THE GREATEST OF ALL TIME
chapter-128

Zachary continued observing the threads and noted that one of them extended into an empty spot behind the Aalesunds defensive line. In nothing but an instant, he matched the thread with the mental map in his head, and everything clicked at that juncture. He managed to deduce that John Chibuike was the player most likely to make a run from the left flank into that position behind the Aalesunds defenders.

Zachary decided to follow the thread and pass towards the position right away since he knew well that John Chibuike, the left-forward who'd come on as a substitute, was on form. The forward had even been instrumental in the build-up of Rosenborg's first goal. There was no reason not to trust him to beat the defenders and connect with his pass.

So, he smiled, flicking the ball further left and shrugging away Fredrick Carlsen, who'd already caught up with him once more. Without any pause, he angled his body sideways and let loose a curling lofted pass towards the other side of the field.

The whole process of Zachary receiving the ball and releasing the pass happened over only a span of a few seconds. The Aalesunds defenders could not react quickly enough to the instant transition from midfield to attack by Rosenborg.

As soon as Zachary unleashed the pass, John Chibuike broke away with ease from the left flank after losing Hugues Wembangomo, the Aalesunds defender marking him. He cut in behind the Aalesunds defensive line from the wing, running his life depended on it.

In no time, he connected with Zachary's pass after beating Aalesunds' center backs by sheer pace. He headed the ball forward, directing it ahead of him—and soon was darting like a bullet train bound for Aalesunds box. The keeper came out of the goal to meet him, but John Chibuike circumvented him with a deft touch and slotted the ball into the empty net.

2:2.

Rosenborg had managed to score another goal in the 70th minute, equalizing the score against Aalesunds Fotballklubb. John Chibuike ran up to Zachary in the middle of the pitch and gave him a bear hug. "Nice pass and vision," he said.

"Thank you, that was some spectacular finishing there," Zachary replied, smiling. He was in a good mood after finally improving his mastery of the Zinedine-Pirlo Mental Juju. He had even used it to make an incredible assist during a game.

John Chibuike smiled and was about to reply but stopped the next instant. The rest of the Rosenborg players had finally caught up to them and started jumping on them to celebrate the goal.

In the meantime, the few Rosenborg fans in the Color Line Stadion started cheering and singing as if they'd already won the match. The visiting team was on fire.

"Okay, guys," Mikael Dorsin, the acting Rosenborg captain for that match, shouted, clapping his hands. "We have a match to win. Let's go back to our positions and do our best. We shall celebrate on the bus back home after the match." He first paused for a second, like he was preparing himself to do something momentous before shouting. "ROSENBORG! VICTORY!"

"ROSENBORG, *clap*clap*, ROSENBORG..."

The rest of the players, including Zachary, shouted in a chorus before returning to their positions on the pitch. They were all eager to restart the match and try their best to win the game.

**** ****

In the visiting team's technical area, Coach Johansen's face was all smiles as he watched the game restart. Rosenborg's comeback seemed so surreal to him.

It had only been a few minutes since he made the two substitutions. But his team had already scored two goals and equalized the score with about 20 minutes left to the final whistle. Moreover, the players that had scored were the ones he'd just introduced into the game. Coach Johansen could feel contentment swelling within him as he followed the proceedings on the pitch.

"I think we can now safely conclude that Zachary is a genius at distributing the ball," Trond Henriksen, the assistant head coach, said, grinning. "I still can't believe he was able to spot the laxity in Aalesunds defense and connect with John to create that goal. He's surely going to be the man of the match if we win this game."

"Well, let's wait until the game ends then," Coach Johansen replied, his gaze still following the goings-on on the pitch. "In the meantime, tell Ole to warm up. We may need to replace Jonas before the game ends. He seems tired already."

"Alright," Coach Henriksen concurred, still grinning. "I will inform him right away."

"Thank you," Coach Johansen said, returning his attention to the pitch. He didn't want to miss any changes in the game situation.

Rosenborg had just regained possession after using high-pressing tactics to force Aalesunds' defenders to play long balls once again. Jonas Svensson, Rosenborg's defensive midfielder, jumped high deep in his own half and headed the ball back—towards Aalesunds side of the pitch.

Zachary reacted immediately and chased after the ball. He used his tall physique to out-jump Fredrik Carlsen, the Aalesunds number-8, and headed the ball onwards to Aalesunds' box.

Tarik Elyounoussi, the Rosenborg center forward for the day, tracked after the ball and managed to control it with his chest in the attacking third, even while under pressure. He brought it to the ground while holding off an Aalesunds center back solely with his incredible physique.

An additional Aalesunds player came to close him down soon after. However, Tarik made the proper decision and passed the ball back to the middle third, where Zachary was waiting. The African boy had just opened himself up to receive the ball from the striker. Coach Johansen nodded in approval due to the boy's magical sense of positioning on the field of play. He could always find gaps between the players while easily losing his markers.

In the middle third, Zachary controlled the ball with a deft first touch, looping the ball over Fredrik Carlsen, the Aalesunds midfielder, in the process. He worked the ball so naturally that Carlsen couldn't have expected the simple loop over his head and ended up disoriented for an instant.

Zachary quickly circumnavigated him while tracking after the ball. He then brought it to the ground with swift, seamless motions. However, before he could move a step further, Fredrik Carlsen managed to retrace his steps and pulled at his shirt. The Aalesunds midfielder gripped Zachary by the shirt, bringing him to the ground like they were in a rugby match rather than a football game. It seemed Zachary's loop over his head had annoyed him quite a bit.