Harbinger Of Glory

Settling the ball down, Leo lifted his head and just watched on!

He took in a deep breath, filling his lungs as the noise around Old Trafford seemed to close in from every direction.

It was a colosseum, and it was the biggest Leo had ever heard so far!

Seventy thousand voices.

Some celebrating.

Some jeering and some still trying to understand what was so special about a team that had a boy as its backbone!

His eyes looked into the penalty area, roaming around the area where bodies were beginning to gather!

For a second, just a tiny second, everything seemed to slow.

For Leo, who was keen on such things, it was easily noticeable, as for some reason, he could hear his heartbeat amidst the roaring fever around!

"Old Trafford," he muttered to himself as the noise suddenly seemed distant, almost muffled.

Then all at once, it broke down when a voice from behind him cut through it.

"Traitor!"

Leo didn’t even react, thinking he’d heard wrong, but soon, another followed.

"Fuck off, Calderon!"

"You’re a disgrace!"

"United rejected you, and now you’re pretending you’re someone!"

"Snake!"

"Go back to Wigan!"

Leo blinked, hearing all that, but he soon had to return his focus to the box where the referee was done separating the Manchester Red from the Wigan white and blue!

"Would be nice to shut them up," he muttered.

The moment he finished saying those words, the referee signalled, blowing his whistle, and right after, Leo raised an arm!

"Far post," he muttered and then gestured with his arm, hoping his teammates would get the routine, and when he felt that he’d conveyed the situation, he walked up sharply into the ball and then bent over.

His left foot planted beside the ball and without invitation, his right foot swung through it, and then he stopped abruptly!

He just watched the delivery as the ball climbed away from him, travelling toward the outside of the penalty area before beginning to bend.

"Leo delivers..." Drury said, and the ball kept curling.

"Who gets it?"

Bodies rose inside the box, a host of them, looking to claim the ball that had begun curling inwards!

Onana took a step forward, anticipating a high catch, but then he halted!

It looked like someone would get a head to it, or at least, Onana prayed it was such, but nobody touched it, and suddenly, the ball was on an impossible journey.

The ball continued its impossible journey, heading beyond everyone, and then bending toward the far post as Drury’s voice lifted.

Back where he still took the corner, Leo remained completely still and watched as the ball dipped, his eyes searching for what was happening to the ball!

The ball dipped at last, and Onana, following with his eyes but not his brain, watched it before his feet stopped!

And then came the sound.

CLANG.

The ball smashed against the inside of the far post, and for one long, almost eternal breath, the Old Trafford froze.

Hundreds....of....thousands, of eyes tracked as the ball went across the goal line and then into the side netting.

.....

Absolute silence from the home end!

The Wigan players stared.

Jake’s mouth fell open.

Reyes spun around so quickly that he nearly lost his footing and in just that common second, Ezra’s head snapped toward the corner flag.

Nobody seemed certain of what they had seen, but it was real.

Then from the away section, it was Bedlam!

"GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAAALLLLLL!"

Drury’s voice tore through the broadcast.

"LEO CALDERON!" he called, and Leo still hadn’t moved.

He stood beside the corner flag, watching the ball settle inside the net as though his own eyes needed another second to believe what they had just witnessed.

"OH MY WORD. MANCHESTER UNITED SCORED, BUT LEO CALDERON HAS RIPPED THE SCRIPT! HOW GOOD IS THIS BOY!"

Scarves flew above heads while the bench players leapt from their seats.

Above them, a few supporters simply stood frozen, hands clasped over their heads and doing their best to process what had just happened, but it was easier said than done!

Above all, Drury could barely contain himself.

"AN OLYMPICO AT OLD TRAFFORD!"

He paused for half a beat, almost searching for the words.

"LEO CALDERON HAS COME BACK TO THE PLACE THAT ONCE WANTED HIM... AND HE HAS JUST PUT A DAGGER INTO THE HEARTS OF THE MANCUNIANS!"

Reyes strained, legs pumping to get to Leo and behind him, it was like a as the rest of Wigan came charging across the pitch.

"YOU COULD NOT WRITE THIS!"

Drury’s voice rose above the roar.

"YOU COULD NOT HAVE SCRIPTED A RETURN LIKE THIS!"

Leo, seeing all this unfold, turned!

The Manchester United supporters behind the corner flag had gone completely silent.

Only moments earlier, they had been screaming at him.

Traitor!

Judas!

You should’ve stayed at United!

But now....now they had nothing.

He looked directly at them and, almost like he was the puppet of a footballing marionette, he slowly raised his index finger.

Then brought it to his lips.

"SHHH."

The gesture lasted barely a second, but it was enough.

The fans broke out, fans shooting out and reaching like they could kill Leo if they got their hands on him!

Others simply stared at him, stunned by the audacity of it, but right before them, Leo disappeared beneath a wave of white and blue as Reyes crashed into him first.

Jake arrived next, wrapping both arms around him before sending them both to the ground, and the rest of the team wasn’t far behind.

"THE WIGAN PLAYERS ARE BESIDE THEMSELVES!" Drury shouted.

"AND WHY WOULDN’T THEY BE? THEY HAVE COME TO OLD TRAFFORD, THEY HAVE FALLEN BEHIND, AND THEIR YOUNG MIDFIELDER HAS ANSWERED WITH SOMETHING EXTRAORDINARY! A FEAST FOR THE EYES!"

The Wigan players screamed into the pile, grabbing at Leo and each other!

The away end wasn’t safe either!

It was almost like a stampede as the fans, silent earlier, now eagerly screamed their lungs out!

One Manchester United supporter near the corner, watching all of it unfold, stared at the celebration, then at the scoreboard, then back toward the pitch.

"What the fuck just happened?"

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