My Goalkeeping System

For the first leg of the match against Real Sociedad, the Unique FC squad flew over to San Sebastian, Spain on the afternoon of the day before the match day to get themselves properly situated.

They headed to the hotel they had booked ahead of their flight as soon as their plane landed on Spanish soil two hours after their departure.

As always, Dave was sharing a room with his brother-in-law and at the moment, the two were busy settling down and unpacking their luggage.

Getting that done didn't take long for the two, and as soon as they were done, Dave let out a sigh before crashing down on the bed.

"We're finally here." He uttered, a smile of satisfaction on his face.

"Yes, we are." Mateo nodded.

"You know, thinking back to the first day of this competition, I never thought we would be able to make it this far."

"Well, we did almost lose that playoff against FC Basel," Mateo remarked as he picked up a book he had dropped on his bed earlier. "But after that, we surprisingly ended up cruising through the group stage."

"Yeah, and we were supposed to be the weakest in that group."

"Mhm."

Mateo was about to open the book in his hand when his phone suddenly began to vibrate in his pocket.

"Who could be…."

He wasn't able to finish that statement as he pulled out his phone from his pocket to find out that it wasn't exactly someone within the realm of his expectations but the subtle smile on his face was enough to tell that he was happy to see that name.

"Who is it?" Dave asked before sitting up on the bed.

"Oh, it's Sofia, I suppose she knew we were coming to Spain." He responded. "I forgot to tell her." He whispered before sliding up to accept the call.

"Oh," Dave muttered with a nod.

He was left alone in the room soon afterwards as Mateo shifted to the restroom to have his phone conversation.

The goalkeeper stared at the bathroom door for a few seconds before crashing down on the bed once again.

"She's definitely one of the reasons he's going to Atletico next season." He muttered.

<They'll still be cities apart though, Madrid and Barcelona aren't exactly close>

'Yeah, but I know Mateo, he probably has things figured out.'

The winger made his way out of the bathroom soon after that, heading straight for the door.

"Where are you going?" Dave rose to ask just as he pulled the door open.

"To buy something." He answered abruptly before exiting the room, shutting the door quickly.

"I guess someone is around the block." The goalkeeper mumbled before getting up on his feet.

<Probably not, it's a long trip from Barcelona to here>

'Then explain why he's rushed out like that?'

<Uhhh….>

'See, there's nothing else to explain it.'

<Did she really make the trip to come see him?>

'I mean, lots of fans are going to make the trip to come watch the match tomorrow. You could also say she's here to watch the match so there's nothing weird about it.' Dave replied. 'But then again, it's all speculation from our end, we don't know if he actually left to see anyone.'

<How can you say that after sounding so certain she was here earlier?>

'Don't blame me, you're the one who couldn't come up with another plausible reason.'

_________ __________

The Unique FC squad were in Spain during their pre-season training in preparation for the currently ongoing season and during that period, they faced off against Real Sociedad at the Reale Arena.

Since they had been there before, they had already gotten a good look at the stadium.

That said, Dave still took his time to pay a visit to the stadium during the evening to look around.

Well, it was mostly because he was bored and wanted to walk around without being disturbed by anyone.

The goalkeeper was currently in the empty stadium walking around on the sidelines with both of his hands in his pockets.

'Real Sociedad are currently fourth in the league this season and have only lost four games this season. They comfortably beat Real Madrid and managed to force out a draw from Barcelona.'

<Well, this is the quarter-final, so it's expected to be tough>

'I know.' He nodded.

<Are you scared?>

'It's too late to get scared now.'

"Hey."

That was the voice of someone from behind, and hearing it, the goalkeeper quickly turned around to see someone walking toward him.

It didn't take him long to realize who it was, though, just like it wouldn't take anyone familiar with Real Sociedad long to recognize Real Sociedad's talisman and captain, Merino Lopez.

With twenty-five goals and sixteen assists across all competitions so far this season, Dave had already marked the attacking midfielder as a primary threat against his goalpost.

The Spanish midfielder wasn't especially tall, and that had its perks for him in a match, as a low center of gravity made it easier for him to find his way around opposing players.

The midfielder got acquainted with Dave during their last face-off, and that was mostly because he was one of the few players in their squad who could properly speak English.

"Oh, it's you, Dave." The midfielder said as soon as he got close enough to see his face.

"It's good to see you too." Dave smiled.

"Mhm." Merino nodded. "Your teammates didn't come with you?"

"No, I snuck out to take a walk."

"We're here for the same reason then."

"Oh, you're also out for a walk?"

"Yes." The midfielder nodded. "Whenever I need to clear my head at night, I come here to take a walk."

"Oh."

"Something on your mind?" Dave asked before continuing his walk with the midfielder sticking close behind.

"Yes, but it's not anything I can't take care of, so don't worry."

"Oh, that's good to know."

"On the other hand, though, we have a game against one of the most in-form teams this season tomorrow." The midfielder remarked.

"Looks like we're in a similar situation." Dave retorted sarcastically.

The two burst into a feat of laughter afterwards but they couldn't hold their laugh for more than thirty seconds.

"I hope you go easy on me tomorrow," Dave uttered playfully.

"We'll see." Merino shrugged. "The last time, I was only able to get an assist; I'll try to go for a goal this time."

"And I was hoping…."

[ Match quest received ]

[ Prevent Merino Lopez from scoring ]

[ Quest rewards ]

[ 1000 exp ]

[ 10 stat points ]

[ 50 skill upgrade points ]

'Why do I feel like someone or something got hurt by those words?'