Chapter 16: The Ones Who Stayed
Chapter 16: The Ones Who Stayed
Monday morning brought with it a strange kind of silence.
Not the peaceful kind. The kind that hums beneath your skin, making you feel like something is missing. Like the ground beneath your feet hasn't quite caught up with the reality around you.
Niels stood by the touchline, hands buried deep in the pockets of his jacket, staring out at the empty pitch. Training had wrapped up an hour ago, but he hadn't moved.
The players were gone. The drills were over. The echoes of laughter and shouting had faded into the stillness.
No more barked instructions from Milan.
Just the wind rustling the corner flags. The soft creak of the dugout behind him. And the hollow space beside it—once filled by a man who had guided the club through chaos and calm alike.
There had been no fanfare, no emotional farewell, no carefully prepared statement for the press. That wasn't Milan's way. He'd left behind a folded piece of paper with his signature and a quiet squeeze on the shoulder.
Then five words, simple and firm: "It's yours now. Make it count."
That was it.
But it was enough.