Bayern now controlled the tempo.
Ajax, frustrated and desperate, pushed even higher up the field —leaving dangerous gaps begging to be exploited.
Mateo, feeling the pulse of the game, knew it.
This was his chance.
In the 78th minute, Bayern won the ball back deep in defense.
Quick passes snapped across the field —left, right, center —the ball flowing like water.
And then, it came to Mateo.
The moment the ball touched his foot, the entire rhythm of the game shifted.
The stadium seemed to inhale at once.
One Ajax midfielder charged straight at him.
Without hesitation, Mateo pulled off a flawless body feint —so subtle, so clean —that the opponent stumbled past him.
The next defender came faster.
Mateo flicked the ball ahead with the outside of his boot, tapping it around the pressure, and sprinted forward.
The crowd's roar built louder and louder as he flew up the field.
Only Noah de Witte remained —Ajax's strongest center-back.
But Mateo didn't slow down.
He approached with pure audacity —a stutter-step to the left, a sharp cut to the right, and suddenly Noah was off-balance, lunging hopelessly into empty air.
Mateo raced past him, straight toward the goal.
The Ajax keeper rushed out —a desperate final wall.
Mateo barely slowed.
With the lightest touch, he chipped the ball.
It soared perfectly over the sliding goalkeeper, hanging for a heartbeat in the golden afternoon sky, before dropping softly into the back of the net.
GOAL!
The stadium erupted.
Bayern's bench exploded — players leaping from their seats, shouting, fists in the air.
The small pocket of traveling Bayern fans screamed themselves hoarse.
Even neutral fans gasped —for a moment of pure magic could silence all colors.
Mateo stood there, arms wide, the sunlight pouring over him.
He wasn't just another player anymore.
In this instant, he was the game.
The dream.The moment.
[System Notification:]
Legendary Play Registered!
Stat Boost: Agility +1 | Technique +1
Audience Reputation Greatly Increased!
Coach Dietrich gestured to the sideline.
Substitution.
Mateo jogged toward the bench, lungs burning, adrenaline flooding every vein.
As he walked off, the entire stadium rose to their feet.
Applause, cheers, and even Ajax fans clapping respectfully filled the air.
"¡González!¡González!¡González!"
His name echoed across the stands like a chant of destiny.
Mateo touched his heart, overwhelmed, and waved gratefully to the crowd.
His teammates slapped his back, some grinning wide, others still shaking their heads in amazement at what they had just seen.
Coach Dietrich waited at the touchline.
When Mateo reached him, the coach didn't say much — just clapped him once firmly on the shoulder.
"Remember this," he said.
"Because it's just the beginning."
From the bench, Mateo watched the final minutes.
Bayern, fueled by momentum and confidence, held Ajax off with disciplined defending.
They controlled the ball, slowed the tempo, and suffocated Ajax's desperate attempts.
The referee finally blew the whistle.
Full Time.
Bayern Munich U17 — 3Ajax Amsterdam U17 — 0
The players embraced, cheered, and saluted the traveling fans.
On the field, Ajax players slumped down, exhausted and defeated.
They had been good.
But today —Bayern had been better.
Today, Mateo had been unstoppable.
Far away, in Munich, Helena cried tears of joy in front of the television, her hands clasped tightly.
"You did it, Mateo," she whispered.
"You really did it."
And in her room, Klara pressed a hand over her heart, eyes shining.
"You're going to be a legend one day," she whispered.
"I can feel it."
As Mateo walked off the field with his teammates, the sunset painting the sky in brilliant oranges and reds, he felt something deep inside:
A certainty.
A hunger.
A promise to himself.
"This is only the first step," he thought.
"But one day...The whole world will know my name."