After Michael Chen returned home, his phone literally did not stop ringing.
Reporters kept calling one after another, all desperate to get the scoop on what had just happened.
Left with absolutely no choice, Michael finally registered a Twitter account and posted an official statement:
Michael Chen @MichaelChen_GK · 1h
Hello, everyone.
I’m Michael Chen, a player for Racing Santander.
🟢⚪
Today, after training, my teammate and I were attacked by three men with knives on our way home.
I only fought back in self-defence.
After the police understood the situation, we were released without any charges.
I hope those three robbers can turn over a new leaf in the future and live properly.
🙏
That painfully polite statement just pushed the whole incident to another level.
His follower count blew past 100,000 in a matter of hours, and around eighty percent of those followers seemed to be hardcore fans of “kung fu.”
The replies poured in like an absolute avalanche.
FightFan99 @MMA_Junkie Replying to @MichaelChen_GK Michael, are you seriously Bruce Lee’s successor?
Two of those guys are literally paralyzed in the hospital right now.
😭💀
Sarah_xo @SarahLovesFootball Replying to @MichaelChen_GK So cool!
You’re amazing.
Please teach me women’s self-defence!
I’ve sent you my number in the DMs.
👀🔥
ThirstyFan @BadBoyLover Replying to @MichaelChen_GK You’re so bad…
I love it!
🥵
His DMs were instantly flooded with unhinged messages and highly questionable pictures from women that definitely needed heavy censoring.
The most ridiculous part?
Michael had already been labeled as a genuine kung fu master by the streets.
His photo had even started circulating as a serious warning among local Spanish gangs!
Right after Oriol got back to his apartment, he immediately called Michael.
“Michael, I’m really sorry for backing down at the start today.
Whenever I ran into robbers before, I always just handed over my cash.
You showed me what true courage is.
Thank you for teaching me kung fu!
I’ll never forget this kindness!”
Michael quickly calmed Oriol down, desperately telling him there was no need to be so dramatic, before finally managing to end the call.
For now, he could only keep fooling the guy with those cheesy school-style morning exercises.
Hopefully, the kid wouldn’t fall too deep down that rabbit hole.
‘Those three bastards made me waste my ability,’ Michael sighed internally.
For tomorrow’s match, he only had his base sixty seconds left.
What absolute trash luck.
Who would have thought that, as a professional footballer, the very first thing Michael would become famous for was putting three thugs in the hospital?
…
The next morning, while Michael was resting with his eyes closed on the team bus, his phone suddenly began buzzing nonstop.
Atlético Madrid B forward Costa had boldly tagged him on Twitter.
Diego Costa Jr @Costa_AtletiB · 20m @MichaelChen_GK Whether you know kung fu or not, today I’m going to smash the ball straight through the net you’re guarding!
⚽💥👊
Michael had absolutely no impression of who this Costa guy even was.
Right then, Levis sent him a private message.
“Michael, some of my teammates are planning to call you out on social media just to leech off your new popularity for attention.
Just read it and ignore them.”
Michael had a solid impression of Levis. This chapter was taken from g.com without permission.
He typed out a quick reply: “No problem.
None of them are scoring today anyway.”
But then he suddenly realized that sounded a bit like he was guaranteeing Levis’s team would lose, so he deleted it and just sent a simple word of thanks instead.
On Twitter, Michael just dropped a brutally dismissive reply to Costa:
Michael Chen @MichaelChen_GK Replying to @Costa_AtletiB Oh?
Is that so?
🥱
Then he casually muted his phone and went back to sleep.
…
On the other side of the city, Costa saw that his aggressive call-out had backfired.
Feeling deeply insulted, he let the frustration boil in his chest, fully preparing to violently blow open the net Michael was guarding later that afternoon!
…
At the pre-match press conference, head coach Raul casually answered the usual basic questions, but the reporters insisted on making things difficult.
A short, weasel-looking man dressed in black stood up.
“Mr.
Raul, does Michael Chen also use kung fu during regular training?
Is his violent nature a physical threat to his own teammates?”
It was Pete, the notorious editor-in-chief of Baka Sports.
The tabloid’s dirty habit of chasing shadows and manufacturing toxic controversy had largely been built by Pete himself.
“Please ask questions actually related to the match,” Raul snapped.
“If there aren’t any, I’m leaving.”
Without waiting for a response, Raul pushed his chair back and stormed out of the room.
Seeing Raul walk out, the other reporters glared furiously at Pete for ruining the session.
Fortunately, once the home coach, Simeone Jr., arrived, the press finally had a fresh target.
Simeone Jr.
was the younger brother of Diego Simeone, the legendary head coach of Atlético Madrid’s senior team.
The two brothers had worked closely together, effectively turning Atlético into an absolute powerhouse capable of challenging for the La Liga title.
After several reporters fired off standard tactical questions, one in particular stood out.
“Coach, after Racing Santander’s last match, someone photographed Michael having dinner with your young defender, Levis.
Was that meeting secretly arranged by your club?”
Simeone Jr.
just replied with a sly smile.
“Michael is an excellent young goalkeeper.
Honestly, there isn’t a single team in the world that wouldn’t want a goalkeeper of that caliber.”
His deliberately vague, teasing answer immediately made every reporter in the room smell Atlético’s genuine interest.
In reality, even Simeone Jr.
himself couldn’t help but think, ‘Levis actually has a good relationship with Michael?
Maybe we can casually tap Michael up through him…’
When Raul caught wind of Simeone Jr.’s ambiguous public flirting, he cursed furiously inside the away dressing room.
“Michael Chen is not for sale!
Nobody is getting their grubby hands on my keeper!”
…
The starting lineups for both sides had already been confirmed.
Racing Santander (4-3-3):
Forwards: Koné, Miguel, Morandi
Midfielders: Granero, Aranzana, Moreno
Defenders: Francis, Fernández, Seth, Oriol
Goalkeeper: Michael Chen
Atlético Madrid B (4-4-2):
Forwards: Costa, Ruli
Midfielders: Pacquiao, Kokosi, Herbert, Abraham
Defenders: Felipe, Rayleigh, Levis, Vincent You are reading on g.com, the official source.
Goalkeeper: Luther
Up in the commentary booth, Jack was breaking down the match for the viewers.
“Welcome, everyone, to today’s broadcast.
In previous meetings between these two sides, Atlético has historically held the upper hand.
Today, once again, we’ll be watching a classic 4-4-2 structure clash against an attacking 4-3-3…”
“Also, regarding Costa’s little social media challenge earlier today….
I am extremely optimistic about Michael Chen’s performance!”
Tweet!
Tweet!
The referee blew his whistle.
The match officially kicked off!
Atlético Madrid B took the kickoff and immediately launched their attack.
Costa tapped the ball back into the midfield, spun around, and sprinted forward.
Atlético’s tactics today were crystal clear: sit deep, absorb the pressure, hit on the counter, and spam direct crosses from the byline.
After receiving the ball, midfielder Pacquiao recycled possession back toward the defense.
Santander didn’t waste a second, instantly initiating a suffocating high press across the pitch.
Their star forward, Morandi, was especially eager.
Watching Miguel bag a brace in the last match had left him absolutely starving for goals, and right from the opening whistle, he aggressively charged down the opposing center-back.
Surprisingly, the high-pressure gamble actually worked.
Atlético full-back Felipe was just about to pass the ball when he saw Morandi rushing him like a mad dog.
He instinctively tried to drag the ball back, but Morandi slid in hard, ruthlessly taking both the man and the ball together.
Tweeeeet.
The referee blew for a foul.
Felipe quickly dusted himself off and took the free-kick.
Up front, Costa had his back firmly planted against defender Fernández.
Reading the flight of the ball, he cleverly let it run past him, quickly spun his marker, and sprinted into the open space.
Arriving just outside the penalty box, Costa found half a yard of separation and ruthlessly unleashed a shot.
Bang!
The ball rocketed off his boot like an absolute missile.
It violently struck the outside of the post and deflected behind for a goal kick.
A cold sweat broke out across Michael’s back.
‘Okay, this kid actually has something,’ Michael thought, exhaling sharply.
Costa just shook his head in frustration.
Just a little unlucky.
“That was an incredibly high-quality strike, only denied by the woodwork,” Jack joked from the broadcast booth.
“I highly suggest the stadium staff check that goal frame for cracks immediately after the match!”
The home side’s attacking efficiency right out of the gate was so intense that the Atlético ultras began making some serious noise.
On the touchline, Simeone Jr.
puffed his chest out, gaining even more confidence.
If his squad kept attacking with this much venom, it was only a matter of time before they scored.
Michael placed the ball and took the goal kick.
In the midfield, Granero fought hard for the aerial ball and successfully nudged it forward into space.
Morandi collected it cleanly and quickly drove ahead.
Squaring up against the defender, Morandi began aggressively swaying his shoulders, preparing to style on him.
But Levis wasn’t having any of it.
The young English defender slid in with a clinical, decisive tackle, effortlessly destroying all of Morandi’s fancy footwork and cleanly stealing the ball.
The home side instantly transitioned, building another counterattack.
In the middle of the pitch, Granero glared at Morandi with obvious frustration.
‘What the hell are you trying to show off for?’ Granero thought.
‘Just lay the damn ball off early and combine with us!’
Seven minutes later, Atlético launched another relentless wave of attack!