Humiliating Loss

6 Years Ago

"Joey? Joey!"

Joey Suzuki, 11 years old, heard his mother call out to him from inside the house. He didn't respond, continuing to practice his dribbling in the mud.

"Joey, it's late now. If it rains again you'll catch a cold!"

"Just a few minutes more, mom!"

"Ah, this boy... You better come back in 5 minutes."

Joey's mother walked out of the house and approached Joey. She smiled at him before speaking.

"I'm going out to get some things, so you better behave. Don't walk on the carpet with those muddy boots. Take a bath as soon as you undress, got it?"

"Okay, mom."

"Good boy."

While his mom left, Joey was focused on doing a rainbow flick. All his friends at school knew how to do it, and they kept making fun of him because of his inability to do so. Joey, who aspired to become a professional footballer one day, gladly accepted the challenge.

Joey's house was located in a region near the mountains. He had no neighbors. The yard in front of Joey's house was a large barren area of dirt, with no plants due to Joey's pollen allergies. A few hours ago, it had just rained, leaving wide areas of puddles and wet mud, in which Joey was practicing on. His clothes were caked with mud, the dirt even splashing across his face.

Joey was repeatedly doing the same drill- roll the ball up his back leg and launch it upwards over his head- but never getting it right. He struggled to send the ball forwards after launching it. It didn't take long for him to figure out his front leg was restricting his movement. So he tried putting his front leg forwards, and that was when he stepped in a patch of quicksand.

He tripped over and fell face first after his leg sunk in the mud up to his knee. His face and his hands were sinking in as he laid in the mud. After a moment of shock, he realized he couldn't breathe. He felt a pain in his lungs from the carbon dioxide buildup, and he struggled to get his face out. He tried to scream, but his mouth and throat were suddenly filled with mud, and he started to choke. He couldn't scream, and even if he did, there was no one to hear. His house was the only one in this area.

With all his strength, he tried wriggling his legs out. The mud gave way and he crawled backward, making rapid moments with his arms to loosen the mud. The pain in his lungs was immense now, and he started to feel dizzy. All he saw, felt and tasted was mud. With much effort, he barely managed to free his right hand. It flailed above the surface, looking for something to grapple, but in vain. Joey knew he was going to die. His arm fell loosely on the ground as he lost consciousness.

Present Day

Joey, now 17, laid on the pitch, exhausted. The stadium around him was full of life, people wearing blue jerseys cheering for the team that was winning by such an unimaginable score. The fans of his team, clad in red, were leaving the stadium.
The team he played for, Delhi Devils, was losing 11-0 to their rivals, Mumbai Monsters.
This was the biggest loss in his team's history.

When he was first given the offer to move to India and play for the Devils, he was ecstatic. For a small-time Japanese player to be recognized internationally was a dream come true. He had instantly accepted the offer without looking much into it.
When he arrived, he quickly found out the truth.

The team was washed-up and full of old players, the manager was a massive dickhead and to top it off, the club's owners were broke. So much for international recognition. Losing 11-0 to their rivals was just icing on the cake.

Joey looked around him. His teammates were crying as the opposing team was taking a corner kick. The team's morale was broken. As he looked around, he spotted his dear friend Akuma Akuto, who was transferred from Japan along with Joey. Unlike his freakish name, he was a pure-hearted innocent soul who only looked at the bright side. Currently, he was sobbing heavily with his head between his knees.
Joey had never seen him cry before.

Seeing his friend like this spawned a rage in Joey, a rage that engulfed his soul. As the referee blew the whistle for full time, Joey got up and walked towards the opponent team's captain, talented midfielder Pavan Das, who was celebrating with his teammates. Pavan frowned as he noticed Joey approaching.

"What do you want, loser?" asked Pavan.

Joey glared at him with fiery eyes before speaking: "We cannot accept such a loss. In order to preserve our club's pride, I challenge you to a rematch."

Pavan snickered. "A rematch? But we don't have any fixtures together in the league after this."

Akuma and some of Joey's teammates, curious, approached him to listen in the conversation. Joey looked at the approaching men before replying to Pavan: "A rematch in the Indian Champion's Cup final next season."

Pavan laughed at the top of his lungs. "Sure, but can you even reach the final with your current form?"

Akuma froze for a second to process this information before pushing Joey to the ground and speaking: "Joey, do you have any fucking idea what you just said? How the fuck are we gonna make it to the final, let alone qualify for the cup?"

Jack Langley, Delhi Devil's Australian goalkeeper put his head in his arms. "To qualify, we're gonna have to place top 5 in the league. We're currently 25th. We're gonna be relegated by the time this season ends. Forget the Champion's Cup, we're not even gonna survive in the league."

But Joey was dead serious. "I know our team. If we work our bloody asses off, we have a chance. A very small chance but a chance nonetheless." He looked towards Pavan. "We'll see you in the final. And we'll humiliate your team the way you humiliated our's today."

Joey's teammates stared at him hopelessly. Akuma walked away, silently.
They all knew the rematch would never come.

6 Years Ago

When young Joey regained consciousness, he was laying on his house's porch. He sat up and started to cough up dirt. As he did so, he heard a boy's voice.

"You were sunk in pretty deep. You should know better than to play in the mud on a rainy day."

Joey looked towards the voice and saw a boy his age. The boy was wearing a yellow raincoat and holding a cricket ball.

"Who are you?" Joey asked.

"Oh, I forgot to introduce myself. My name's Akuma. I was playing cricket near this place when one of my friends shot the ball too far and I had to retrieve it. The ball had fallen in your yard and when I came to retrieve it, I found you."

Joey smiled at him. "My name is Joey. Thanks so much for saving me, I thought I was gonna die there."

"No problem, Joey. By the way, were you playing football before you fell?" Akuma pointed towards the football covered in mud.

"Yeah, you like football?"

"I hate it."

Present Day

Delhi Devil's manager, John Jacobs a.k.a JJ, was currently screaming in Joey's face in front of the squad.

"Who gave you the right to challenge them? Are you the captain?"

Joey stayed silent.

"Because of you, the media's all over this. All the sports magazines and online reports are talking about this challenge. It's an insult to the club!"

Joey talked in a calm, collected tone: "JJ, listen-"

"DON'T FUCKING CALL ME THAT!"

"Okay, Mr. Jacobs, you are the manager of one of India's most prestigious clubs. And for a club with such a rich history to rank 25th in the league is a disgrace. Let alone losing 11-0 to our rivals."

"And WHO'S fault is that? Am I the one playing on the pitch?"

"You don't give us any tactics. Before every match, you just tell us to 'figure it out as you play, it'll come to you automatically.'"

"That's because I trust you and the squad! No other manager is this close with their players. You're all like my children."

"You know that's bullshit. That it's all a front to protect yourself from being sacked."

"The fuck did you just say?"

Immediately, Akuma rushed out and interjected. "Joey, shut up."

Joey stopped talking.

JJ calmed himself down before speaking. "Jack Langley, come here."

Jack Langley got up and walked towards the manager.

JJ continued. "Jack, you asked me yesterday to renounce your captaincy, right?"

Jack nodded.

"Are you fine with big-mouthed Joey here being the captain?"

Jack looked at Joey, who wore an expression of shock before responding. "I got no problem with it."

JJ smiled. "It's decided then. Joey Suzuki here will be your new captain. He'll give you tactics and all the shit he keeps blabbering about." He paused and glared at Joey. "But if the team doesn't make it to the Champion's Cup final, your contract will be terminated permanently. You got that?"

Akuma turned to Joey in desperation. "Joey, don't do this. It's impossible. And you know it!"

Joey got up and stared down JJ. "I understand. I'll take the offer. I'll do whatever I can from now on in order to make the team reach the final, starting today. And if they don't, I'll gladly have my contract terminated."

JJ laughed at Joey's face. "You've got balls, striker. I'll give you that." He started to talk to the rest of the team. "Guys, listen up. Joey here's the new boss. You got any problem or need anything you go to him. Though I doubt you'll go very far."

Joey looked at the squad, very much understanding what he had gotten himself into. But he wasn't afraid. He was the most serious he had been in his entire life. He was gonna give it his all to win against the rivals in the final, risking his entire career to do so.