CHAPTER 149: MEDIA

Lukas chuckled and gave a light tap to the ball, rolling it back toward Kimmich. "Guess I’ll save the rest for training."

"Good idea," Koch added with a smirk. "Otherwise, they’ll all think you’re trying to take their spots already."

As they joined the rest of the group, the energy felt lighter, buzzing with the kind of excitement that follows something effortlessly cool. Even the coaches smiled as they resumed the drills, but it was clear that Lukas Brandt had just made another quiet statement: he belonged here.

A sharp whistle cut through the light chatter on the training pitch. Julian Nagelsmann strode onto the grass, clipboard under his arm, with the rest of the staff following behind him.

"Alright, everyone," he called out. "Pair up; we’re doing 1v1s and then finishing drills. Defenders, rotate every few minutes. Attackers, be sharp."

The players spread out, murmuring and stretching. Lukas found himself paired with Schlotterbeck, who flashed him a crooked grin. "Guess it’s time to jog your memory, eh?" he said, referencing their earlier joke in the hallway.

"Let’s see if you can catch me first," Lukas replied, smiling as he placed the ball at his feet.

At the whistle, Lukas feinted right and then dragged the ball left using the sole of his boot. Schlotterbeck lunged, but Lukas was already past him. A burst of speed carried him into the box. The grass flicked water into the air with every step as he shifted his weight and sent Ortega diving the wrong way before calmly slotting the ball into the far corner.

"Too easy!" Adeyemi shouted from the sideline, clutching his ribs from laughing. "Bro, did you even try to defend that?" Sané yelled at Schlotterbeck, doubled over.

Lukas jogged backward, grinning, before pointing at the DFB camera crew nearby. "You got that, yeah?" he asked, half-laughing. The cameraman gave him a thumbs-up, still filming.

Schlotterbeck shook his head, smiling despite himself. "You’re lucky this isn’t matchday."

"Maybe," Lukas said, bouncing the ball back to him, "but that looked like matchday form to me."

After another round of 1v1s and finishing drills, Nagelsmann blew his whistle again. "Alright, that’s enough for this block. Great work, everyone," he said as he turned to Lukas, who was sitting on the ground. "Brandt, Andrich, Leweling — head to the media room. You’ve got interviews."

The players grabbed water bottles and made their way off the field. Lukas pulled his jacket over his training top and followed the staff through a corridor lined with framed photos of German legends.

The media room was brightly lit, a small space with DFB banners along the walls and several cameras already set up. A few journalists and crew members arranged microphones and checked lighting.

When Lukas sat down, one of the staff clipped a mic to his collar. Across from him sat a woman in her thirties with a warm smile and a stack of cue cards in her hand.

"Lukas, thank you for joining us," she began as the camera light blinked red. "First off, congratulations — youngest player ever called up to the German national team, youngest Bundesliga goalscorer, and the Player of the Month for January. That’s quite the résumé for someone who just turned sixteen."

"Thank you," Lukas said politely, his hands folded in his lap.

She leaned forward slightly. "You’ve taken the football world by storm in such a short span. Fans are curious: how does it all feel? The rise, the attention, the expectations?"

He gave a small, thoughtful smile. "It’s surreal, honestly. I’m grateful. But I try to stay focused on improving every day."

She nodded, then looked at her next card. "Many are also wondering about your journey — how a player this talented seemed to appear out of nowhere. You never represented Germany at the youth level, and suddenly, you’re in the senior squad. Tell us..."

She paused, letting the question hang as the camera zoomed in slightly.

"...how did that happen?"

Lukas looked at the camera before turning to the woman interviewing him. "As you know, I came through the Eintracht Frankfurt academy in Riederwald. That’s public knowledge. But what is less known is that I spent almost a decade at the SV Darmstadt academy. I joined the academy right after we won the World Cup in 2014 and was there until I was ultimately released around June last year."

"Really?"

"Yeah. I played as a full back for most of my time with the Darmstadt academy."

The woman and the others in the media room looked surprised. Although they tried to keep their voices low not to disturb the recording, murmurs spread.

"He was dropped from an academy around June last year?"

"Less than a year later, he’s called up to the national team?"

"Imagine how the management at Darmstadt would feel?"

Lukas didn’t listen to the whispers as he continued telling his story to the surprised interviewer.

He kept it simple. He explained how he was never good enough to catch the DFB’s attention while at the Darmstadt academy, so it was no surprise that he wasn’t called to represent Germany at any youth level.

Of course, he did not mention TT or the LTC or his rebirth. He might be locked up in an insane asylum if he did. He just explained how everything clicked when he joined the Riederwald academy and his position was moved up the pitch.

"It’s not been easy so far, but it’s been worth it, and I hope to keep pushing for more in the future."

"Thanks for sharing your story with us, Lukas. I’m sure this will inspire many kids with dreams like yours. Congratulations on your call-up, and good luck on your debut in Italy."

"Well, thank you. I don’t know if I’ll get any playing time, though; that’s up to the coach."

They both stood and shook hands once more.

"Don’t worry, I’ll edit out that last part if you don’t make your debut in the first leg. The interview will be released after that match," she said to encourage Lukas.

"Well, I guess I’ll have to do my best not to make your work too difficult then," Lukas replied with a smile.

"That would be much appreciated," she said as they both laughed before Lukas stepped out of the media room.

"This is the kind of backstory that makes for the perfect superstar, isn’t it?" a man asked as he approached the woman, who was still looking through the door Lukas had just left.

"Tell me about it. From academy dropout to national team debut in less than a year? They don’t write stories like this anymore."

"Well, we should hope he replicates his club form for the national team. If he does, this could be huge," the man said.

"Oh, don’t worry about that. He definitely will," the woman replied, smiling. "You can see it in his eyes."