Chapter Two: After Nine Matches

Their opponent crossed twelve times. Marcus cleared eleven. On the last he did not jump. He retreated half a step, let the striker crash into his shoulder, and watched the ball settle in the keeper's hands. In the dressing room Marcus returned the tactics board. “Finally, someone bought me—not the ghost of me at twenty-four.” Northport opened away against champions Royal Sanctum. Bookmakers expected a three-goal defeat. Sanctum took five shots in seven minutes; after ninety, the score remained 0–0. Marcus made seventeen clearances and blocked a stoppage-time winner on the line. The same host who mocked him changed his headline to ONE-EURO IRON CAPTAIN. Number-five shirts sold out overnight.