Team Z vs Team X | Part 4

The room had twenty monitors showing different scenes on all of them as Ego Jinpachi kept track of the current play between Team Z and Team X. Next to him, Anri Teieri watched the match in amazement; she couldn't believe this was a match between high-school students. It was filled with so many moments.

"This is… phenomenal." She muttered. There was a significant difference between the teams at the start and now. In the second half, they were flipped upside down or something, there was so much change.

Ego didn't expect such a rapid shift; rather, he expected them to shift in the second or third match, but not in the second half. Team Z exceeded his expectations fully, and Dennis was a lot more dangerous footballer than he expected.

Anri continued, "These teams were nothing like this in the first half; there's no comparison. Do you think other teams will have the same change?" If that were the case, Anri couldn't imagine who they would choose as the project's success. In her eyes, the project already made sense.

"This is still nothing…" Ego crossed his hands and made the twenty screens focus on only two players, saying, "There are two reasons as to why teams are playing this way. Dennis Kemp and Barou Shouei. They brought their teams together through their actions or precise planning... The German is even more sneaky than I thought." He grimaced at the thought of seeing Dennis in his full repertoire.

His actions couldn't escape Ego's observation. Jingo Raichi was the core problem for team Z, and the German knew that well, which is why he did so little in the beginning to make his team play better… Instead, he taunted his own teammates, especially Raichi, to make them feel bad about their play. This provoked them to play according to his plan, or, as he put it, "for the team."

The result is right in front of them; team Z is playing way better, and everyone is united for the same goal. Now the uncontrollable guy is in full control and plays for the team. The formation could use some work, but being thought of by the teenager made it impressive nonetheless. The strategy emphasized everyone's strong sides and literally made them improve.

Ego's smile grew, and he laughed creepily, "Yes, heh, that's exactly what I wanted… but I want even more now." Anri flinched. Was there anything else he wanted from the team on the first match that they hadn't seen before? and yes, there was. "I want to see your ego, Dennis Kemp, I still haven't seen it yet…"

The damned director looked like a drug addict in Anri's eyes, but truly, what did Dennis' ego look like? Has it even manifested yet? During Ego's and Dennis' previous conversation, it felt like there was something else about Dennis. Probably because of that one moment, Ego believes that the German's ego still hasn't shown itself.

'Your eyes tell me everything, Dennis! They're yelling at everyone else, saying that no one else is better than you... That's what they're saying.' Ego wondered what it was like to grow up as a wunderkind in a first-world country where football was so popular and you were good at it. Germany must have had great competition for the strikers…

'You need ego to stay at the top for so long, and in the academy that is so well known for developing talent, it must be enormous.' This time around, Dennis was handling his ego masterfully, hiding it even from Ego himself. Jinpachi couldn't wait…

… … …

Five minutes into the second half, and already five shots have been attempted at each other's goals. The game was only getting hotter, with Barou going on the rampage and Dennis doing everything to stop the beast.

'Dang it, this guy is good.' There was no doubt in German's mind: when Barou plays solo, he is doing way better than when he is cooperating. The Japanese had an unknown playing style; it was unreadable, making him even more dangerous to Dennis. He had seen many, but nobody played like Barou.

The number ten also had so much to say about Dennis; he was the hardest defender he had ever faced so far in his entire football career. 'This guy should be the defender, not the striker!' The beast recognized another beast but still couldn't bear the fact that they shared similar positions.

Dennis gritted his teeth as he saw others in his team: "Iemon! Don't just fucking stand there!" His shout made them wake up. Honestly, they didn't know what to do because everything on the field was done by Barou, and he was marked well by their teammate.

Kunigami was the first to think about helping out Dennis, and his lengthy legs tackled the number ten of team X. To counter that, Barou jumped up, making him more vulnerable to steals because he couldn't control the ball in midair with greater precision. Dennis got him on the spot. The football got bumped just slightly, and it went flying.

"Agh!" Igarashi got the ball. This surprised the buzz cut more than the rest of his teammates. 'Isagi is too far away, search for someone else.' The counterattack was only beginning, and he couldn't find any open teammates. He dribbled a little forward while there was still nobody else on his back. "Guys, go forward!"

"Igarashi!"

'Oh, Chigiri, you are right on time!' The redhead came running down on the flank, and Igarashi instantly got rid of the football by passing it to his colleague. The flank was fully exposed at the moment, and it took only a second for Hyoma to start running to their opponents' half.

Alongside the line while running, Chigiri had a dilemma, 'I know that it's dangerous for me to run like this... but I can't help it. This game is making me feel, so much excitement.' His speed was so much higher than when he previously had the ball that, in the blink of an eye, he reached the opponent's box.

Everyone was taken aback by his acceleration, and the length of time he maintained that speed was unusual, to say the least.

Unexpectedly

"I won't let you, peasant!"

'Shit, how did he get here?!' It was a scary sight to see Barou enter your vision with an angry face, with his veins popping on the forehead and his teeth crackling against each other. 'He is so quick!' Chigiri's current speed wasn't enough to get away from the number ten.

The redhead was becoming more concerned about his right leg than getting past Barou. 'I can't…' Hyoma passed to his right, and the football was received by Raichi. The white-haired felt something was wrong at that moment but didn't give it much thought. Hyoma cursed in his head, 'Fuck! I thought I had it in me…'

"Take this, you bastards!" Raichi immediately corrected his posture after receiving the ball from the box and took his time swinging the foot. A loud bang echoed through an entire field, 'No freaking way!' Barou appeared even in front of him and blocked the shot.

Shouei gave no thought to his endurance as he ran at everyone else who had the ball and attempted to block or steal. His struggle was answered, and he is now with the football, "They are counter-attacking; fall back!"

Almost the entire team Z was deep in the opponent's half, with only their defense remaining in their own. Barou had to go past only a few defenders and shoot at the sole goalkeeper. His eyes remained attentive; Barou was scanning his enemies. The only one who posed a threat was Dennis. 'Come at me…' he kept chanting internally.

He didn't care about the consequences; Shouei wanted to triumph over Dennis and only him. The number ten was running along the touchline, ten meters after he was met with Team Z's Imamura, but Barou tanked through the little guy easily. 'Here he is.'

Dennis maintained the distance between himself and Barou. He had a strategy, but it didn't stop the number 10 from progressing to the penalty box. There was no way Barou would stop now, especially in front of the penalty box.

Maybe out of inexperience or due to concern, Dennis got closer to Barou to tackle him. Had he stayed behind, things would've gone differently. Barou rolled the ball with his leg to the back, and at the same moment, he used the same leg's inside to push the football back. The first part of the trick was confusing, which is exactly why Dennis was provoked to step forward and steal.

'Crap!' Dennis exclaimed as he saw the ball blitz next to him. He moved his hand to stop Barou's advance, but just his hand couldn't stop Barou's animalistic charge. His hand was slapped away.

Bang! The number ten kicked the ball with all his power and broke through the goalkeeper's defense as well. The ball went rocketing into the net, tying the score at 3-3 for both teams. "Yes! Barou scored, guys!" Team X's happiness knew no bounds.

'Fuck yes!' Barou himself was satisfied with this goal; this one would go into his memories forever, as it felt like an achievement. He looked back at Dennis to see him approaching,

Their eyes met, "What? Are you happy that you went through multiple strikers in defense? Well, congratulations, I suppose." Dennis mocked the man unsuccessfully, and the Japanese returned to his serious demeanor.

"The goal is the goal; this time I scored and will do more. Now I know what you are capable of." With this said, Barou bumped into Dennis' shoulder and walked to his half, where his teammates were still celebrating his goal.

'That just proves that the main threat was always Barou… I couldn't stop him. Haha, what an animal.' Dennis thought. It'd be so much better to have a guy like Barou on his team; they would get along just fine. However, they weren't this time, so the German has to stop him in this game. But how?

"Don't sweat it, Gagamaru. We still have some time ahead; this one was my fault. Won't repeat again."

"I'm not someone to say this now, but Barou shouldn't be let anywhere near the penalty box. I don't think I will be able to stop his shots. And Dennis, you alone can't just be on his back all the time; you'll get tired quickly."

"Not really. I still have a lot in me. I'll mark Barou, but I'm not responsible for anything that is going to happen in defense. You take control of it, alright?" Dennis asked, and Gagamaru only nodded.

Next, Dennis told Iemon and Kunigami of the changes they would make, and both agreed that this was the right decision by them. The German would be marking the number ten of team X at all times; that was the only way.

Whistle!

The match continued, and Dennis immediately went to his mark, Barou Shouei, who didn't even seem surprised to see the guy on him. He calmly asked the German, "I see, you are now marking me personally. Why is that?"

Dennis smirked, "To not let stupid goals like before occur."

Barou was followed around everywhere, even when he tried to sprint he couldn't get away from German. It was like trying to run away from the police dog; the chances of that were close to zero. His teammates, meanwhile, were trying to pass to him, but to no avail.

This was bizarre for everyone else, this wasn't basketball; this was football, and this kind of marking of the enemy was never seen by these players. However there were cases in the professional football scene, Park Ji-Sung and Andrea Pirlo had similar hustles once in the Champions League.

That happened back in 2010 in the Champions League. Ji-Sung was eventually called Three-Lung Park for an incredible man-marking display that went down in history. Dennis was doing a similar thing right now.

Doing everything to intimidate the enemy. Shouting, screaming, and occasional physical contact. The German would literally fling himself at Barou, put his hand over his back, and not look at the ball but straight into the eyes of his enemy.

Barou wasn't intimidated; however, he had countless questions. "Are you acting as a guard dog?" His question wasn't answered; instead, he got marked by the guy with more intent. The number ten ran, and he was breathing his lungs out, however, each of his moves was a disaster.

He was just wasting energy and had to give the ball to his teammates in the end. Dennis sweated buckets too, but his face didn't express the tiredness that Barou expected. They had covered kilometers on the field already.

Kunigami looked at them both with admiration in his eyes, Barou and Dennis both refused to bend and use their knees as the holding for their bodies. He couldn't imagine himself in their place, having to run so much for their teams to win.

'Dennis seems to be keeping up with Barou, and the latter has a harder time opening for the passes.' Isagi, with his analytical thinking, noticed how the game became much calmer than previously.

"Isagi! Concentrate. Dang it!" As he was moving with the ball at his feet, some on team Z warned him of the approaching opponent. Looking behind him, Yoichi saw Barou and Dennis.

He could've passed the ball, but Isagi's mind wasn't allowing him to do so. After that relief and gain of confidence, team Z's playmaker wanted to try more than just save their asses. He wanted to assert dominance over others.

So instead of passing the ball to someone open, he put his finger on Dennis himself. The ball went over the short grass and reached the German before he could put the leg in between. The latter received the ball masterfully, not losing speed in the process.

'I know he is on my ass, trying to catch up.' Dennis created a large margin between himself and Shouei. His eyes met Yoichi's, and their minds almost clicked instantly. The two defenders stepped in front of Dennis as he returned the ball to Isagi.

"He passed it back; cover-up!" They shouted at each other and moved their attention from the German to the number eleven. At that moment Dennis burst into the penalty box, and Barou fortunately for team X followed him.

"You idiots, why are you so down int-" Barou whispered to himself as he saw Isagi make another wonderful toss that flew over their defense and landed in the penalty box, right where Dennis was running. 'I can't let him go deeper, he will definitely score.'

Their defense was in the penalty box; that's why there was no offside. Still, they weren't capable of stopping Dennis. Even Barou wasn't able to get the hang of the German.

The football landed on the grass, and Kemp changed its direction using the tip of his football shoes. 'Isagi, you are the best! No homo' The German was absolutely in love with this pass, and maybe even the passer. He wasn't going to let the beast ruin his moment.

"I'll get in."

"You will die before that."

They were on the right side of the penalty box, one or two meters before the goal line. As Barou and Dennis had to face off there, Team Z got onto enemy territory quickly.

The German had plenty of moves in his arsenal. However, for the sake of his team, he decided to be less risky today. 'He isn't budging an eye from the ball.' Dennis noticed and with his leg he moved the ball forward in a diagonal to his right where the line was.

'He wants to cross!' Logically, anyone would assume so, but Dennis just flicked the same left foot and changed the direction of the football, making a reverse elastico move. The ball went between Barou's legs, and the next thing Dennis did was use his hand to pull the beast a little bit behind.

Almost as if he was ambidextrous, he gave no mind to his weaker foot, as the shape of his swing was similar to the main foot.

'Isagi, your time to feast!'