success. That doesn't make us forget that you are champions—yes, champions. You proved that on the field in yesterday's match. I won't take long since we've decided to give you the rest of the day off. But understand well—the road ahead is still long. We are currently in 14th place, temporarily, awaiting the result of the match between Team West and MBK FC. But it doesn't matter whether we remain 14th or drop to 15th. What matters is that we've moved up three positions and distanced ourselves from the relegation zone. That in itself is a great achievement, and you played a major role in it. We will continue in the same way. Our goal is to play football. Tomorrow, we will focus on something very important—improving the team's technical performance. We'll work on it intensively in the next two sessions. After that, we will study the plan for our next match against a very strong team—you all know them well, our neighbors, GRW FC. It will be a very important match. We'll try to set the right plan and hope luck is on our side. That's all. If there are no questions, you may leave now and enjoy your time—within reason. Be careful not to step out of line. You understand what I mean. A player must know how to behave, both on and off the field."
All the players left the stadium with very high morale and overwhelming emotions. As John watched them with pride, he realized he was building a strong team. Honestly, the players couldn't stand each other before—but look at them now. After a few sessions, they had become like brothers, united by one goal: the success of the team they all loved. This helped them overcome their differences and focus on the bigger objective.
While John was thinking, his phone rang. He couldn't recognize the number, but he answered.
"Hello, this is John. Who is this?"
"Hi, John. This is Fabio from the capital's team. We spoke last week. How are you?"
"Hello, Fabio. I'm fine, thank you. I think Frank told you not to contact me again, didn't he?"
"Haha, yes, he did say that. But I wanted to hear your opinion, John—you're the one concerned, not Frank."
"Good. You're someone who thinks well. Listen carefully—do not contact me again. Thank you."
Fabio was sitting with the president of the capital's club. They realized that John was not the kind of person who could be tempted with money, and that he would never leave the city's team. So they decided that the city's team must be stopped.
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