I entered the stadium amidst the intense cheering of the crowd, before glancing at my teammates. Etched upon each and every one of their faces sparkled the look of passion, excitement, motivation. I breathe in deeply and exhaled. Up above, a speaker boomed, against the roaring sounds of the fans, it made itself announced. " Presenting, the teams in the Asean Cup Finals! Singapore VS Malaysia! I felt a tingle through my spine as i heard it again. We made our way to our positions on the turf. I took my place in the center. My heart, filled with exhilaration, pumped faster than ever before.
This was my moment. I could feel it.
I stared at the Malaysian captain Ahmad, my eyes focused with determination. He grinned back at me. "Get into positions" grunted the referee. I locked my legs and stared at the ball. Blow the whistle, dammit. Blow it so that we can get this game going! And the referee did just that, and it seemed to be the loudest whistle i had ever heard, signaling the commencement of the biggest soccer match i had ever experienced.
Time seemed to past so very, very fast.
It was now the second half of the match, the score was tied at 1-0. We were leading now, but just barely. There was no time to be complacent. Malaysia was giving us a run for our money by pressurizing us, and keeping on the attack. Well, as long as we kept our defence tight, we just might pull this off, i whispered silently to myself. No sooner then that, the Malaysian striker Muhammad Mahdi made a abrupt burst with the ball. Moving at breakneck speed, he broke through our defence, leaving only he and the keeper to beat. With a loud roar, he shot the ball, and like a bullet, it entered the topmost corner of the net. I looked on in horror, too stun to speak. With the game now leveled, it was any body's game.
The game was now in extra time. We continued to push forward. Now, it was their turn to be defensive. With a huge stride, my team mate jasper passed me the ball. I gathered momentum, making a run for it. I was about to reach it when all of a sudden, i saw one of the Malaysian defenders closing in on me. A leg shot out, hooking my shin, bringing me down on all fours. A huge frenzy erupted among the stadium; everyone was shouting foul. With only a few seconds left the referee had decided to award us a penalty.
It was decided that i would be the one taking it. With heavy steps i approached the penalty spot. I looked at the ball. The referee blew on his whistle again. But i heard no sound. No sound at all. All except a sentence that kept echoing in my head. " You have to have a dream or you go nowhere."
There was a flashback. I saw a young boy . The kid was clutching the ball tightly against his chest. His body was scrawny and wimpy and lanky, his shirt torn and tattered with patches here and there. His pants were dirty. It was a brilliantly cloudless sunlit day, and the kid was playing soccer with his friends.
That kid was me.
It was early 1980's, i was 12 years of age. . Still immature then, I was just like any other kid, playful and full of life. Just one aspect differentiated me from them and that was my passion for soccer.
I remembered the day when i was first introduced to the wonderful world of soccer. I remembered it as clearly as if it happened yesterday. With one touch of the ball, i fell in love with the game. From then on, i decided to be a professional soccer player. I remembered going home and telling my mum about it, and she said " that's great. Believing in yourself is always great. You have to have a dream or you go nowhere." That simple sentence, spoken in my mother's gentle voice, reached out to me and was what drove me to perform to nothing but my best.
" You have to have a dream or you go nowhere" with the words ringing in my head, it reminded me of how far i had come. Escaping poverty was only possible through my dreams to achieve the best i could achieve. I felt a surge of energy. With a prayer of thanks to my mother, i kicked the ball as hard as i could.
It ricochet of the goalkeeper's hand and into the net. The referee blew his whistle.
We had won the Asean cup finals.
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