Chapter 187: The Captain's Last Battle

The pass was the easy part. Mateo clipped the ball down the wing with the outside of his right boot, putting just enough curve on it to drop right into Farfán’s run and well clear of the recovering defenders. Farfán took off after it.

It was the tenth time in the match he found himself isolated one-on-one against Zanetti. This time, the physical toll of the previous nine duels showed. Zanetti, at thirty-eight years old, had spent the night sprinting toward his own goal, dragged all over the pitch by his team’s desperate search for goals. He set his feet along the touchline, lowered his hips, and prepared to contest the flank one more time.

Farfán knocked the ball past Zanetti’s lead leg and pushed off in a dead sprint, not bothering with stepovers or feints. For the first time all night, the captain’s legs refused to respond. A younger version of him would have hauled the winger down and swallowed the yellow card without a second thought. But on completely empty legs, he hesitated for half a second, and Farfán was gone.

Across the home stands, a collective groan echoed through the terraces as the supporters watched their captain get beaten.

Ranocchia broke away from Vardy to slide across and shut down Farfán’s angle. It was the only move the center-back could make, but it left the central corridor wide open for a striker who had spent the evening waiting for one clean chance. Farfán reached the byline, glanced up for a fraction of a second, and drove a low, blistering cross right across the face of goal.

Vardy was already on the move.

He had barely touched the ball for eighty-five minutes, battered by Chivu and Ranocchia in the air and feeding on scraps. He cut sharply across Ranocchia’s back, launched himself forward in a diving header, and met the driven cross with his forehead.

The ball flew past Júlio César before the keeper could even react. At point-blank range, nobody on earth was keeping that out.

Fweet—!

4-2.

Vardy skidded across the damp grass on his stomach, arms spread out wide, before his teammates swarmed him. This time, there was no broken nose to worry about, so they piled straight on top of him near the corner flag. The two-goal cushion was back, and with it, four crucial away goals in their pocket. Whatever hope the home crowd had clung to completely dissolved.

Near the touchline, Magath permitted himself one quiet pump of his fist before folding his arms across his chest. He never celebrated early until the final whistle blew, but the result was settled. The remaining minutes ticked away to the flat, eerie silence of home supporters coming to terms with their European campaign ending on their own turf.

The referee blew three long blasts on his whistle.

Fweet—! Fweet—! Fweet—!

Full time. 4-2.

The Schalke players gathered into an exhausted group around the center circle, leaning on one another with heavy legs and wide smiles. Mateo caught his breath in the middle of the huddle when a hand tapped his shoulder.

He turned around and found Zanetti standing there..

The Argentine captain looked remarkably composed, carrying the quiet dignity of a veteran who had experienced every high and low football could offer over two decades. He had left everything on the pitch, running himself into the ground against boys half his age, and now he simply stood there with genuine respect.

“Great game, kid,” Zanetti said in slightly broken English, a small, genuine smile touching his mouth. He pulled his iconic blue-and-black jersey over his head and held it out. “You played a special match tonight.”

Mateo stared at the shirt for a beat. This was Javier Zanetti, a treble-winning legend with hundreds of appearances for club and country, offering his jersey to an eighteen-year-old on the San Siro grass.

Mateo pulled his own mud-stained white jersey off and handed it over, taking Zanetti’s shirt with both hands before gripping the captain’s palm.

“Thank you,” Mateo said, meaning every bit of it. “It was an honor sharing the pitch with you.”

Zanetti nodded, giving Mateo’s hand a firm, lingering squeeze. He turned and walked at a slow pace toward the Curva, clapping his hands high above his head to thank the fans who had cheered him for fifteen years, before heading into the tunnel.

A few yards away, Leonardo walked over to the technical area to find Magath. The Brazilian manager had smoothed his hair back, masking the sting of defeat behind professional courtesy, and extended his hand.

“Congratulations, Felix,” Leonardo said smoothly. “Your boys ran us off the pitch.”

“Thank you, Leonardo,” Magath said, shaking his hand firmly. “You had us under serious pressure in that first half.”

They exchanged a brief nod, understanding the unwritten reality of top-level management. Leonardo turned on his heel and followed his captain inside, knowing how unforgiving Italian boardrooms could be after a home defeat like this.

Mateo threw Zanetti’s jersey over his bare shoulder and walked toward the tunnel with his teammates. Behind them, the San Siro stood quiet in the cool night air, its European journey wrapped up for another year.

As Mateo pushed open the door to the away locker room, someone inside had already started banging a laundry bin and singing at the top of their lungs.

Hey guys, just a quick reminder that our bonus event is still active: We came really close last week, but didn’t quite make it, so let’s try again this week. Let’s see if we can unlock it. Enjoy the read!