CH 6

The Moment of Destiny

As he waited for his substitution, Matteo Conti still couldn't believe what was happening.

Then, Ferguson spoke.

"Do you know why I'm putting you in?"

Matteo turned to his manager, still in shock.

"I don't know, boss!"

His voice was mixed with confusion, nerves, and excitement.

He had spent so much time adapting to the professional atmosphere, trying to shake off his nerves.

But now that he was actually about to step onto the pitch, the anxiety surged back.

Ferguson's eyes were calm and firm.

"I want you to experience it."

"I want you to feel the real atmosphere of a game. I want you to know what it's like to step onto the pitch in an official match."

"I see your progress. You've proven my decision was right."

"I know how hard you've worked."

"But remember, all your hard work needs to be reflected in a match setting. You have to experience it firsthand!"

Then, he patted Matteo hard on the shoulder—so hard that Matteo felt a jolt through his entire body.

"Go, kid! No pressure, only a few minutes left! What are you so worried about?"

Stepping onto the Pitch—First Professional Appearance

Matteo jogged onto the pitch, high-fiving Berbatov, who looked slightly unhappy about being substituted so late.

But Matteo didn't have time to care.

He had to focus.

The game restarted.

By now, both Manchester United and Chelsea knew that there was barely any time left.

No one expected the score to change again.

Everyone was mentally preparing for penalties.

And Matteo?

No one cared about him.

After all, he was just a random young player making his debut in the final minutes.

Even with his distinct Southern European appearance, it wasn't a novelty—Manchester United already had foreign stars like Cristiano Ronaldo and Park Ji-sung before.

Matteo felt invisible.

And in all honesty?

He had no idea what he was doing.

He didn't know how to position himself.

He didn't know how to ask for the ball.

He didn't know how to fit into the play.

Fortunately, the ball never came to him.

But he was determined to stay active.

He kept running aggressively, moving into spaces—even if his runs were completely ineffective.

At the very least, it helped him shake off the nerves.

And then…

Fate intervened.

An Accidental Miracle

Chelsea was passing the ball around the defense, trying to waste time.

Then—

Ricardo Carvalho miscalculated a pass to John Terry.

The ball veered slightly off course.

And it landed…

Right at Matteo Conti's feet.

For a split second, Matteo froze.

What?!

This was not supposed to happen!

He had been mentally prepared to just run around without touching the ball!

Now he had possession?!

Panic.

He instinctively tried to trap the ball—

But his technique was still horrible.

The ball bounced four or five meters away from him.

Shameful.

He immediately sprinted after it, desperate to recover.

However—

Terry was closer to the ball.

Normally, Terry would have easily dealt with Matteo.

He could have outmaneuvered him.

He could have toyed with him.

But Terry saw something—

An opening in the midfield.

Drogba was completely unmarked.

If he could launch a quick pass, Chelsea could launch a final counterattack.

So Terry ignored Matteo and swung his foot—

He passed the ball directly toward Drogba!

Matteo instinctively jumped.

His body reacted before his mind.

His only thought—"Block it!"

Realistically, he shouldn't have even touched the ball.

But Terry's pass was slightly off.

And instead of reaching Drogba—

It smacked directly into Matteo's chest.

BANG!

The impact sent a shockwave through his ribs.

Terry's strike was powerful!

But Matteo barely felt the pain—

Because something even crazier happened.

The ball…

It bounced off his chest—

Straight toward goal.

A Comedic Chaos—But a Goal

Petr Čech saw it happening at the last second.

Even with barely any reaction time,

He leaped into the air, stretching his arm as far as possible.

And—

He touched it!

Čech managed to redirect the ball's flight path!

But—

It didn't go out for a corner.

Instead—

The ball struck the crossbar.

And bounced right back.

Directly toward…

Matteo.

Still dazed, he had instinctively moved forward.

And now—

The ball was heading straight for his face.

Before he could even process it—

It hit his forehead.

Rebounded.

And flew—

Into the goal.

For a moment—

Silence.

Then—

WEMBLEY ERUPTED.

GOAL.

Manchester United's Wild Celebration

Matteo stood frozen in the box.

He still hadn't fully processed what had happened.

Everything that had led up to this moment—

The misplaced pass.

The accidental deflection.

The rebounded header.

It felt like a ridiculous chain of coincidences.

Then, it hit him.

This was the power of maxed-out Luck.

It was like the game had forced him to score!

And it felt incredible!

He wanted to run toward Ferguson to celebrate.

But before he could move—

BOOM.

He was tackled to the ground.

Rooney, Giggs, Nani, Valencia—

Everyone jumped on him.

A last-minute winner against Chelsea!

The entire Manchester United squad was going crazy!

And then—

Even Van der Sar ran up and joined the pile!

Matteo could barely breathe under the weight of his teammates.

"No… wait… I can't breathe…!"

But the truth was—

He didn't care.

Despite the crushing weight of bodies on top of him—

His heart was pounding with exhilaration.

This was the feeling of scoring a goal.

And not just any goal.

A last-minute, match-winning goal for Manchester United.

At Wembley.

Against Chelsea.

His blood was boiling.

His entire body felt on fire.

This was it.

This was what he wanted more than anything.

And he wanted more.