“Winner!
A stoppage-time winner!”
“We’re ahead!”
“Ethan!
It was that kid!
I saw it this time!
Another assist from him!”
“My God!
That chipped through ball was a work of art!”
“Are we sure this kid is only sixteen?
That pass was masterclass!”
The Fiorentina fans in the stands had lost their minds.
With the match nearly over and Genoa’s defense packed tight, most of them had been desperate.
Everyone had felt the same sinking dread.
A draw.
That was all today would bring.
Then, in the final minutes, the team had found a stoppage-time winner.
Nothing could top this.
Nothing could make the blood surge harder.
Mario Gomez, the man who scored it, sprinted to the sideline in celebration.
When Ethan ran over to join him, the German international pulled him into a massive hug.
“Ethan!
You’re a genius!”
“That ball was perfect!
I barely had to adjust!”
“Promise me you’ll keep feeding me passes like that.
Hammer them at me all game!”
Last season, after joining Fiorentina from Bayern Munich, Gomez’s first year with the Viola had fallen short of expectations.
Bayern dominated the Bundesliga and competed for Champions League titles.
Their midfield’s power and creativity were on a level Fiorentina couldn’t touch.
As a center forward, Gomez depended heavily on midfield service to get scoring chances.
The massive drop in midfield quality at his new club meant the former Bundesliga Golden Boot winner scored only fourteen goals last season.
Far below what fans and media expected.
It had weighed on him badly.
This season he’d pushed himself to prove his worth.
Extra training.
Sharp focus.
On the pitch he ran constantly, burning energy to create chances wherever he could.
Instead of results, the workload only brought more injuries.
Before today, Gomez had scored just eight goals this season.
Still nowhere near good enough.
The season-ending injury to midfield creator Borja Valero had cast an even darker shadow over his scoring hopes.
But today, Gomez had found his redemption.
And the angel sent to deliver it was Ethan Cross. New chapters come out on g.com first.
Two goals today.
His first brace since joining the Viola.
For a striker with one Bundesliga Golden Boot and two silver boots, that sounded absurd.
A year and a half at the club before his first brace.
Unthinkable.
But it proved the point.
Without a top-level midfield passer, Fiorentina still hadn’t unlocked the full power of their former Bundesliga star.
Now Ethan had delivered two assists.
Two through balls of stunning quality.
For Fiorentina, maybe today marked the start of something new.
A reason to believe in the midfield again.
On the touchline, the Fiorentina bench had already erupted.
Montella was hugging his assistants, pure joy on his face.
“I knew it!
I knew Ethan wouldn’t let us down!”
“He has top-level passing talent.
The kind that changes matches.”
That was what he said now.
Before Ethan’s miracle, Montella had been panicking inside, already rehearsing how he’d explain losing three points at the post-match press conference.
Right now, the most stunned people in the stadium were the Genoa players and their home fans.
“What the hell just happened?
We got beaten in stoppage time?”
“What were the defenders doing?
Nobody reacted to that pass?”
“How is it that Fiorentina’s Chinese kid again?
He came on in the seventieth minute and now he has two assists?”
On the pitch, Genoa’s main striker Alessandro Matri stood frozen.
He’d scored two goals first.
He’d assumed the man of the match award was already his.
Then some unknown substitute came on and handed his own forward a brace in about fifteen minutes.
Genoa manager Gian Piero Gasperini’s face had gone pale.
Beyond the fury of losing the lead, there was pure confusion about Ethan.
He asked his assistant coach twice who Ethan was and where he’d come from.
The answers only made his expression more baffled.
The name meant nothing.
He’d never heard it.
Before the match, he’d studied Fiorentina’s key players.
This name had never even registered.
And now he was learning this was Ethan’s professional debut.
How could a kid with zero professional experience produce two masterclass passes in one match?
What kind of absurd luck had Fiorentina stumbled into, landing a talent like this on loan?
Genoa threw everything forward in the final minutes, desperate to salvage the match.
But Fiorentina had no intention of surrendering the lead they’d just fought for. Enjoying the story? Read on at g.com.
They absorbed the pressure, and the referee blew the final whistle.
Fiorentina had survived the away test and taken all three points.
It was their first win after a long winless run.
Hard-earned.
And a strong start to the second half of the season.
The moment the match ended, every teammate swarmed Ethan.
“Ethan!
Incredible performance!
You’re the reason we won today!”
“Two assists on your professional debut!
A superstar is born!”
As the congratulations poured in, Cuadrado came jogging over with a huge grin, holding a match ball.
“Look!
Ethan!
Look what I got you!”
“A debut like that deserves a match ball as a souvenir!”
Cuadrado had sprinted to the referee the second the match ended and talked his way into getting the ball.
Normally, a player had to score a hat trick before the referee would hand over the match ball as a keepsake.
But Ethan’s two-assist debut had been special enough.
And Cuadrado’s fast-talking charm had done the rest.
The referee made an exception.
Captain Pasqual laughed.
“Cuadrado, your mouth is usually good for nothing.
Turns out today it was good for something.”
Ethan was genuinely happy to get the ball.
“Thanks, brother.
That means a lot.”
Cuadrado grinned and waved it off.
“Don’t mention it.
Small thing.”
“But hey, Ethan, if you really want to thank me, keep feeding me passes in future matches.”
Everyone burst out laughing.
Ethan nodded, still smiling.
Today, the substitute had become Fiorentina’s undisputed savior.
Two assists.
A stoppage-time winner.
Three points.
After the match, he was named man of the match without debate.
And with two assists on his professional debut, Ethan Cross had broken a Fiorentina club record that had stood for nearly a century.
He was now the youngest player in club history, and the first ever, to record two assists in his league debut.
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