Young Pele: Soccer's First Star

Callum Harris is famous on and off the pitch. His club stays near the top of the table season after season. He’s wealthy beyond a normal person’s wildest dreams. He’s got a beautiful house in Alexandria that’s a short drive to the training centre his football club owns. He’s the apple of his family’s eye, with an older sister who dotes on him and a baby brother who looks up to him. He’s even got a best mate, Isaac Martin, that he spends all of his very limited free time with. The only problem is that he’s keeping a massive secret from his club, his friends, his family, and even Isaac. Especially Isaac. Callum is in love with Isaac. He plays in the Premier League, though, so he has to keep it a secret. There’s no such thing as an openly gay player at their level. It’s got to stay secret if he wants to keep playing the sport he loves. It’s got to stay secret if he wants to keep playing for one of the best clubs in the league. It’s got to stay secret if he wants to keep his family’s approval. It’s got to stay secret if he wants to keep his best mate…

What would you be able to do for love? Do you think that what destiny unites, neither time nor distance can separate it? An ordinary morning for Samantha suddenly becomes a roller coaster of emotions. That mysterious stranger she bump into at the airport turns out to be nothing more and nothing less than a soccer star, a world champion... a rising star. The crush will be immediate for both of them, but neither will have it easy when it comes to love. Being Asperger has made things a bit difficult for Dominik Weigand, when it comes to bonding emotionally with someone. He has focused his entire life on football and only dreams of winning the FIFA World Cup, but his world will be turned upside down when Samanta Andrade crosses his path and helps him discover a feeling he has never experienced. For her part, Samanta only dreams of studying archeology at a prestigious university, so when the opportunity presents itself, she doesn't think twice. However, things will get a bit complicated for her when she discovers that she is in love with someone who belongs to a world very different from her own. If you like stories with a lot of drama, of emotions on the surface, of intrigues, reconciliations and love that breaks barriers, this is your story.

I go into business with my childhood friend, Ian Ziegler. The business is a success, earning 1.2 million dollars in profit. Ian gives me my share—a whopping 5,000 dollars. Noticing my dissatisfaction, Ian puts his arm around my girlfriend, Nina Foster, and tosses the keys to his Bentley onto the table. "What, is five grand too little for you? Fine. Since you're so broke, I'll give you a chance to turn things around for yourself. There's going to be a soccer game tonight. We're both going to place our bets. If you win, you can get all 1.2 million, plus my car. "But if you lose, your girlfriend's mine. You'll also have to get on your knees and lick my shoes right here in front of everyone." Everyone else in the room cackles gleefully, eager to watch me humiliate myself. Smirking, I nod. "Sure. I'll take that bet." These people have no idea that five years ago, I'd single-handedly taken down the Northwest Aravian illegal soccer betting circuit. I'd set a trap for a match-fixing syndicate, beating the crooks at their own game. I'd walked away from that life after that. But now, Ian has seriously decided to challenge me to a soccer bet?

Goal is the festival of football, the striker creates happiness, the goalkeeper is the defeatist, the game breaker. Eduardo Galeano It was a few seconds before Heldar Xerxes died. All he had in mind was football ... He was born with football, lived with football, and died with football. However, when he opened his eyes again, he encountered something unexpected ...

The night before the World Cup, Reid Callister made a post on social media. In the photo, he wore a Portugal jersey and was smiling at the woman beside him. He had written something sweet: [Officially done with Argentina. It's all Ronaldo from here.] Our mutual friends all went quiet. Everyone knew that the night Argentina won the championship four years ago, he had cried in my arms until dawn. That was also the night he slipped a ring onto my finger. He said, "Messi got his fairy tale. Let's go get ours." Someone in the comments section asked what happened to his Messi obsession. He replied, "I was young and stupid back then. Now, I know who's worth rooting for." I stared at the post for a long time. I did not comment. I just set down the divorce papers on the coffee table. Before I left for my flight, I tucked the ring into the pocket of his blue-and-white jersey. This time, I would not be watching the game with him.

Being the best is a requirement for me. When it comes to this, I am the best. Unlike others, I can move quickly. As for me, I'm quite robust. I have a high IQ. Many professional teams are interested in signing me because I am the starting goalkeeper for my high school's soccer squad. My teammates will follow my every order as long as I am captain. Girls urge me to add them to my list of s*x partners. To avoid my father's anger, I just need to make it to the professional league and play for the best team in the world. I am Williams Phanuel, and I have made sure that everything in existence is centered on me. I've got my eye on the new girl in class; it'll only be a matter of time until she succumbs to my charms. This one is more obstinate than others; she won't even give me her name. She has a sharp mind, too. Perhaps too witty for his own good. I simply cannot admit her. No one will get past me. Despite my lack of concern, I must admit that she is distracting me from my objective. Your father will not approve of that. Do I need to reiterate how much I adore the works of William Shakespeare? I'm aware of that. To put it simply, I am a paradox in human form. There are "some born great," "some who make great," and "those who have greatness thrust upon them," as Shakespeare put it. I managed to acquire all three! No one can ever hope to measure up to that.