Chapter 24: Skill Requires Humility

The derailed history found its tracks once more. A thorough online search revealed only one line about "Kaka and a striker being promoted to the first team together." In this new reality, Burgess's existence was palpable, perhaps influenced by Kaka's impact or an altered soul. However, his starting appearance failed to change history.

Naturally, the benched Kaka could do even less.

The first half ended 0-1, Sao Paulo trailing - an identical scenario. Like all head coaches, Alvares first rained fury in the locker room before pouring motivational speeches. But the team seemed neither awakened by the rage nor inspired by the words, their performance unchanged. 

Jeers rang out from the stands. Even if the 1-0 scoreline held, Sao Paulo still led 4-2 on aggregate with only thirty-odd minutes remaining. This championship couldn't be called a sure thing, but it was pretty secure.

Yet no one wanted to taste defeat during the victory celebration, like discovering your long-desired partner had an unpleasant odor after finally being intimate.

"Kaka!" Alvares didn't delegate the task to an assistant, personally approaching the substitute bench and looking down at Kaka.

Kaka looked up. 

This time, Alvares didn't ramble about tactics and strategy. Embodying a spiritual guide, he gripped Kaka's shoulder. "Go out there and astound the world, son."

The old man's melodrama was unexpected.

"Sure enough, Kaka is coming on. When your team is trailing, and you have a player on the bench who has contributed five goals and four assists in just eight games, this substitution is inevitable. The only question is whether Kaka will replace Burgess or Franzsa?" The commentator voiced the doubts of many.

Before Fabiano and Kaka's rise, Franzsa had been Alvares' most trusted attacker. But due to a contract dispute leaving him disgruntled with the club, the former undisputed starter now had to share game time with Kaka this season.

The away victory was thanks to goals from him and Fabiano, but his midfield performance here was poor.

Then again, so was Burgess's. 

The lad had ability and potential, excellent physique and technique, but major attitude, work ethic, intelligence, and composure issues, making him a prime candidate for substitution.

But Alvares took off Fabiano - the defensive midfielder Fabiano, not the striker.

Though sharing a name, they were different people.

This left Sao Paulo with just Baptista as the sole defensive midfielder. If they struggled with two defensive midfielders, how could one cope?

Of course, the best defense is attack, especially for fans dissatisfied with the team's attacking output so far. Alvares' substitution struck a chord.

In fact, they wished the team would field ten strikers, only wanting to see the ball in Botafogo's net.

Botafogo had anticipated Kaka's introduction, immediately assigning a man to mark him tightly, though without any specialized defensive tactics yet - they had reached a point of no return, fully committed to attack.

For much of the half, Botafogo maintained relentless pressure while Sao Paulo's rare attacking forays proved fruitless after the initial probing, struggling even to mount decent counter-attacks.

Alvares' game plan was still clear - bring on Kaka in the second half and rely on his speed and stamina to launch deadly counter-attacks. Scoring wasn't essential, just unsettling the opponents would be a win.

The counter-attacking chance soon arrived. After Reynaldo blocked a Botafogo shot, the scrambling captain Cicinho immediately cleared the ball upfield. 

It sailed high towards the center circle. Kaka jostled for position, shrugging off a defender's challenge to control the ball before turning to charge forward rapidly.

The noise from the sidelines suddenly escalated. This was undoubtedly the most raucous atmosphere Kaka had experienced, with all eyes fixed on this stadium.

Kaka's first foray with the ball ended in failure - his feint was read, the ball nicked away. His second reaction was swift, immediately challenging to win it back and lay it off to the supporting Franzsa.

Sao Paulo's shape was confusing, essentially playing a 3-5-2 with no wingers. Initially a 4-3-3 with Franzsa as the attacking midfielder flanked by two defensive midfielders, after Fabiano's withdrawal he and Kaka formed a duo supporting the front two of Burgess and Fabiano the striker, responsible for both feeding them and spearheading attacks.

Botafogo's aggressive high line afforded Sao Paulo space, and Franzsa, Kaka, Burgess and Fabiano produced a textbook passing move, shredding the defense to set Kaka through on goal with Burgess, a glorious two-on-one chance.

The commentator was already shouting ecstatically, Sao Paulo fans rising in celebration, Botafogo fans hollering incredulously.

Rather than go for glory, Kaka squared the ball. 

Burgess raced onto it and absolutely smashed his...clearance.

The stadium fell eerily silent before a thunderous chorus of boos mixed with a few mocking cheers - courtesy of the Botafogo fans thanking Burgess.

Burgess stood dumbfounded with arms spread, the picture of innocence, like an unlucky character.

Franzsa hung his head, muttering curses before angrily kicking the turf. Fabiano walked back emotionless.

Kaka shook his head, flashing a clueless, pained smile, letting out an inward sigh.

He had been warned - the unremarkable need to work harder. As the wise saying goes, being ordinary is no excuse for foolishness. 

Not everyone can turn a simple issue so needlessly complex yet crowd-pleasing. When a straightforward tap-in would suffice, why attempt an overpowered blast? More alarmingly, this wasn't the first time...

Burgess trudged back dejectedly, thinking he'd simply botched his chance, to do better next time. But Kaka knew his career was essentially over.

Burgess's recent form had been poor, and Alvares' decision to start him today contained elements of both gamble and evaluation.

Clearly, the answer from this once highly-rated youngster was disastrous. Rather than warm encouragement from his coach and teammates, far chillier treatment awaited.

One match, one shot - it could make or break a player. 

Tragically, Burgess had just blasted his own future prospects away.

(end of chapter)