Munich, Germany.
Of all the things he did not like doing, getting out of bed was one of them. But he had to, the alarm clock was so exasperating. We Are The Champions was the one song he hated most in the whole world. That morning, like every other, he regretted choosing that Queen song. If there is a way to hate a song, that is to use it as an alarm clock ringer to wake up to. But it was not all bad, at least, if he woke up feeling low or blue, Freddy Mercury's voice would remind him he was a champion.
Dominik Weigand at age 24, was the most coveted player this season. Sports critics dubbed him “The Bullet”, because he was unstoppable when it came to scoring goals.
Although he was a celebrity, Dominik never acted as such. He would reject invitations to crazy wild parties all the time. He was raised differently from the rest of his team mates. From a very young age, his father taught him the value of Discipline. Since he was 5, soccer became his obsession. He would practice 6 hours a day, which earned him an enviable physical condition. Also, the walls of his room were covered in posters of every great soccer player in history and he owned a huge collection of the Germany national football team merchandise.
That day was just like every other day for the past three months. The world cup was just around the corner, thus, increasing his training schedule from 6 to 8 hours a day. Coach said he needed to relax a little, but Dominik was not the type to relax. Winning the World Cup with the Germany national team would consecrate him as one of the best footballers of all time. He would be shoulder to shoulder with all those great men such as Franz Beckenbauer, Jürgen Klinsman and Gerd Müller, whom he looked up to since he was a child dreaming of becoming a national team footballer.
With six club titles under his belt from the FC BAYERN MÜNICH, highlighting his two consecutive Champion League titles and a UEFA Euro the same year, he became the youngest player to ever accomplish such feats, all he was missing was getting to lift the World Cup. That would definitely be the cherry on top. He would retire a legend in some 10 years, the youngest player to ever manage the trifecta. That was all he wanted.
Getting out of bed was a prowess to Dominik, but he always came through. As soon as he set foot on the ground, it was like something was triggered inside of him. As if Weigand was a robot, for he often reacted as a machine, mechanical, methodical. It was no secret that Dominik had Asperger's, but he did not enjoy having that term being used on him. To everybody, it was Aspie.
He was diagnosed at age 6. The doctors remarked how special his case was. Usually, patients with Asperger's Syndrome showed no interest in sports or any kind of group activities, but, even at that, Dominik was exceptional, going against the odds. Fortunately, his parents reacted very well to this diagnosis and they always tried channeling the boy's special abilities and talents in the best way possible, although they sometimes made the mistake of pampering him a little too much. Dominik never knew rejection, being the way he is, but the exact opposite, he took pride in being different, sometimes, he would even be manipulative, even if unconsciously.
To Dominik it was pitiful how some people would use their condition as a trend and not what it really was, a lifestyle. Hearing them say they had Asperger's only because they were petty, arrogant or had a bad attitude. They would use the word “disorder” as if it were equal to “genius.” Undoubtedly, Dominik took for granted that, those with such "disorder" thought of themselves as a Limited Edition Weizenbock who were actually, nothing but an ordinary Heineken.
He finally got dressed and took his iPod. He looked in the mirror right before he left his room. The outfit Adidas sent him to try out was amazing, all in black with neon blue stripes. He thanked once again for the man who invented Supplex, it was great for working out.
The sound of whistling in his ear buds marked the start of his daily routine. A jogging session while listening to Engel by Rammstein, a particular habit of him since he hated almost any kind of loud noise, but his favorite music was all he could tolerate.
He was running high speed as a few drops of sweat slipped down his forehead and arms. As the endorphins and the serotonin increased in his bloodstream, so did his desire to keep going and going. He loved the wind in his face and his heart beating hard as it could.
Almost two hours went by until he decided to go back.
When he came home, he noticed a black car parking by his driveway. He immediately noticed it was his friend Friedrich coming up to greet him.
“I hope you're all packed already” the visitor said.
“Almost” was Dominik sole answer.
“Almost?” the man looked at him with his brow arched high. “The plane takes off at 4 o'clock. For crying out loud, please be ready on time.”
“I'm always ready on time.”
“Don't you dare! I've had to call Ewald the past 5 times to have him wait for us.”
“They would never leave me” said Dominik, opening his front door.
Ewald Metzler was the Germany national football team's coach, apart from being one of the few people in the world who could manage to tolerate Dominik, it was really common for Dom, as some of his team mates called him, to "act up" but it was really not his fault, his condition made him very vulnerable to noise, sudden weather conditions or physical contact with his peers, so, nobody could really expect him to adapt to things. Most frequently, things would adapt to him.
*****
It is 20 minutes to four and Dominik is still in his room. Looking out the window, although he seemed alienated by the view, in his head, he was only reviewing all the strategies coach came up with for him. He was not fully convinced and would tell Ewald as soon as he saw him…
“Ready?” Friedrich looked in from outside the door.
“I'm not for getting the ball from Delch. I want to go get it myself” Dominik replied.
“What the hell are you talking about?”
“I think it's best if Brauer was the retriever, we get along better.”
Friedrich rose an eyebrow when he understood what Dominik was saying. Once again, as usual, he was underestimating Ewald's work. He always did, he always had something to say when the coach gave him directions.
“You can tell Ewald when you see him. We gotta move, it's late”.
They both took their bags wasting no time and headed for the airport.
None of them spoke a word on the way. Dominik was lost in his own thoughts. He was focused on his next objective. The World Cup to be disputed in a month time The United States would be the location and he could not take his mind off it: «That cup will be mine». Friedrich knew him well, he knew Dominik gets grumpy when people interrupt his train of thought.
As expected, they were greeted by long faces when they walked in the private jet destined for the national football team. And, also as expected, Dominik did not care one bit. Thirty minutes were not the end of the world.
He left his bag on one of the seats, wove his hand in the air, greeting the team and went on to sit next to Ewald, his place in every flight for the past 2 years.
“Late. As usual” said the man. He was about 50 years old.
“I think we should restructure Delch's play and have Brauer assist me instead” said Dominik flat out.
Ewald looked at him in utter confusion.
“What are you talking about?” He asked giving Friedrich a quick glance.
“He's been thinking about it all day” answered the publicist.
“We can talk when we get there. For now, just relax, you'll need all your energy” said Metzler in his typical fatherly tone.
Unlike himself, Dominik obeyed. He laid back and made himself comfortable for the long trip they had ahead of them.
Since Dominik's father passed, 18 months back, Ewald took on that role. Although Dominik could be truly impossible, he was a great human being, needless to mention his dedication to his career and the teams we was in.