Talia's POV
"This place looks old." Mal says as we pull up to the Olympiastadion in Berlin, Germany for our Round of 16 Game against Switzerland.
"It was built back in the 1930s to host the olympics." I say as I look at tonight's line-up
1-Audrey Solo
3-Emily Fox
4-Sarah Gorden
12-Tierna Davidson
9-Teagan McGrady
8-Julie Ertz
6-Morgan Brian
16-Rose Lavelle
23-Christen Press
14-Talia Martin(C)
11-Catarina Macario
"Doesn't it have a bad history though?" Sam asks.
"Yep." I say. "I would tell you about all the bad stuff, but we have a game to focus on."
Some of the girls nod then we all relax as we approach the stadium.
Once at Olympiastadion Berlin, the bus parks then everyone gets off and heads to the locker room.
When we get to the locker room everyone puts their stuff down in their respective lockers then we head outside for the pitch inspection.
After we've inspected the pitch, my teammates and I head back to the locker room.
When I get to my locker I take my AirPods out, take out my nose ring, take off my necklaces and my rings, then I put my jewelry and AirPods in my bag.
Once I'm jewelry free I put on my warm up top then I put on my game shorts.
I then sit down in my locker and put on my socks, my shin pads and my red boots.
After my boots are on I head to Christen's locker then sit down on the floor in-between her legs.
"Hey Freckles." Christen says then she starts running her fingers through my hair.
"Hi Chrissy." I say then I face forward and let Christen do her thing.
Christen runs her fingers through my hair for a little bit then she puts my hair into a pony tail just like I like it.
"Thanks." I say then I hug one of Christen's legs.
"No problem." Christen says and kisses my head then I get up, walk out of the locker room, and head onto the field with the outfield players
When I get on the pitch I run through my warm ups with the starters for a while then we head back to the locker room.
Once in the locker room I change out of the training top and change into my white jersey while the coaches do their last minute talks.
When the last minute talks end, we are told to head to the tunnel so I put on the captain's armband then head to the front of the line
Minutes later we are told to head out onto the field for the prematch stuff so I lead my team out onto the field
Once on the field we stand in line for the Swiss anthem then myself, most of the ladies in the starting XI, and most of the ladies on the bench kneel for our anthem.
When our anthem finishes, we stand up then we shake hands with the Switzerland players.
After we shake hands, we take a starting XI picture, I do the coin toss, then we do our huddle before we head onto the field.
"LET'S GO LADIES." Alex shouts from the sideline. "LET'S FUCKING GO."
- - - - -
"T your numbers up." Audrey says so I turn around and see I'm being subbed out for Alex Morgan in the 65th minute.
"Alright." I say then I take the armband off and slip it around Audrey's arm.
After the armband is around my friends arm, I walk across the goal line then I watch Alex run onto the pitch.
Once I'm off the pitch, I take my jersey off, leaving me in just my sports bra, my shorts, and my socks and boots, then I walk around the pitch back to the bench.
When I get back to the bench, Ali hugs me then I get handed some drinks before I sit down.
Once I'm sat down, I sit in silence for a while until I can't take it anymore.
"What the fuck just happened?" I ask to nobody in particular.
"Uh you scored 6 goals in 65 minutes." Sydney says.
"So I didn't just dream that up." I say.
"No you did not." Andi says.
"How?" I mumble. "I mean Switzerland are actually good."
"Some days its your day and some days it's not." Abby says. "And today was not their day."
"I guess so." I mumble then I relax and watch the rest of the game.
20 minutes later the game ends in a 6-0 win so I get off the bench and head out onto the pitch.
Once on the pitch I grab the game ball from the refs then I switch jerseys with Alisha Lehmann before I head over to my teammates.
When I get to my teammates, I hug them then I get handed a jacket by Ali.
"Fox wants you for an interview." Ali says.
"Do I have to?" I ask.
"No." Ali says. "But since you've been summoned for drug testing I assume you're going to want to blast FIFA."
"Fuck's sake." I say then I put on the track suit jacket.
After the jacket is on, I head over to the area I'm being interviewed at then I stand in front of the camera.
A minute later, the interview lady speaks to the camera and introduces me then the interview begins.
"Talia how do you feel after that performance?" The interview lady asks.
"Well I've got FIFA drug testing again after this so I'm a bit pissed." I admit. "I've had it every game for club and country since I won the Ballon d'Or in December and I've tested negative every time so I don't understand why they need to test me every game."
"......Besides that?"
"Besides that I'm happy with the win, the teams performance, and the fact that we're moving on to the quarterfinals to face whomever we'll face." I say.
We play the winner of Brazil v Denmark which is starting in an hour.
I hope we make it back to the hotel in time to see the game.
After my media trained answer, I talk about my goals then I head to the drug testing room and do my drug testing.
When I finish with my testing, I head back to our locker room.
"Fuck FIFA." I say as I hand the Swiss jersey I switched for to the equipment people.
"Oh they're getting ruined on twitter." Sonnett says.
"Good." I say.
"Forget about it Talia." Alyssa says.
"Already have." I say as I pack up my locker. "Now let's get going."
YOU ARE READING
The Climb
FanfictionTalia has a lot of secrets, but her biggest secret she hopes nobody will ever find out. Her secret could put the people she loves most in danger. How will she protect her secret, her friends, her loved ones, and herself?
