The Football Legends System

Chapter 87 – FA Cup Champions

GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAALLLLLLLL!!!!!!!

The net bulged. Wembley exploded.

Red. White. Gold. Smoke. Screams. Drums.

Manchester United 3 – 2 Manchester City

He didn’t think. He just ran.

Arms wide. Eyes wide.

Toward the fans. Toward the sound. Toward the people who waited a lifetime to believe again.

He ran like a madman, hair flying behind him,.

Zirkzee was the first to catch him.

"YOU CRAZY!!"

Then Bruno. Valverde. Foden. Casemiro. Even Lisandro Martinez from the bench.

Amorim ran halfway onto the pitch, yelling like a father who just watched his son conquer the world.

They crushed him in a hug.

A messy, beautiful group of men who had bled for the badge—and found glory in the same heartbeat.

Nathan couldn’t speak. He couldn’t breathe.

Tears blurred his eyes.

"We did it... we did it..."

Commentator:"This is an immortal moment! Nathan Perry has written his glory with his own foot! What a strike! What a move! What a final!!"

90th Minute —

Time refused to die.

Four minutes of added time.

City poured forward.

Nathan stood near the halfway line.

He couldn’t even feel his legs anymore. Just his will—screaming at his body to hold on.

Valverde barked at the midfield.

"NO GAPS! EVERYONE! NOW!!"

De Bruyne, ghost-white with exhaustion, still found Foden on the wing.

Foden’s touch was flawless.

He dipped a shoulder, danced past Malacia, and zipped it to Doku on the far flank.

Doku stopped dead.

Then twisted.

Tap—flick—burst!!

"Dammit!!" Wan-Bissaka slid, but Doku skipped over the challenge and curled the ball to the far post.

And there... loomed Haaland.

The beast.

He met it with perfect form. Leaned. Twisted. Shot.

BOOOOOM!!!

The stadium held its breath.

The shot flew—

—Over the bar.

Over the f***ing bar.

"HE MISSED!! HAALAND MISSED IT!!"

The crowd erupted again, but this time in sheer disbelief. City fans crumpled to their seats. United fans screamed so hard their lungs must have torn.

On the pitch, Haaland stared at the sky. Stone-faced. But his hands trembled.

Nathan dropped to his knees.

Head bent. Arms limp.

He was soaked in sweat, stained in dirt, but his lips curled into the faintest, most exhausted smile he’d ever worn.

"Nothing left... It’s over..."

He looked up.

The sky above Wembley—bright with light, but somehow calm now.

"We are the champions."

—

90+4th Minute —

The ball trickled toward the sideline, untouched.

The sound faded.

Even the crowd held its breath.

The referee glanced at his watch. One last heartbeat...

WHIIIIIIIISTLE!!!!

And Wembley—Wembley erupted.

"YESSSSSS!!!"

A roaring, chaotic wave of sound and emotion. Flares lit. Fireworks streaked the heavens. Flags waved. Fans screamed, cried.

Manchester United were FA Cup Champions.

Nathan dropped to the ground, both knees hitting the grass.

THUD.

His fingers dug into the turf.

Then the world crashed into him.

Zirkzee tackled him in a bear hug.

"WE DID IT!! BRO, WE—AAAHHH!!"

Valverde came sliding across the grass.

"CHAMPIONS, CARAJO!!"

The bench emptied. Amorim sprinted onto the field like a man chasing his life’s meaning.

He reached Nathan, chest heaving, tears already in his eyes. No words.

Just a raw, desperate embrace.

—

The Guard of Honour –

City players stood on either side of the tunnel.

They clapped.

Out of respect. Out of tradition.

Nathan walked through them.

Calm.

He stepped forward with his teammates.

Each step up the stairs felt heavier than the last.

His boots clinked softly against the metal.

Clink. Clink. Clink.

When they reached the top, the silver trophy glistened on its pedestal. Medals lined on velvet beside it. Cameras flashed.

Bruno stepped up. Captain.

He turned to the team.

His voice, when it came, wasn’t loud.

"This... this is for the fans. For those who bled and screamed and sang until the end."

He looked at each of them.

"And for us. For the ones who didn’t give up."

Then he turned to the sky.

"For every time we were doubted."

He reached for the trophy.

Lifted it.

RAAAAGGHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!

BOOM—BOOM—BOOM!!

Fireworks shot up behind them. Red. Gold. Crimson. The night turned to flame.

Bruno raised the cup over his head, screaming with every ounce of his soul.

The medals were handed out one by one.

When Nathan stepped forward, his hands were still trembling.

The official slipped the medal around his neck. The ribbon was thick. The metal—real.

He stared down at it for a second.

Then turned.

And the fans roared just for him.

"NA-THAN! NA-THAN! NA-THAN!"

He blinked. Swallowed hard.

Then—

"WOOOOOOOAAAHHHHHHHHH!!"

Lisandro and Zirkzee lifted him from behind—hoisting him high.

Nathan’s arms stretched out wide, laughing, face to the sky.

The lights flashed. The wind whipped past.

For a heartbeat, he felt like he could fly.

—

After the Ceremony –

The storm of celebration moved on. But Nathan lingered behind, just outside the tunnel.

Still in kit. Still soaked in sweat.

He turned slowly. Looked back at the pitch—now quiet, now empty, with champagne-streaked grass and confetti fluttering like feathers in the wind.

Bruno appeared beside him.

"Still can’t believe it?" the captain asked, his tone gentle.

Nathan didn’t answer right away. He rubbed his neck.

"I thought... it would feel louder inside. But it’s just... quiet."

Bruno nodded. "It always is. After the storm."

Nathan looked down at his boots.

"These boots carried me through everything," he muttered.

Then Zirkzee called out from down the tunnel. "Oy! Trophy parade in twenty, let’s go! Or I’m carrying it alone!"

Bruno sighed. "He would, too."

—

The hotel room was quiet—thick with the kind of stillness that only comes after chaos.

Nathan threw himself onto the bed.

"We won... We did it," he whispered, more to himself than anyone else.

The FA Cup.

They were champions.

[Ding!]

The chime rang directly in his mind, bright.

Nathan’s eyes flicked open.

[Congratulations! You’ve won the FA Cup!][A new system feature has been unlocked!]

He blinked. Then groaned, dragging a forearm over his face. "Now?" he muttered, half-laughing, half-grumbling. "I just wanted to sleep..."

But curiosity always beat fatigue.

[The "Ability & Potential Analysis" feature has been activated.]

"Huh?" He sat up, frowning slightly. "Ability... and potential?"

A soft hum filled the air, and a glowing panel shimmered to life in front of him, hovering just above his knees.

You can now analyze any player’s current ability (rated F to SSS) and their future potential (also rated F to SSS). Use this feature to assess teammates, opponents, or even yourself.

Nathan leaned forward, eyes narrowing as he read each line.

"So I can see how good someone is now... and how far they can go?"

He let out a quiet whistle, impressed despite his exhaustion.

"That’s... dangerous."