Chapter 335 Post-match interview
Retracting few steps back from the ball, Hiro stood upright at a certain distance away from the ball with his arms extended outwards and legs spread.
Amidst the sea of players and deafening roar of the crowd, Hiro's concentration sharpened as he made use of his skill focus.
Suddenly the entire stadium went silent as he fixated his eyes towards the ball and the post. No longer bothered by the distractions present around him at this moment, Hiro felt as if the time around him had slowed down.
At the same time, his senses heightened as his focus peaked. Right now all he could see was the ball and his target— the goal.
Inhaling a deep breathe, he let out a mouth full of turbid air before rushing towards the ball. His sweat-drenched jersey billowed as the eyes of his teammates in the backline converged on the number 10 behind his back.
Thousands of eyes converged at him; placing their expectation on him. While at the same time, many held their breathe as they looked at him with eyes full of anticipation and worry.
Hiro's gaze however was locked onto the distant target while at the same time his mind filtered out almost all the noise coming from the stands.
Bam!!
Immediately the players who had readied themselves as walls, their muscles coiled like a tightly wounded spring primed for release as they leaped from the ground— trying their hardest to make contact with the ball and somehow divert the ball.
But they were left disappointed as non of them managed to reach the ball.
As the ball sailed through the towering walls of player of the opposing team, a sudden surge of confidence coursed through the veins of players of Kawasaki like wildfire.
Sparks of joy flashed in their eyes while at the same time, a feeling of elation enveloped them.
For a moment, time seemed to stand still as the ball soared, defying gravity as it sliced through the air. The crowd's gasps turned to silence as they watched Hiro's masterpiece unfolding before their eyes.
It was a glorious sight to behold— a fierce, swerving trajectory that left the opposing goalkeeper rooted at a spot. It was like he had turned into one of those thousands of mere spectators who were witnessing this magnificent scene unfold in the pitch.
Most of his vision had already been clouded by his teammates which had already made his job of saving the ball difficult. But to top it all, the ball moved so fast that he couldn't even react.
Given the stats of the match where Kawasaki mostly dominated the attacking charts, one could even say that this game was totally one sided.
"Hiro? Hiro? Can we have a moment of your time?"
Some reporters rushed towards Hiro right after the end of the match when he was returning to his locker room.
Faced with their request, Hiro turned to look at his manager; asking for his permission. Manager Makoto slightly nodded his head; giving him his approval.
"Sure" after getting the approval of his manager, Hiro answered the reporter.
The reporter then led Hiro to a bright place so that they could get a better footage of him. Nonetheless Hiro followed them obediently.
And as they got to the spot, the reporter handed him a microphone.
Focusing the camera towards Hiro, the reporter then began to ask him some questions, "So how does it feels to be back at the league?"
"So many people came to welcome us, so yes, I feel extremely exhilarated to be back" Hiro answered enthusiastically with a smile on his face.
"Since you have already bagged many MVP awards, I'll not go there. But can you tell us about that impressive freekick goal you scored? Like what was going on your mind or whether you practiced those kind of shots in training? Anything can be helpful"
Sure enough the way that reporter was asking questions and initiating the conversation, Hiro could tell that this reporter in front of him was skilled.
"You flatter me too much. To be honest with you, I don't practice freekicks much in the training. But yeah while taking freekick, I try to visualize the goal. I try to visualize the trajectory of the ball. Haha..., it's not anything special but while taking freekick or any other spot kick, I try to remain as calm as possible"
Hiro answered in somewhat awkward manner. Since he couldn't tell that he actually uses some game like skills to score freekicks, he couldn't come up with a better excuse.
Thus, his answers were rather ambiguous.
Listening to his words and looking at his body language, one would barely think that this awkward player was the same player who had scored that brilliant freekick previously.