The beautiful game - Remastered 02

Chapter 2 – Haunted by the past

With his heart still thumping in his chest, and the exuberant chants of the away fan ringing in his ears, Dejan punched the air in celebration, he felt on top of the world, and if he was able, he would have jumped for joy.

Having congratulated his team and sent them off to the changing room to shower and change, Dejan entered the narrow corridor that joined the pitch to the main building. Two reporters awaited him, ready to ask his thoughts on the game and get some quotes for their match reports.

Entering the dimly lit tunnel, Dejan saw a silhouette on the far side near the exit, and instantly knew who it was, it was his arch-nemesis Marko Mitic, leaning against the wall and blocking his exit.

“Hello Dejan, how is the leg old friend”? A smirking Marko asked as Dejan limp up.

Dejan felt his blood boil, stopping to stare into the eyes of the man who had destroyed his footballing career as he felt a dull ache in his leg which was always with him.

On the outside Dejan remained calm, as today he had the bragging rights, his team had won, Sonja had scored a hattrick and had almost singlehandedly won them the game.

“Don’t waste your time worrying about my leg, Marko, if I were you, I’d be spending my time doing a little more training, what was the score again today, 3-1, was it not”?

Dejan could tell he’d hit a nerve; he could see it on Marko’s face. “My team are champions, they are born winners, this was nothing but a blip", Marko said, sounding very agitated, "just you wait, at the end of the season you will be watching on like everyone else as we make history, lifting the trophy for a record fifth straight time”.

“We’ll see about that, first you’ll have to catch us, and with Sonja in my team, we won’t lose many games. You don’t have anyone even half as good as her”, Dejan said, again seeing the anger on Marko’s face.

“That confident, are you little Dejan? Well let’s bet on it then, ten million dinars (£70,000) says that my team wins the cup this year or are you scared to put your money where your mouth is”?

“A bet, oh no, I won’t bet with you”, Dejan replied, not wanting to get involved.

As much as he despised the man, Dejan knew Marko was dangerous, he had heard the rumours of the dodgy deals and people disappearing, plus Dejan didn’t have anywhere near that sort of money even if he sold everything he owned.

“Ah, same old Dejan, all talk, you are pathetic, you are weak”, Marko said laughing, “weak in the mind and the body, go on, limp back to your loser team and leave me be”.

Dejan felt something snap in his mind, he’d had enough, he couldn’t stand there any longer and be insulted by the man that ruined his life, and in that moment, he made a rash decision, one that would change his fate forever.

“Ok, you want to bet, fine, let's bet”, Dejan spat, “ten million dinars says my team wins the cup this year, and on top, how about the losing manager resigns and walks away from their team and football forever”?

Dejan had shocked himself with that last comment, not really sure where it had come from, but it felt good seeing the look of surprise on Marko’s face.

(See image 2.1)

Marko seemed to think for a second before the smile returned to his face, “I agree to your terms”, Marko replied, extending his hand to seal the bet with a handshake, "we have a deal".

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From the moment he walked out of the stadium that day, Dejan regretted his decision, it wasn’t that he didn’t believe in his team, it was just now he was constantly worried that Sonja might get injured or get poached by another team, after all, everything depended on her maintaining her goalscoring form throughout the rest of the season.

With the stress and worry came the sleepless nights as Dejan's mental health started to slowly deteriorate. It soon became apparent to the people around him that something was wrong as the light-hearted fun father figure they all knew, began to shout, and bark orders at them, snapping into a furious rage over something as small as a misplaced pass in training.

Milos, who spent the most time around him, bore the brunt of his erratic behaviour. It seemed no matter what he did these days, Dejan felt the need to lecture him, telling him on a daily basis how he was not taking his role seriously enough and that he was letting the team down with his lack of focus.

Milos took the lectures to heart and started avoiding Dejan where possible. He just couldn't understand what was wrong, yes, he may come across as a little relaxed at times and perhaps he liked to party when training was over, but he was a typical red-blooded nineteen-year-old boy, surrounded all day by a group of young women, he couldn’t help but show off and try to impress them, and at the end of the day, the team was winning.

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Three weeks later

As Dejan arrived at the training ground, he looked around and felt a rage building inside, the team should have almost finished stretching and warming up by now, but instead, they were all stood huddled around in the centre circle laughing and joking.

Storming over as fast as he could, Dejan was ready to give his team the hairdryer treatment, telling them how unprofessional this type of behaviour was. But as he approached, the girls suddenly went silent, and all turned to face him.

“Hi Coach, we’re so glad you’re finally here, we’ve found a new player for the team”, Katerina, the team captain announced cheerfully, “she’s a bit of a tomboy, but you should see her play”, she added as the whole group erupted into laughter.

Dejan was confused, wondering what the hell she was on about until suddenly the group parted in front of him and a very embarrassed looking Milos stepped forward to stand next to Katerina.

Just like the other girls, he was wearing the Tiger's kit, and on his head sat a long blonde wig flowing over his shoulders and reaching his waist. Stood there next to the larger stockier frame of Katerina, the lynchpin of the team's defence, Milos looked rather small and feminine.

(See image 2.2)

Dejan was lost for words as he glared at Milos who almost looked as shocked as him. Failing to hide his anger, Dejan looked Milos up and down as his eyes narrowed.

Scanning up past his skinny legs, Dejan's eyes stopped on Milos' chest as he almost choked noticing the two protruding lumps, sticking out from the front of his shirt thanks to the bra strapped tightly around his chest and the rolled-up football socks filling the cups.

Standing next to Katarina, a girl he had dated a few times, with the fake blond hair tickling his blushing cheeks Milos felt ridiculous. He could see Coach was about to explode into a fit of rage and tried to pre-empt it.

“Uhm… I’m sorry Coach, I kind of lost a bet, it was just a bit of fun, I’ll go change right away so we can get on with training”, he said lowering his head, feeling ashamed to be seen dressed as he was by the man he looked up to like a father.

Seeing the rest of the team glaring at him, Dejan took a deep breath and calmed down a little, “It’s OK Milos, or perhaps for today, I should call you Milena”, he announced with a smile, “come on, why are you all still standing around, let’s train, we've already missed ten minutes”.

Everyone except Milos cheered, who looked stunned by Coach's reaction but having expected to be screamed and yelled at, Milos felt a sense of relief as he allowed himself to be dragged off by the rest of the team to begin the day's training.

Taking his normal position on the side of the pitch, Dejan wasn’t exactly thrilled with the foolish distraction to the training session that evening, but with team spirit high, he didn’t want to risk ruining it over a little joke. He just needed to keep the momentum going, the team were still on top of the league, having kept their winning start to the season going, but more importantly, they were now seven points ahead of the Wolves and looking unbeatable.

Milos felt a little out of place at first taking part in training instead of shouting instructions from the sidelines, but as time passed by, he began to relax and enjoy himself.

It didn’t take long for everyone else to forget Milos was out there with them as they focused on getting to grips with the tactics for the game that weekend. But one person who was constantly aware of his presence was Dejan, and not because of the way he was dressed, as distracting as that was, the boy was a magician with a football at his feet, making everyone else look like a bunch of amateurs.

He had forgotten just how much of a natural talent the boy was, reminded from the moment Milos touched the ball, picking it up on the halfway line only to dribble past three defenders with ease before curling a pinpoint accurate shot into the top corner.

This continued for the rest of the training session, the boy was untouchable, with his low centre of gravity and turn of pace, Milos could skip past his defenders effortlessly, making him unstoppable with the ball at his feet.

“What a waste of a talent, if only he was a real woman, we’d win the league with ease”, Dejan thought, as he imagined the mind-blowing strike partnership, he could form playing Milos alongside Sonja.

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The next day around noon, having been summoned to Dejan’s office, Milos lightly knocked on the door.

"Come in", came a shout.

Entering the room, Milos looked around seeing Coach behind his desk, the light shining in through the small dusty window behind him, leaving his face shrouded in darkness.

“You wanted to see me, Coach”? Milos asked nervously, feeling as though he was about to be told off.

(See image 2.3)

“Take a seat Milos”, Dejan replied, pointing to a worn looking chair on the opposite side of his desk.

Milos slowly closed the door and walking over to take a seat. There was a moment of silence as he fidgeted awkwardly, feeling a spring pressing uncomfortably into his backside, “Err… I’m really sorry about yesterday, Coach, it wasn’t my idea, it was just the girls having fun”.

“I know Milos", Dejan said staring Milos right in the eyes, forcing him to look away, "do not worry, I have no problem with fun, but I need your help”.

“Of course, Coach, you know me, I’ll help however I can, what do you need from me”? Milos said eagerly.

“Well, I know you are young and are just having a little fun, I remember what that was like, but this is a crucial stage of the season for us, we all need to focus”, Dejan said pausing to let the words sink in. “I’ve noticed recently you've been spending a lot of time with the girls, partying and playing, I just wanted to remind you how important this year is for the team, this year we have a real opportunity to finally lift the cup, but only if everyone, including you, are 100% focused, do you understand what I’m telling you here”?

Milos having listened carefully to the words looked up. “Yes”, he said nodding, “I understand Coach, I guess I could spend a little less time partying, I want you to know, there’s nothing I want more than to help the team win, I’m willing to give everything I've got; you know how much I appreciate everything you’ve done for me, right? The last thing I want to do is let you down”.

Dejan smiled. “Thank you, Milos, you are very important to the team and the part you play will be crucial if we are to have a successful season, I’m counting on you, if we work together, I’m certain this can be a special year”.

Seeing Coach smile Milos joined him, “you can count on me, Coach, I won’t let you down, I promise”.