The Seoul World Cup Stadium was packed. Sixty thousand people were screaming. Half of them were wearing the purple Barnsley shirt.

Michael Sterling stood in the tunnel. He wiped sweat from his forehead.

"This is crazy Boss," Arthur Milton shouted over the noise. Arthur was wearing a bright red fan hat that looked like a spicy pepper. "They love us. I signed a baby five minutes ago. I signed a baby!"

"Focus Arthur," Michael said. "We are here to work."

On the other side of the tunnel stood the opposition.

Atletico Madrid.

Their manager Diego Simeone was pacing back and forth. He was wearing an all black suit despite the heat. He looked like a hitman attending a wedding.

Diego Nunez walked past Simeone. The Barnsley Bull stopped. He looked at the Atletico manager.

"You have good energy," Diego Nunez grunted. "You look dangerous."

Simeone looked at the giant bald defender. He nodded slowly. Game recognizes game.

THE FIRST HALF: THE IRON WALL

In the locker room Michael had explained the plan.

"Today is an experiment," Michael told them. "We are going to play two different games. For the first forty five minutes we are the Iron Wall. We defend. We frustrate. We test the new goalkeeper."

He looked at Jan Visser. The giant Dutchman was trying to tie his shoelaces but his legs were so long it looked difficult.

"Jan," Michael said. "Do not try to pass. Just stop the ball."

"I stop ball," Jan said simply. "Ball is enemy."

The whistle blew.

KICKOFF

Atletico Madrid started fast. They had Griezmann. They had De Paul. They were technical and aggressive.

Barnsley sat deep. They parked the bus. But it was an expensive bus.

Minute 10.

Griezmann danced past Tom. He curled a shot towards the top corner.

It looked like a certain goal.

But Jan Visser was there.

He did not dive gracefully. He just stepped to the side and raised one arm. He looked like a man reaching for a book on a high shelf.

THUD.

He caught the ball. One handed.

The crowd gasped.

"He makes it look so boring!" Arthur screamed from the bench. "It was a rocket and he caught it like a balloon!"

Minute 25.

Atletico were getting annoyed. They tried to play through the middle.

But the middle was occupied by Enzo Silva.

The Pitbull was having the time of his life. He was chasing Rodrigo De Paul everywhere. When De Paul went to get water Enzo followed him.

"Why are you following me?" De Paul asked in Spanish.

"I like your shoes," Enzo grinned. Then he tackled him.

The referee blew the whistle.

"Foul!" the referee shouted.

"No foul!" Diego Nunez roared running over. "He just hugged him with his feet!"

It was ugly football. It was gritty. It was defensive.

But it was working.

By the 40th minute Atletico Madrid had zero shots on target except for the one Jan caught.

Michael stood on the sideline marking his notebook.

DEFENSIVE SHAPE: SOLID.

ENZO SILVA: ANNOYING (EXCELLENT).

JAN VISSER: THE WALL.

The whistle blew for halftime.

0 to 0.

It was a boring scoreline but Michael was smiling.

THE LOCKER ROOM

The players came in sweating and panting.

"They are strong," Enzo Silva said drinking water. "But they cry a lot. I touched his ankle and he fell over."

"Good work," Michael said. "Now we change."

He wiped the tactical board clean.

"First half we were the Shield. Second half we are the Sword."

He looked at the bench players.

"Kai. Isaiah. Erik. Jamie."

Jamie Vardy was doing stretches in the corner. He had a can of Red Bull in his hand.

"Is it time Boss?" Jamie asked. "My legs are twitching. The caffeine is kicking in."

"It is time," Michael said. "We switch to the High Press. Total Chaos. We do not let them breathe. We run until we vomit."

"I like vomiting," Diego Nunez said. "It shows passion."

"Please do not vomit on the pitch Diego," Michael sighed. "Okay. Go out there. Shock them."

THE SECOND HALF: TOTAL CHAOS

The Atletico Madrid players walked out looking relaxed. They thought the second half would be the same. Slow. Defensive. Boring.

They were wrong.

The whistle blew.

KICKOFF

Jamie Vardy sprinted.

He ran straight at the Atletico goalkeeper Oblak. He was screaming like a banshee.

Oblak panicked. He kicked the ball hurriedly.

It landed at the feet of Kai Sora.

The Architect was fresh. He had his sunglasses on. He controlled the ball with his chest.

"Go!" Michael shouted.

Barnsley swarmed forward.

Erik Olsen the Viking ran down the left. Isaiah King ran down the right.

Kai played a pass. It was a laser beam.

It found Isaiah King.

Isaiah did a step over. He cut inside.

The crowd roared. They knew this move. They had seen it on YouTube.

Isaiah shot.

Oblak saved it.

But the tempo had changed. Barnsley were electric.

Minute 60.

Atletico were confused. In the first half Barnsley sat back. Now they were everywhere.

Jamie Vardy was a nuisance. He pulled shirts. He whispered jokes to the defenders.

"Your shoelace is untied," Jamie said to Gimenez.

Gimenez looked down.

Jamie ran past him.

"Hey!" Gimenez shouted. "Liar!"

Jamie received the ball from Enzo Silva. He was at a tight angle.

He did not shoot. He saw Erik Olsen arriving at the back post.

Jamie crossed.

Erik jumped. The Norwegian Viking rose high.

He headed it.

BOOM.

The ball hit the crossbar and bounced out.

"So close!" Arthur yelled jumping up and spilling his popcorn.

Minute 75.

The heat was taking its toll. The Spanish players were tired. But the Barnsley players were running on adrenaline and Vardy energy.

Michael looked at the System.

[TACTICAL SHIFT: SUCCESSFUL]

[OPPONENT CONFUSION: HIGH]

[MOMENTUM: MAXIMUM]

It was time for the kill.

Kai Sora had the ball in the center circle. He looked calm in the chaos.

He saw Diego Nunez making a run.

Wait. Why was Diego Nunez making a run? He was a center back.

"Diego!" Michael shouted. "Get back!"

But Diego did not hear. The Bull smelled blood.

Kai sighed and passed the ball to the giant bald man.

Diego controlled it. He was thirty yards out.

Simeone screamed at his defense. "Stop him!"

Three Atletico defenders converged on Diego.

Diego did not dribble. He did not pass.

He just kept running.

He ran through them. Literally. He was a bowling ball and they were pins.

He stumbled into the box. The ball bobbled.

Jamie Vardy was there. The Rat and the Bull.

"Leave it big man!" Jamie shouted.

Diego stepped over the ball.

Jamie hit it first time.

It was a scuffed shot. It bounced. It hit the ground. It was ugly.

But it rolled into the corner of the net.

GOAL.

1 to 0.

The stadium exploded.

Jamie Vardy ran to the corner flag. He punched the corner flag. The corner flag broke.

Diego Nunez arrived and lifted Jamie onto his shoulders.

"WE ARE THE CHAOS!" Diego roared.

FULL TIME

The final whistle blew.

Barnsley 1. Atletico Madrid 0.

It was a friendly match. It meant nothing in the record books. But it meant everything to the team.

They had proven they could defend. And they had proven they could attack.

Diego Simeone walked over to Michael. He shook his hand firmly.

"Your team is crazy," Simeone said in broken English. "The bald man. He is an animal. I like him."

"He likes you too," Michael smiled. "He respects the suit."

The players were celebrating on the pitch. They were doing a lap of honor waving to the Korean fans.

Isaiah King was taking selfies with everyone. He even took a selfie with the broken corner flag.

Arthur Milton walked onto the pitch. He was holding a tray of food.

"Korean BBQ Boss!" Arthur shouted. "We celebrate!"

Michael took a dumpling. It was delicious.

He looked at his squad.

Jan Visser was high fiving fans with his giant hands.

Enzo Silva was showing his shin pads to a camera.

Kai Sora was signing a pair of sunglasses.

And Jamie Vardy was fixing the corner flag with duct tape.

"We have a team Arthur," Michael said. "A real team."

"We have a circus," Arthur corrected stuffing his face. "But it is a winning circus."

Michael looked up at the giant screen.

BARNSLEY 1 - 0 ATLETICO MADRID

The first test was passed.

The Seoul Super Cup continued. Next up was PSG. Kylian Mbappe (or whoever had replaced him).

But Michael was not worried.

He had a Wall. He had a Pitbull. He had a Rat.

And he had a Dynasty that was just learning how to bite.

"Let us go get some Kimchi," Michael said putting his arm around Arthur. "I am hungry for more."

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