2025-11-03, 08:27 PM - Word count:
The lights turn on. A man walks into the scene- two chairs, a light which is off camera, a plant pot without a plant in it... and black wallpaper. The man sits with his suitcase, and pulls out some papers. As the man hurriedly scans each page, a woman enters the room.
"Are we ready?" the woman asked with a stern expression. The reporter pushed his glasses up and nodded. The woman backs out the doorway, and says something to someone outside the doorway in a much more welcoming tone. In walks Nikolai Ahmed, 'star' midfielder for CF Catalunya. He greets the reporter and takes his seat, making himself comfortable. The reporter starts off with, "Nikolai, congratulations on a great season with Catalunya. After being dead last for the past two seasons, how has your side been able to climb the standings?" Nikolai paused, thinking for a few seconds.
"I believe the managers in the organization guided us through these rough past few seasons by keeping our morale up. They showed each and every one of us their plan, and it was up to us to believe in them, which they made very easy to do. The managers often check in on us and has led our affiliates, Seoul MFC, to some recent glory and we trust that Catalunya will be seeing the same with the current managers in charge." Nikolai nodded, letting the reporter go on.
"In Season 21, you managed to bag 5 goals and assist 7 for your teammates. Last season you only managed 4 goals and 1 assist. How annoyed are you that you seem to have dropped in form when you are coming closer to the peak of your career?" Nikolai frowned. Was this reporter here to make him look like a clown in front of the world? Calming himself down, Nikolai assured himself that these are just the facts, and overreacting about a fair question could gather more attention, rather unwanted.
"Obviously it's frustrating," Nikolai started off with, "having a great season and then dropping. It honestly just shows how competitive the league is- you can have some great season and think you are on top of the world, but the truth is, the league continues to grow and you can't take anything for granted. Goals and assists also aren't the only statistics that exist," Nikolai added.
The reporter nodded. "Well said, Nikolai. Even though you scored less goals this past season, one of those goals was a potential title decider, and in the end was a great contribution towards Sao Paulo wining the division." The man nodded, inviting Nikolai to discuss it further. Ahmed laughed, remembering the goal.
"Of course, the goal against Reykjavik United. First off, to be able to score the winner against a team like that was amazing. The corner routine was perfect, and I remember watching that ball glide into that bottom corner. I got messages from Sao Paulo players that evening saying I was now considered a legend in Brazil!" Nikolai and the reporter shared a moment of laughter. After a brief pause, Nikolai continued, "I think that goal made us closer as a team, knowing we can all rely on each other to show up when needed and being able to carry that memory into my next few seasons will be huge for myself."
The reporter wrote a few sentences in his little notebook then rested it in his lap. "What are the expectations going into this season?" Nikolai got caught off guard for a moment. Expectations? He would be speaking for the whole team, and he didn't want to say anything over ambitious and make the squad discontented.
"I think that our expectations have been set since each of us signed for this amazing team. We all must train to the best of our abilities and become the best versions of ourselves, on the pitch as well as off the pitch. I think the players coming over from Seoul need to recognize that they have an important role to play in the squad, and that anything can happen out on that pitch. We have been able to scrape some wins from great sides and I believe we can do the same, as well as improve against sides we should maybe be winning against in the first place."
The reporter nodded and smiled. "Thank you for your time, Nikolai."
"Are we ready?" the woman asked with a stern expression. The reporter pushed his glasses up and nodded. The woman backs out the doorway, and says something to someone outside the doorway in a much more welcoming tone. In walks Nikolai Ahmed, 'star' midfielder for CF Catalunya. He greets the reporter and takes his seat, making himself comfortable. The reporter starts off with, "Nikolai, congratulations on a great season with Catalunya. After being dead last for the past two seasons, how has your side been able to climb the standings?" Nikolai paused, thinking for a few seconds.
"I believe the managers in the organization guided us through these rough past few seasons by keeping our morale up. They showed each and every one of us their plan, and it was up to us to believe in them, which they made very easy to do. The managers often check in on us and has led our affiliates, Seoul MFC, to some recent glory and we trust that Catalunya will be seeing the same with the current managers in charge." Nikolai nodded, letting the reporter go on.
"In Season 21, you managed to bag 5 goals and assist 7 for your teammates. Last season you only managed 4 goals and 1 assist. How annoyed are you that you seem to have dropped in form when you are coming closer to the peak of your career?" Nikolai frowned. Was this reporter here to make him look like a clown in front of the world? Calming himself down, Nikolai assured himself that these are just the facts, and overreacting about a fair question could gather more attention, rather unwanted.
"Obviously it's frustrating," Nikolai started off with, "having a great season and then dropping. It honestly just shows how competitive the league is- you can have some great season and think you are on top of the world, but the truth is, the league continues to grow and you can't take anything for granted. Goals and assists also aren't the only statistics that exist," Nikolai added.
The reporter nodded. "Well said, Nikolai. Even though you scored less goals this past season, one of those goals was a potential title decider, and in the end was a great contribution towards Sao Paulo wining the division." The man nodded, inviting Nikolai to discuss it further. Ahmed laughed, remembering the goal.
"Of course, the goal against Reykjavik United. First off, to be able to score the winner against a team like that was amazing. The corner routine was perfect, and I remember watching that ball glide into that bottom corner. I got messages from Sao Paulo players that evening saying I was now considered a legend in Brazil!" Nikolai and the reporter shared a moment of laughter. After a brief pause, Nikolai continued, "I think that goal made us closer as a team, knowing we can all rely on each other to show up when needed and being able to carry that memory into my next few seasons will be huge for myself."
The reporter wrote a few sentences in his little notebook then rested it in his lap. "What are the expectations going into this season?" Nikolai got caught off guard for a moment. Expectations? He would be speaking for the whole team, and he didn't want to say anything over ambitious and make the squad discontented.
"I think that our expectations have been set since each of us signed for this amazing team. We all must train to the best of our abilities and become the best versions of ourselves, on the pitch as well as off the pitch. I think the players coming over from Seoul need to recognize that they have an important role to play in the squad, and that anything can happen out on that pitch. We have been able to scrape some wins from great sides and I believe we can do the same, as well as improve against sides we should maybe be winning against in the first place."
The reporter nodded and smiled. "Thank you for your time, Nikolai."
![[Image: P5Dq3Wr.png?format=webp&quality=lossless...height=700]](https://images-ext-1.discordapp.net/external/s9vcb0b3Z-K-xs6T1Y3fxqR7ku9is71oow_Y2pAoTCA/https/i.imgur.com/P5Dq3Wr.png?format=webp&quality=lossless&width=1253&height=700)
![[Image: lisfor-3.png]](https://i.postimg.cc/sDzJYqYM/lisfor-3.png)
