Four matches remained.
One more strong result would almost certainly guarantee survival.
The next match became one of the biggest nights in Miraflores' recent history.
Miraflores vs Atlético Baleares.
The stadium was packed.
Adrian started.
Mateo started.
Raúl started.
Malik stood on the touchline as the supporters sang.
Miraflores played with confidence.
Mateo opened the scoring.
1–0.
Baleares equalized in the second half.
1–1.
The clock reached ninety minutes.
Then came a corner.
The ball swung toward the penalty area.
Raúl rose above everyone.
THUMP.
Header.
2–1.
The stadium exploded.
Raúl sprinted toward the supporters.
Mateo jumped onto his back.
Adrian screamed.
Malik stood frozen on the touchline.
Then his eyes filled with tears.
Elena saw him from the directors' box.
She understood immediately.
He wasn't crying because of the goal.
He was crying because of what the goal meant.
Miraflores had survived.
The final whistle came.
The players rushed toward Malik.
They lifted him into the air.
The supporters sang his name.
"MA-LIK! MA-LIK! MA-LIK!"
For several minutes, he couldn't hear anything except the crowd.
Then Raúl grabbed the microphone.
"This man came here when nobody believed in us!"
The crowd roared.
"He was twenty-two years old!"
Another roar.
"He told us we weren't a bad team!"
Raúl pointed toward Malik.
"He told us we were badly synchronized!"
Malik laughed through his tears.
"And he was right!"
The stadium shook.
Malik eventually took the microphone.
He looked at the supporters.
Then his players.
"When I arrived…"
His voice broke.
He paused.
"When I arrived, everyone told me this club was broken."
The stadium became silent.
"But you weren't broken."
He looked at the squad.
"You were waiting for someone to believe in you."
He swallowed.
"And you gave me something too."
His eyes moved from player to player.
"You gave me a team."
Raúl was the first to hug him.
Then Adrian.
Then Mateo.
Soon the entire squad surrounded their manager.
The supporters continued singing.
For the first time, Malik wasn't thinking about tactics.
He wasn't thinking about formations.
He wasn't thinking about the next opponent.
He was simply standing among people who had become family.
The next morning, the newspapers were everywhere.
FROM RELEGATION TO MIRACLE
WHO IS MALIK AMARI?
THE YOUNGEST MANAGER IN SPAIN'S PROFESSIONAL GAME IS CHANGING EVERYTHING
And one article ended with a question that would soon become impossible to ignore:
How long can Miraflores keep Malik Amari?
Malik hadn't read that article.
But Elena had.
And as she looked at the growing pile of newspapers on her desk, she already knew the answer.
Not everyone was going to let Miraflores keep him.