Chapter 89: Senior Debut: A Star Is Born
The match clock ticked past 80 minutes. FC Utrecht led 5-2, and the home fans were in full voice, celebrating what was turning into a festive rout. On the field, Amani Hamadi still played with energetic focus, determined to finish strong.
He chased down a lost cause ball into the corner, earning appreciative applause for his hustle. He linked up with Kali in midfield, showing calmness in possession beyond his years. Every touch he took drew murmurs of admiration from the stands – the supporters could sense they were witnessing the birth of something extraordinary.
In the 85th minute, Utrecht pushed forward once more. Despite the comfortable lead, Amani was hungry and alert, reading the flow of the attack. He drifted out to the right wing as Utrecht built patiently from the back.
Anouar Kali pinged a diagonal pass towards Cedric van der Gun, who had come on as a substitute on the right flank. Van der Gun controlled it and saw Amani ahead near the touchline, nodding for the ball.
With a defender closing him down, van der Gun slid the ball into Amani’s path and overlapped, expecting a return. Instead, Amani noticed the defender over-committed. With a silky first touch, he skipped past the challenge, nudging the ball down the right sideline and cutting inside toward the penalty area.
Suddenly Amani found himself in an attacking pocket of space near the right edge of the 18-yard box, a couple of yards from the goal line. The angle was extremely tight – he was almost at the baseline, about six yards out, with the VVV goalkeeper advancing to cover the near post.
Most would expect a cut-back cross from this position. Two Utrecht players lurked near the penalty spot, anticipating a pass. But Amani’s sharp eyes noticed the keeper had left a sliver of space – a gap barely larger than the ball – between himself and the near post.
In a split second, Amani’s mind flashed to a highlight he had watched with Coach Mark De Vries in training: Maicon’s famous goal for Brazil in 2010, when he scored from an "impossible" tight angle. Maicon had cracked one in with the outside of his foot, catching the keeper off. Here was a similar chance to defy the odds.
Amani made his decision in an eyeblink. He stepped into the ball and struck it with the outside of his right boot, aiming ambitiously for that sliver of gap. The contact was pure. The ball cannoned off his foot with a wicked swerve. It screamed toward the goal from a ridiculously sharp angle.