Marco spent the next two nights downloading goals. Bergkamp vs. Newcastle. Van Basten’s zero-angle volley. Roberto Carlos’s impossible free kick. Each time, he became the scorer. Each time, he returned with something new: a first touch like velvet, a strike like a cannon.
“Coach… how?”
The screen flashed. He became Diego—low center of gravity, five defenders, the impossible slalom. He felt the fake, the shift, the keeper flailing. He scored.
He slumped on his couch, thumb scrolling aimlessly through the App Store. Free. Free. Free. Then he saw it.
He smirked and typed: Zidane. 2002. UCL final.
He just winked. Score World Goals. Free download on iOS.
The screen went white. When his vision cleared, he wasn’t on his couch. He was in Hampden Park, 2002. The Champions League final. He was Zinedine Zidane—his body, his left foot, the ball falling from the sky. The volley connected. Pure silk. The net rippled. 40,000 fans erupted.
The app responded:
He typed: Javier. Tomorrow. Back-garden volley. Age 9.
Marco put the phone down. Walked over. Put a hand on the boy’s shoulder.
They just need sharing.
And for the first time, Marco realized: some goals don’t need downloading.
He tapped .
But then, beneath it: