The afternoon sun hammered down on the Bottomless Pit pitch, glinting off the worn ball.
The Blazing Tigers, confident and loud, strutted across the field like kings of the first-year league.
The crowd buzzed with anticipation, whispers and bets mixing with the warm wind.
Bapala stood at the sidelines, fists clenched, heart hammering in his chest.
Tsebo's calm eyes scanned the field, his posture deceptively relaxed. Then the referee blew the whistle. And the game began.
The Tigers pushed forward immediately. Their tallest defender lunged at the ball.
Tsebo tilted his head slightly, studying the approach.
One flick of the ankle — Elastico — and the opponent passed him, falling for the fake as if pulled by invisible strings.
He's not using his eyes to avoid the oppenents's tackles his moving before the opponent gets the chance
… he's just doing feints to beat the opponent!
Bapala's mind raced. His eyes widened, heart thundering in his ears.
A second player came charging, the ball trapped neatly at Tsebo's feet.
In a flash, Tsebo bent his knees, rolled the ball backward with his sole, and executed a Rainbow Flick over the opponent's head.
The ball arced gracefully, sunlight catching it midair. The defender stumbled, arms flailing uselessly.
So this is Proactive Dribbling… Bapala whispered, nearly forgetting to breathe.
The third defender, faster and smarter, anticipated Tsebo's next move. Tsebo didn't hesitate.
Stepover. Stepover. Stepover. Each motion was a blur, a hypnotic rhythm.
The defender lunged, mistiming every step, and tumbled to the ground, dazed.
Can I do this? Bapala asked himself, shaking his head. No… this isn't my style… this couldn't have been what Tsebo meant by "Proactive."
The fourth opponent was taller, stronger, pressing aggressively. Tsebo's eyes narrowed, a flicker of focus in their calm depths.
He tapped the ball with the inside of his right foot then did a gentle tap with the inside of his left foot,
he sent the defender sliding past him like a puppet on a string.
Every move… he's reading the field as if it were written for him. Bapala thought. It's not just skill… it's intelligence. Vision.
Now, only the goalkeeper remained. Tsebo measured the distance, his shadow stretching long across the sunlit field.
The keeper crouched, eyes locked, muscles taut. Tsebo paused, spinning slightly on the ball, feeling the weight, the trajectory, the moment.
A high trajectory curve shot. The ball arced like a comet, kissed the sunlight, then dipped perfectly into the top corner of the net.
Time froze for a heartbeat. The crowd erupted into screams, gasps, and chants. The Blazing Tigers froze, mouths agape, as if Tsebo had defied the laws of football itself.
Bapala's chest heaved.
He followed Tsebo as he jogged back, calm, collected, unaffected by the chaos. His eyes were wide with awe, his thoughts racing:
This… this is the level that will make my heart race the most
This isn't just skill. It's vision. Proactivity. It's evolution.
And if Tsebo can play like this… I have to change.
Everything about my game, my instincts, the way I see the pitch… it's all about to be tested.
As Tsebo moved, Bapala caught glimpses of his subtle mastery he performed each skill moves with undeniable grace and elegance as if he had been doing such movement since birth
The crowd's cheers filled the air again as Tsebo prepared for the next attack.
Already, the Blazing Tigers were repositioning, trying to close him down, but Tsebo was everywhere at once: fluid, unpredictable, unstoppable.
Bapala's inner voice ran alongside the action, almost as if narrating the play:
He fools the opponents before they even get a chance to tackle
Then he finishes it with a speedy precise trick shot
And then the whistle blew. Tsebo had scored. One goal. A statement.
Bapala exhaled slowly, chest heaving, legs trembling.
He realized something profound: this was not just a game.
This was a lesson.
Tsebo had shown him what Proactive Dribbling truly meant—not waiting for your opponent to make the first move but dealing the first blow.
And as Tsebo jogged back, unbothered by glory, Bapala smiled.
Ihave to analyze this newly acquired data this
Will be my ticket to a new level of soccer