Past and Present, Present and Future #2
In everyday life, Yohan moved with the unhurried ease of a sloth.
He was so slow that someone had once nicknamed him Turtle — and it stuck. Just a laid-back guy. Almost frustratingly so.
But the Yohan Haley saw today was different.
On the field, he was blisteringly fast and relentlessly aggressive. He kept getting pushed around, yet he never shied away from the rough physical battles — and that alone was something to admire. There was even a raw, almost reckless quality to the way he threw himself into challenges, and from Haley's perspective, it was a side of him she had never quite seen before.
And the highlight was right now.
The moment he scored.
He can make a face like that…?
Pounding his chest, veins standing out in his neck as he roared toward the stands — he looked so completely transformed that it was almost breathtaking.
"Whoa…"
Emma, sitting beside her, let out a genuine gasp of awe. For someone usually so reserved with her emotions, she clapped like a seal for a long time — the scene itself was that much of a picture.
Holy hell…
Anyone who threw themselves into something with passion was cool. But the Yohan on that pitch radiated a raw, macho masculinity that put ordinary cool people to shame.
At least, that was how it felt to Haley.
Watching the replay on the big screen in detail, she swallowed dryly without realizing it. Gritting his teeth as he won the ball, launching that beautiful shot, finding the net… and then that ceremony, thick with belonging and pride — Yohan was going to stay burned into her mind for a very long time.
This is kind of bruising my pride…?
Her face flushed hot. Haley fanned herself with her hand, an inexplicable competitive fire flaring up inside her.
Meanwhile the match resumed, and after another stretch of fierce back-and-forth, time ticked away. Yohan did his job and then some, holding on and holding on through stoppage time until—
Tweet—! Tweeeet—!
The referee's whistle signaled full time. Yohan blew straight past the teammates and cameramen rushing toward him and sprinted for the stands.
"Gio, where— hey! Don't go over there right now! Miguel! Basti! Go get him!"
While everyone scrambled in confusion at his sudden break, Yohan had already vaulted the advertising boards, crossed the running track, and reached the spectator section.
"Well done!"
"I've got my eye on you!"
"Give me your jersey!"
"Can I get an autograph?!"
Weaving through the sea of outstretched hands, Yohan strained to climb higher. But the crowd was packed so tightly it was nearly impossible.
"Just— just a second…! Please let me through…!"
His savior came in the form of a massive Ultras member. The man had crossed over from the Ultras section to congratulate him, then caught Yohan's desperate eyes and the direction they were pointing. He bellowed loud enough to shake the whole area.
"Make a path! Clear the way!! Move!!"
Italian Ultras had a fearsome reputation. Among the supporter groups of the so-called Big Four leagues — England, Germany, Spain, and Italy — they ranked as the most violent by temperament alone, and ordinary fans went out of their way to avoid clashing with them. Roma's Ultras were relatively mild as long as the opponent wasn't Lazio, but they still carried that signature Italian fire. The moment a man in an Ultras cap barked an order, the fans around Yohan parted on their own.
"Sorry… I'm so sorry."
Thanks to that, Yohan made it to his destination with relative ease. Apologizing over and over, soaking up praise and pats on the head and back, he climbed the stairs step by step until he reached a cheap section with a truly terrible view.
Waiting for him there were the four nuns of the Trigoria Convent — and Caroline.
He had spotted them the moment he scored the equalizer and nearly lost it during the celebration, but he had held it in until the final whistle.
They clearly hadn't expected him to notice them; the nuns' eyes went round with surprise. But only for a moment. Yohan swept all four nuns and Caroline into a long-armed embrace, and they gently stroked the back of the boy who was like a son to them, sharing in the joy.
"Thank you… thank you so much."
Yohan, voice thick with emotion, kept repeating his thanks while the nuns held him close. Cameras stationed all around the stadium captured the scene and beamed it onto the central scoreboard — and onto televisions everywhere.
"Congratulations on your debut!"
"Thank y— whoa…!"
In the mixed zone just outside the tunnel, Yohan — selected as Man of the Match and brought in for an interview — broke into a wide, white-toothed grin as Miguel, Richie, and a few other teammates doused him with sports drink and bolted. Then he turned to the young female reporter with an apology.
"Did it get on your clothes? I'm really sorry."
"Not at all! It happens all the time. You're shaking quite a bit, though — are you cold?"
"Uh… no. The tension just came off all at once…"
"Should we wait a moment?"
"No, you can start right away. This is my first interview, but I'll do my best. What's your name?"
Maybe she found that earnest simplicity endearing. The reporter's smile bloomed wide.
"Julia. Julia Marino."
"Nice to meet you. Looking forward to this."
"The pleasure's all mine. You just rewrote history as Roma's youngest-ever debutant, surpassing Amadei — how does that feel?"
"Uh… it's completely different from training or Primavera matches. I was really nervous, but I'm happy we got a good result."
"In your debut you put in a staggering performance — one goal and one assist — and left a deep impression. You're now the youngest scorer on debut after AC Milan's Francesco Grasso. Any thoughts on that?"
One goal, one assist. Just as Julia said, it was an enormous contribution — especially for a fifteen-year-old kid. Grasso still held the youngest-scorer record, but in terms of match influence, Yohan had outdone him. Not merely held his own — played better. Even setting aside the goal that had come with a generous helping of luck.
"I'm happy I scored, but I think luck played a big part… and overall, this was a match where I felt my shortcomings pretty clearly."
"Shortcomings? Could you tell us which ones?"
"When I first came on as a sub, I was so nervous my vision narrowed and I made a lot of mistakes. More than anything, I kept getting overpowered in physical duels. Those are things I need to improve going forward. If I eat a lot and sleep a lot, I'll grow, right?"
Julia burst out laughing. Between the almost anachronistically innocent claim that eating and sleeping more would make him bigger, and the way Yohan had turned the question back on her — the reporter — she couldn't help it.
"I'm not exactly an expert on that side of things, so I couldn't say. Are you hoping to grow quickly?"
"Yes."
"We'll be rooting for that. After the match, you ran into the stands and hugged five people — the nuns and one civilian — and it's already blowing up on social media. What's your relationship with them?"
"They're my mothers. I'm an orphan, and they're the ones who helped me grow into the person who could stand here today. I think of all five of them as my real mothers."
"Five mothers… that's quite a lot, isn't it?"
"Yes. I thought they'd be watching on TV at the convent, but after I scored the first goal and looked up at the stands, there they were. I wanted to run over right then, but it was still mid-match, so I held on as long as I could."
"That's incredibly moving. With this win, Roma moves up to sixth. Two matches remain. Qualifying for the Champions League is mathematically out of reach now, but a Europa League spot is still possible depending on results — do you think you can hold the position?"
"Uh… I haven't really thought that far… Rankings depend on how the other matches finish, and rather than just holding, I think we should aim for fifth — which is the best our club can realistically hope for right now."
Scratching his head as he answered, Yohan still had that endearingly green quality written all over him. A club official quietly asked Julia to wrap the interview there, and she obliged.
"I see. Thank you for the interview. Congratulations again."
"Thank you. Am I free to go?"
"Whenever you're ready."
"Alright, I'll head out then. Oh — are you a Roma fan?"
"I am."
"Forza Roma."
The rallying cry that left Yohan's mouth almost like an ideological litmus test made Julia laugh again before she answered.
"Forza Roma Ale."
Only then did Yohan smile with real satisfaction. He left Julia, exited the mixed zone, and headed into the tunnel — but not before high-fiving every fan who reached out to him, jumping for the ones whose hands he couldn't quite reach, determined to deliver that bit of fan service no matter what.
That attitude ignited a fierce wave of affection among the supporters. Videos and photos of the moment — and of Yohan's entire performance — flooded social media in real time, views and comments exploding. After a single match, there were hardly any Roma fans left who didn't know his name and face.
And the fact that he and Lorenzo had each contributed a goal and an assist hit the fans right in the feelings. At a club that already outstripped every rival when it came to pure romance, people even started captioning photos of the two celebrating together with a single title: Past and Present, Present and Future.
Most little brats these days have zero manners, but Gio's got real character. That said, the way he tackles me in training sometimes makes me wonder if he's trying to kill me.
He's still a raw kid, so I can't say for sure — but once Gio grows a bit more and I go up against him properly, I'll know.
And as a bonus: Miguel's half-joking interview — the one that made no secret of his soft spot for Yohan — got lightly polished with a touch of humor and posted to a Roma fan page, where it set off a wave of delight that brightened the day for countless people.