2025-03-14, 03:05 AM - Word count: 566
The whistle blew, putting an end to the second Stockholm Istanbul match. A 2-0 victory for Istanbul, 2 goals for Predrag and a "Player of the match" award. As the ref called for the end of the game, Predrag could only slump down to the ground in exhaustion. They won...he won. All this anger and angst that came with the surprise 4-0 loss to Stockholm previously, all the ups and downs that came from that result. Finally it was over. Istanbul was second in the league and Port Royal was the club to beat, but they were far from invincible. In fact Istanbul had one more game to play against them so winning the league was quite possible.
Predrag covered his face with his jersey, wiping the sweat off. Then he laughed. He gave a hard, belly laugh that was only muffled by his shirt. He did it. At the end of the day, it was just a game. It was just a match, and he was good enough to win it. There was no point to it other than the game itself. The shit talking from fans and players didn't matter. The games where he went ghost didn't matter. He was good enough to be there. No, he was great actually. Better than most, and he was proving it to everyone, even himself.
Predrag went back to his apartment in Kemerburgaz. He always preferred peace and quiet over the hustle of the city. He was expecting to fall into his bed exhausted but he felt more energized than ever. Normally he'd use this extra energy to train but even with his insane training schedule he knew not to push himself after matches. It was too late to go for a walk now. Well nothing was really stopping him but he didn't want to look like a weirdo walking alone at 2 in the morning. Predrag paced around his living room. He thought it was funny that finding ways to spend his free time was more difficult than playing football.
Finally Predrag's eyes drifted to his laptop. He mostly used it to review matches and answer emails. He didn't bring a PC set up nor did he buy one when he moved here for Istanbul F.K. He though he would just be distracted with video games, so he got an average work laptop. It could still run a few old or not demanding games. Why the hell not? He earned it. That's what he thought to himself. After months of working himself to the bone, Predrag finally just relaxed. No training, no strategizing, no analysis. Just pulling a good old all nighter playing games. He went through his whole Steam library: Dark Souls 1, Football Manager, Stardew Valley, Europa Universalis IV, XCOM Enemy Within, Dawn of War 1. These were just some of the games he played. It didn't matter if he played them for only 30 minutes and then moved on to the next. He was just reliving childhood memories.
Predrag heard a buzzing noise. Then he opened his eyes to realize he had fallen asleep at his desk and he had several missed calls and texts. The analysis team was contacting him and asking if he would be in today like usual. He responded with "No". Then he went back to sleep.
Predrag covered his face with his jersey, wiping the sweat off. Then he laughed. He gave a hard, belly laugh that was only muffled by his shirt. He did it. At the end of the day, it was just a game. It was just a match, and he was good enough to win it. There was no point to it other than the game itself. The shit talking from fans and players didn't matter. The games where he went ghost didn't matter. He was good enough to be there. No, he was great actually. Better than most, and he was proving it to everyone, even himself.
Predrag went back to his apartment in Kemerburgaz. He always preferred peace and quiet over the hustle of the city. He was expecting to fall into his bed exhausted but he felt more energized than ever. Normally he'd use this extra energy to train but even with his insane training schedule he knew not to push himself after matches. It was too late to go for a walk now. Well nothing was really stopping him but he didn't want to look like a weirdo walking alone at 2 in the morning. Predrag paced around his living room. He thought it was funny that finding ways to spend his free time was more difficult than playing football.
Finally Predrag's eyes drifted to his laptop. He mostly used it to review matches and answer emails. He didn't bring a PC set up nor did he buy one when he moved here for Istanbul F.K. He though he would just be distracted with video games, so he got an average work laptop. It could still run a few old or not demanding games. Why the hell not? He earned it. That's what he thought to himself. After months of working himself to the bone, Predrag finally just relaxed. No training, no strategizing, no analysis. Just pulling a good old all nighter playing games. He went through his whole Steam library: Dark Souls 1, Football Manager, Stardew Valley, Europa Universalis IV, XCOM Enemy Within, Dawn of War 1. These were just some of the games he played. It didn't matter if he played them for only 30 minutes and then moved on to the next. He was just reliving childhood memories.
Predrag heard a buzzing noise. Then he opened his eyes to realize he had fallen asleep at his desk and he had several missed calls and texts. The analysis team was contacting him and asking if he would be in today like usual. He responded with "No". Then he went back to sleep.
