"We did it, boss. We bloody did it!"
Chapman's voice echoed across the empty Apperley Bridge training ground, his words hanging like visible breath in the crisp morning air. Jake turned from his solitary spot by the center circle, where he had been watching the groundskeeper prepare the pitches that would soon host Championship winners.
It had been twenty-four hours since Obi's header propelled Bradford City to their first European final. Twenty-four hours since the impossible became inevitable. The euphoria still warmed Jake's chest, but his mind was already racing ahead to what lay next.
"Hard to believe, isn't it?" Jake replied as he walked toward his captain. Chapman looked different somehow—older. The weight of leadership had transformed him over three seasons, turning a promising midfielder into something more substantial.
