Rise of a Football God-Chapter 296: Need to adapt

At the end of the game, Hansi Flick approached his new signing, patting him by the head. "Good job Sam, you played good".

’Did I really?’

Sam smiled at his coach but in his head, he could not help but ask that.

…

(La Liga fixtures:)

(Matchday 2 of 38:)

(Real Betis 2-0 Leganes)

(Date: 23rd August, 2025)

…

(Mallorca 1-2 Villareal)

(Date: 24th August, 2025)

…

(Elche 3-2 Alaves)

(Date: 24th August, 2025)

…

(Sevilla 1-0 Getafe)

(Date: 24th August, 2025)

…

(Real Soceidad 0-2 Real Madrid)

(Date: 24th August, 2025)

…

(Celta Vigo 3-1 Almeria)

(Date: 25th August, 2025)

…

(Girona 0-4 Barcelona)

(Date: 25th August, 2025)

…

(Levante 2-3 Athletic Club)

(Date: 25th August, 2025)

…

(Athletico Madrid 3-0 Valencia)

(Date: 25th August, 2025)

…

(Rayo Vallecano 3-1 Osasuna)

(Date: 25th August, 2025)

…

(Updated La Liga table:)

(1. Athletico Madrid GP: 2/ W:2/ D:0/ L:0/ Pts: 6)

(2. Barcelona: GP: 2/ W:2/ D:0/ L:0/ Pts: 6)

(3. Real Madrid GP: 2/ W:2/ D:0/ L:0/ Pts: 6)

(4. Athletic Club GP: 2/ W:2/ D:0/ L:0/ Pts: 6)

(5. Real Betis GP: 2/ W:2/ D:0/ L:0/ Pts: 6)

(6. Sevilla GP: 2/ W:2/ D:0/ L:0/ Pts: 6)

(7. Villareal GP: 2/ W:1/ D:1/ L:0/ Pts: 4)

(8. Mallorca GP: 2/ W:1/ D:1/ L:0/ Pts: 4)

(9. Girona GP: 2/ W:1/ D:1/ L:0/ Pts: 4)

(10. Celta Vigo GP: 2/ W:1/ D:1/ L:11/ Pts: 4)

(11. Getafe GP: 2/ W:0/ D:1/ L:1/ Pts: 4)

(12. Elche GP: 2/ W:1/ D:0/ L:1/ Pts: 4)

(13. Rayo Vallecano GP: 2/ W:1/ D:0/ L:0/ Pts: 3)

(14. Real Sociedad GP: 2/ W:0/ D:1/ L:1/ Pts: 1)

(15. Almeria GP: 2/ W:0/ D:1/ L:1/ Pts: 1)

(16. Valencia GP: 2/ W:0/ D:1/ L:1/ Pts: 1)

(17. Osasuna GP: 2/ W:0/ D:0/ L:2/ Pts: 0)

(18. Leganes GP: 2/ W:0/ D:0/ L:2/ Pts: 0)

(19. Alaves GP: 2/ W:0/ D:0/ L:2/ Pts: 0)

(20. Levante GP: 2/ W:0/ D:0/ L:2/ Pts: 0)

After 2 matchdays of the Spanish La Liga, FC Barcelona occupied second spot in the Spanish top flight table even as they shared points with 5 other clubs.

After the end of the game in Girona, on his way home, the Ultimate Football System finally lit up with a notification, notifying Sam of new system quests but he didn’t pay attention to them immediately.

He didn’t pay attention to his system notifications immediately because he had other things in his mind.

Till he got home, Sam was distracted.

Even as he got home, he was still distracted, prompting him to decide to make a local dish. On the kitchen, while cooking, he cut his finger by mistake with a knife.

"Ouch!"

The stinging pain stimulated Sam, bringing him back to reality as he quickly rushed off to apply first-aid treatment to it.

In the end, pain was what made him calm down.

After switching off the gas, sitting in his room, Sam started thinking and finally, he deduced where the distraction was coming from.

’Dissatisfaction’.

Yes, FC Barcelona won the game.

Yes, they dominated from beginning to end and Sam should be happy but, in the end, he was left disappointed by his own performance.

He didn’t have a bad game, he contributed evenly to the game in both offense and defense but used to doing more already in every single game, Sam felt weird.

He was so used to pushing himself to the limits, hitting extraterrestrial levels of yearning to win and inducing miracles that to play a normal again after so long, it unnerved him, making him unable to focus and perform at his best.

As soon as Sam deduced the problem, he chuckled. "I don’t even know if I should cry or laugh". He mocked himself.

"Who knew I’d also have a problem like this someday?"

This chapter is updat𝓮d by freēnovelkiss.com.

In that moment, Sam finally understood a certain professional football player that he looked up to. The legendary Portuguese, Cristiano Ronaldo.

Back when he plied his trade for Real Madrid, Ronaldo was renowned for having a big ego. Rival fans often had a point to critic and degrade him and that point was his unchanging selfishness.

Cristiano Ronaldo was selfish to a fault.

He wanted the ball all the time, he wanted to be the main man, he wanted to be the one to take the shots, he wanted to be the one to score the goals.

Sam was not thinking like that, but now, he understood how Ronaldo felt in those games where Real Madrid win and his name is not on the scoresheet.

"So, it’s like this". He chuckled, feeling truly bitter.

"To think that someday I’ll also get to have Cristiano Ronaldo problems," he laughed. "I’ve really come a long way".

There are steps to problem solving. The first step was identifying and acknowledging the problem, and the next main step was dissecting it down to find a solution.

As soon as Sam identified the problem, he acknowledged it and then he dissected it down for a solution and it didn’t take him long to arrive at one.

Actually, it was the only solution that Sam could think of.

"Haha, I need to adapt". He stood up, his eyes burning with a fiery zeal.

"I’ve gotten so used to playing as the underdog that playing for the superior side and still performing, winning by a landslide feels so alien to me now".

"It’s almost like a warrior who’s gotten so used to hunting predators that were far stronger than him that he lost the ability to fight weaker prey".

Sam’s eyes turned sharp. "But I won’t be that warrior!"

"Neither will I be Cristiano Ronaldo!"

"I am Samuel Moses and I shall find my own way, I shall forge my own path!"

For a long time, Sam had always heard of professional football players having to adapt to their new clubs. From the perspective of a fan, he never truly understood till now when he was forced to go through his own period of adaptation.

Sam did not shirk away from the challenge though, rather, he embraced it with gusto. Experience more on novelbuddy

"I shall adapt…, and then I shall become a legend of this club!"

That night, having solved his mental problems already, he finally removed his iPhone from flight mode, speaking with his girlfriend before sleeping.

Sam slept with his blood boiling in reaction to his new challenge.