Chapter 7

"He's our winger." Vinícius quickly grabs the ball and places it on the court's white line.

"Don't let Anderson get in your head, Vinícius."

Vinícius looked at me and nodded, smiling, as if to say, "Leave it to me." He calmly adjusted the ball, looking at each of us, and at Roger's signal, he started the play.

He passed the ball back to me, where I was positioned to make a quick shot. In a swift movement, I got past Isaac and saw an opening for Vinícius.

However, Anderson stepped in, with that sleepy expression he always has. He tried to block, but I was faster, spinning my body and passing the ball to Yago, who was positioned near our goal. Yago caught the ball and, with precision, launched it straight to Vinícius, who was already running toward the goal.

Vinícius received the pass, but before he could advance further, Yago shouted from the goal:

"Show them what you've got, Vinícius! I want to see a perfect shot!"

Vinícius smiled, prepared his shot, and fired toward the goal. Roger stretched out as much as he could but, with a quick reflex, managed to make the save.

Roger's save was impressive. He deflected the ball to the side, pushing it out of the area and forcing us to react quickly. Without wasting time, Anderson ran to grab the rebound and passed it to Isaac, who was beside me. But Vinícius was also positioned and arrived at the same time, blocking the ball with strength.

The two of them stared at each other for a moment; both wanted to prove to the other that they were very good. Vinícius managed to spin, using his body to shield the ball from Anderson. He faced away from the goal and made a short pass to me as I ran, shaking off Isaac's marking.

With the ball at my feet, I looked around, trying to find an opening. Isaac was coming toward me, trying to block any attempt to advance. With a quick dribble to the side, I managed to escape and saw Yago signaling ahead, waiting for a pass. Yago was playing as a flying goalkeeper—a goalie who, besides staying in the goal, also comes out to help the field players.

I decided to take a chance. I sent the ball in his direction, and he positioned himself close to the opposing goal. He received the pass with precision and, without hesitation, adjusted the ball and shot confidently.

The ball sailed toward the left corner of the goal. Roger tried to reach it, but this time he couldn't. The ball passed by him... however, it hit the post.

"That was close! Nice try, Yago."

The ball hit the post and bounced back onto the court. Roger, still on the ground after the save attempt, managed to get up quickly, grabbed the ball, and threw it to Anderson, who was waiting further ahead. Anderson controlled the ball, and Vinícius immediately ran to try to dispossess him, but Anderson sidestepped with a slight touch to the side, passing to Isaac, who was advancing down the wing.

I was already alert, running to intercept him. Isaac quickly glanced at Roger, who was making gestures to organize the defense while watching everything from his position in the goal.

"I'm going to get past you, Kelvin!"

He said, trying to intimidate me, but I held my position and managed to block his advance, stealing the ball and quickly turning the game around with a pass to Vinícius, giving Yago enough time to return to the goal.

Vinícius received my pass, already spinning to escape Anderson’s marking as he tried to press. With a quick look at the play, Vinícius realized that the path to the goal was well defended, so he decided to pull back, keeping possession to reorganize the attack.

I saw an opening to reposition myself further ahead and signaled to Vinícius, who, with precision, made a low pass to me. I calmly controlled the ball while analyzing the situation on the court.

Roger shouted to his team:

"Close the gaps! Don't let them get through!"

Isaac approached, trying to block me again. With a quick touch, I pulled the ball to the side and sent a deep pass to Vinícius, who took the opportunity to speed up, dribbling past Anderson with an agile move.

This was our chance. Vinícius was free, with only Roger between him and the goal. I could feel that, at that moment, he just needed to be fast and precise. Roger, on the other hand, positioned himself, watching Vinícius's every move, trying to anticipate the next step.

"Come on, Vinícius! This is your chance!"

I shouted, encouraging him.

Vinícius prepared his shot, positioning his right foot and leaning his body, while Roger took a step forward to try to narrow the angle. The court seemed silent, as if each of us were holding our breath, waiting for the play to unfold.

Vinícius feinted a shot but at the last second tapped the ball to the side, faking out Roger, who ended up diving in the opposite direction. Vinícius's skill and composure were impressive, and the move was quick and precise. With the goalie out of position, he had a perfect opening.

He shot firmly, and the ball went straight toward the open goal. But before it could hit the net, Isaac appeared with a last-ditch effort, sprinting desperately to try to save the play. With a jump, he stretched out his leg, but the ball brushed past and finally shook the net.

Goal! Our first goal of the game!

Vinícius raised his arms and ran toward me, and we celebrated with a strong handshake and smiles of pure joy.

"Great job, Vinícius! That was some play!"

I said, feeling my heart still racing from the excitement of the goal.

"Thanks, Kelvin! It was perfect timing, man. Now we need to stay focused and get another one!"

Vinícius replied, still catching his breath but with a confident smile.

On the other side of the court, Anderson and Isaac exchanged frustrated looks. Roger, who had been tricked by Vinícius's feint, clapped his gloves together forcefully and shouted to his teammates:

"Come on, guys! We can't let them take control! Let's turn this game around!"

It was clear they weren't going to give up.

"Hey, Anderson. You're way too predictable."

Vinícius said, returning the taunt that Anderson had made at the start of the game.

Anderson's expression immediately changed. He clenched his fists, glaring at Vinícius with a challenging look. Isaac placed a hand on his shoulder, trying to calm things down.

The game resumed with Anderson and Isaac taking the initiative, advancing with quick passes and trying to break through our defense. With every touch on the ball, the tension increased. Anderson showed fierce determination, trying at all costs to get past Vinícius and prove he could respond to the taunt.

In a moment of distraction on our part, Anderson received a pass from Isaac and, with agility, managed to get past me, speeding toward our goal. Yago came out of the goal, positioning himself to intercept him. It was a moment of pure tension.

Anderson prepared to shoot, but Yago held his ground, waiting for the exact movement. At the last second, Anderson shot across the goal, but Yago dived to the side and made a spectacular save, deflecting the ball away.

"Watch the marking, Kelvin!"

Yago told me as he held the ball. He sent it out, starting a quick counterattack. I passed the ball to Vinícius, who advanced again, while I ran alongside him, ready to make another play toward their goal.