Twenty five thousand fans were in the stadium. They were freezing in their seats but nobody cared about the cold. They were here to see the new toys.

Michael Sterling stood in the dugout. He wore his thick black coat with the club crest on the chest. He looked at the team sheet in his hand.

It was beautiful.

Barnsley FC Lineup:

1. Sam Jones (GK)

2. Mateo (LB)

4. Diego Nunez (CB)

5. Shaun Higgins (CB)

12. Finn Riley (RB)

8. Kenji Sato (CM)

10. Kai Sora (CM)

7. Isaiah King (RW)

11. Raph (LW)

9. Danny Fletcher (ST)

The Bull. The Engine. The Spark. They were all starting.

Arthur Milton stood next to Michael. The old scout looked nervous. He chewed his gum aggressively.

"Norwich are strong," Arthur whispered. "They have fast strikers. They have experience. If the new boys are not ready then we will look stupid."

"They are ready," Michael said calmly. "Look at them."

On the pitch the players were warming up. Diego Nunez was wearing a short sleeve shirt in the freezing cold. He looked like he was made of granite. Kenji Sato was sprinting back and forth across the pitch like a machine that did not know how to stop.

The referee blew the whistle to call the captains.

Danny Fletcher walked over. He wore the armband. He looked confident. He shook hands with the Norwich captain.

The stadium announcer grabbed the microphone.

"PLEASE WELCOME... THE NEW SIGNINGS!"

The crowd roared. It was a sound of pure hope.

"FROM URUGUAY... DIEGOOOO NUNEZ!"

"FROM JAPAN... KENJIIII SATO!"

"FROM LONDON... ISAIAH KING!"

The noise was deafening. Michael felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand up.

KICKOFF

Norwich City started the game fast. They wanted to test the new players. They wanted to see if the hype was real or if Barnsley had just bought some cheap foreign players who could not handle the English game.

The Norwich striker was a big man. He was strong and fast. He saw Diego Nunez standing at center back.

He licked his lips. He thought Diego was just another young defender to bully.

Minute 5.

Norwich played a long ball over the top. The striker chased it. Diego chased it.

It was a foot race.

The striker was fast. But Diego was powered by South American fury.

They reached the ball at the same time.

CRUNCH

They collided.

Usually when a striker hits a defender they both stumble.

Not this time.

The striker bounced off Diego like a tennis ball hitting a brick wall. The Norwich player flew two meters through the air and landed face down in the mud.

Diego did not even wobble. He controlled the ball with his chest. He looked down at the fallen striker.

Diego did not smile. He just turned and passed the ball to Higgins.

The crowd gasped. Then they cheered.

"HE IS A TANK!" a fan screamed from the front row. "HE IS A TANK MADE OF MEAT!"

Michael laughed. "One test passed."

Minute 12.

Now it was time for the midfield battle.

Norwich tried to play through the middle. They passed the ball quickly. Usually this was where Barnsley struggled because Kai Sora did not like to chase the ball.

But today Kai was not alone.

A Norwich midfielder received the ball. He looked up.

Suddenly a grey blur appeared in his vision.

Kenji Sato.

The Japanese midfielder arrived from nowhere. He did not tackle hard. He just nicked the ball away with surgical precision.

The Norwich player turned around confused. "Where did he come from?"

Kenji did not stop. He passed the ball to Kai and immediately sprinted into space.

Kai Sora received the ball. He looked at Kenji running. A smile appeared on the face of Kai.

Usually Kai had to hold the ball and wait for someone to move. Now he had a runner who was already twenty yards away.

Kai swung his leg.

WHOOSH

A perfect pass over the top.

Kenji controlled it on the run. He was in the Norwich box.

He squared it to Danny Fletcher.

Danny shot.

SAVE

The Norwich goalkeeper made a miracle save.

The crowd groaned.

But Michael was clapping. "Do you see that Arthur? The energy! We have never had energy like that!"

"He runs like he left the oven on at home," Arthur chuckled. "I like him."

Minute 30.

The game was still 0 to 0 but Barnsley were dominating.

Isaiah King was a nightmare on the right wing. Every time he got the ball he did a trick. He did step overs. He did nutmegs. He made the Norwich left back look dizzy.

But Norwich were dangerous. They were experienced.

They won a corner.

The ball came into the box. It was a high cross.

Sam Jones shouted "KEEPER!" but he was blocked by two Norwich players.

The ball fell loose in the six yard box.

It was chaos. A Norwich player swung his leg to smash it into the net.

The goal was open.

But then a shadow fell over the ball.

Diego Nunez threw his body in the way. He did not use his feet. He threw his head at the boot of the striker.

THWACK

The ball hit the forehead of Diego. It deflected over the bar.

The Norwich players stopped. They looked at Diego with horror. Who throws their head at a moving boot?

Diego stood up. He had a red mark on his forehead. He wiped it. He looked at the striker.

"Is that all you have?" Diego growled.

Higgins ran over and grabbed Diego. "You are crazy! I love you!"

"We do not concede," Diego said simply. "Not in my house."

HALFTIME

0 to 0.

But it was the most exciting 0 to 0 Michael had ever seen.

In the locker room the players were buzzing.

"Kenji!" Kai shouted. "You ran twelve kilometers already! I counted! You are a machine!"

Kenji bowed. "I am happy to run for you Kai san."

Isaiah was sitting on the bench drinking an energy drink. "Their left back is slow," Isaiah said. "He turns like a bus. Give me the ball more. I will end his career."

Michael stood in the middle of the room.

"You are playing perfectly," Michael said. "Norwich are scared. They came here to bully us but they found out we are made of steel."

He looked at Diego.

"Diego. That block was insane. But please try not to lose your head. We need it."

Diego grinned. "My head is hard Boss. Do not worry."

"Second half," Michael said. "Same intensity. Kenji keep running. Isaiah keep dribbling. Diego keep killing people legally. The goal is coming."

SECOND HALF

Minute 60.

Norwich were tired. They had spent an hour chasing Kenji Sato and bouncing off Diego Nunez. Their legs were heavy.

Barnsley were fresh.

Michael looked at the pitch. It was time.

"Push up!" Michael yelled.

Kai Sora got the ball in the center circle. He looked lazy as always. The Norwich midfielders did not press him because they were exhausted.

Kai looked up.

He saw Isaiah King on the wing. Isaiah raised his hand.

Kai hit the pass.

It was a laser. It landed on the chest of Isaiah.

Isaiah dropped the ball to his feet. The Norwich left back backed away terrified.

Isaiah smiled.

He did not dribble this time. He cut inside.

He looked at the goal.

"SHOOT!" the crowd screamed.

Isaiah wound up his left foot.

But it was a fake.

The defender jumped to block the shot.

Isaiah dragged the ball back. He slid a pass through the defense.

Into the path of Danny Fletcher.

Danny was one on one with the keeper.

The Prince did not miss.

He opened his body and placed the ball into the bottom corner.

GOAL

1 to 0.

The Fortress exploded. The noise was incredible.

Danny ran to the corner flag. But he did not celebrate alone. He pointed at Isaiah.

Isaiah sprinted over and jumped into his arms. Then Kenji arrived. Then Diego.

It was a pile of red shirts. A pile of Misfits.

Michael hugged Arthur on the sideline. "They work Arthur! The new signings work!"

"They work very well," Arthur admitted. "You are a genius Boss. A lucky genius but a genius."

Minute 85.

Norwich tried to attack. They were desperate. They threw everyone forward.

A long ball came into the box.

Higgins went for the header. He missed it.

The ball fell to the Norwich striker. He was free. He pulled his leg back to shoot.

The equalizer was certain.

But he forgot about the Bull.

Diego Nunez appeared from nowhere. He slid across the wet grass. It was a tackle that started on Tuesday and ended on Saturday.

SWIPE

He took the ball. Cleanly. Perfectly.

He stood up and roared. "VAMOS!"

The crowd roared back. "DIEGO! DIEGO!"

Minute 90.

The fourth official held up the board. 3 minutes of added time.

"Hold it!" Michael screamed. "Keep the ball!"

Kai Sora got the ball.

He started to juggle it. In the middle of a Championship match. He juggled it on his knee. Then his head. Then his foot.

The Norwich players were furious. They tried to tackle him but Kai just passed it to Kenji who ran away with it.

It was humiliation. It was beautiful.

PHWEEEEEEET

The final whistle.

Barnsley 1 - 0 Norwich City.

The players collapsed on the pitch.

Kenji Sato lay on his back breathing heavily. He had run fifteen kilometers.

Diego Nunez had a cut on his head and mud all over his face. He looked happy.

Isaiah King was dancing with the fans behind the goal.

Michael walked onto the pitch. He felt a vibration in his pocket.

He pulled out his phone. The blue screen of the System glowed.

[MATCH COMPLETE]

[TACTICAL MASTERCLASS]

[NEW SIGNING RATING: A+]

[SQUAD CHEMISTRY: 98%]

[REWARD: 500 POINTS]

Michael smiled.

He walked over to Diego Nunez.

"You were a monster today," Michael said.

Diego spat on the grass. "This league is soft Boss. They do not hit hard enough."

Michael laughed. "Wait until we play Millwall."

He walked over to Kai and Kenji.

"Kenji," Michael said. "You stopped running. Are you okay?"

Kenji sat up and bowed from the floor. "I am fine Sterling san. Kai san told me I can stop now."

Kai smirked. "He is a good battery. I am at 90 percent energy. He is at zero. Perfect balance."

Michael shook his head. "Get inside. Mom made lasagna for everyone."

"Lasagna?" Diego shouted from across the pitch. "I love lasagna!"

The giant Uruguayan sprinted towards the tunnel faster than he had moved all game.

Michael watched them go.

His team. His weird wonderful team.

They were third in the league. They had just beaten a promotion rival. And they were only getting better.

Arthur Milton walked up to Michael.

"We are going up aren't we?" Arthur asked quietly.

Michael looked at the empty stadium. He looked at the banner of his Dad in the stands.

"Yes Arthur," Michael said. "We are going up. And we are going to tear the Premier League apart."

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