THE GREATEST OF ALL TIME
chapter-221

"ROSENBORG! *Clap*Clap* ROSENBORG! *Clap*Clap..."

Zachary could feel his heart beating hard with excitement as he soaked in the cheers of the Rosenborg fans. He'd already taken his spot in the attacking midfield position and was only waiting for the referee to blow the whistle to signal the kick-off.

"Zachary," he heard Coach Johansen yelling at the top of his lungs from the sidelines. "Don't let that Stefan Johansen become comfortable in the midfield. Try to check him once in a while so that you can throw him off his game."

Zachary gave the coach a thumbs and nodded his head to indicate he'd received the message. He cast a glance across the pitch — towards the other half and noticed the player in question.

Stefan Johansen, the defensive midfielder who'd beaten him to acquire the May player of the month accolade, also seemed to be observing him at that moment. So, their gazes collided for a moment, and Zachary felt an intense urge to battle from him.

But Zachary just smiled before looking away —towards the referee who was preparing to blow the whistle.

He wasn't scared in the slightest by Stefan Johansen's intimidating gaze since he'd grown more confident in his skills over the preceding month. He was no longer intimidated by the players in the Tippeligaen since he knew they would find it hard to keep up with him throughout the 90 minutes of the game. That was even more so after his endurance and stamina attributes had broken through to the S-grading.

*FWEEEEEEE*

The referee finally blew the whistle at exactly 6:00 PM to signal for the start of the battle between the first and second of the Tippeligaen table.

At that moment, the cheers across Lerkendal rose up a notch to hit a crescendo as Nicki Nielsen kicked the ball back into midfield—towards Zachary.

Zachary sprung into action right away and sprinted forward to meet it before it could reach him. He controlled it mid-sprint and continued his dash towards the other half before the Strømsgodset players could close him down.

A moment later, his heart was already beating with anticipation as he looked up across the field to find a suitable passing option. To his surprise, he noticed that the Strømsgodset players had not yet reached peak concentration. They weren't even trying their best to check the Rosenborg attacking players who were already making runs deep inside their half.

Zachary, of course, wouldn't let such an opportunity to exploit an apparent weakness go to waste. So, without any dilly-dallying, he kicked the ball hard and let loose a raking pass towards the right-wing.

By relying on the Zinedine-Pirlo Mental Juju, coupled with his high-level passing skills, he managed to deliver a teasing pass behind the yet-to-shape-up Strømsgodset midfield.

Tobias Mikkelsen, Rosenborg's right-winger, managed to connect with Zachary's sweet pass just a meter away from the touchline. He fed the ball past Lars Christopher Vilsvik, the Strømsgodset left-back and then beat him for pace.

Tobias raced very fast along the touchline on the right flank and soon began cutting into the pitch. He was on a straight course towards Strømsgodset's goal.

However, the Strømsgodset defenders responded quickly and blocked his sprinting path before he could make it close to their box. They'd managed to react with swiftness befitting the professional players that they were and arrayed themselves into proper defensive shape to counteract the threat from the right-wing.

"Tobias, I'm open here," Zachary yelled at the top of his voice as soon as he noticed that the Rosenborg right-winger was in sort of a bind. He'd also long started making a run into Strømsgodset's half and had even already positioned himself to receive a return pass from Tobias.

On hearing Zachary's yell, Tobias immediately flicked the ball to his right — out of the reach of the outstretched foot of one of Strømsgodset's defenders. Without losing a moment, he looked up and passed the ball back into the middle — towards Zachary's position.

Zachary once again met the ball in motion. He controlled it with a deft first touch, skipping past Stefan Johansen, the Strømsgodset defensive midfielder, in the process. Without delay, he flicked it further forward and unleashed another raking pass to the left wing.

With that teasing pass over the zone of intense rival pressure, he'd switched play within a couple of seconds and managed to catch the Strømsgodset defenders unawares.

He'd already noticed that their defensive line was still in an awkward shape that was skewed to the right. That was because they'd been concentrating their efforts there only a moment prior. So, there were plenty of gaps to exploit on the left flank where Tarik Elyounoussi was lurking.

Tarik Elyounoussi, Rosenborg's left-winger, latched on to Zachary's pin-point pass while under no pressure. He immediately set off on a wavy run towards Strømsgodset box, flowing like the wind.

Before the Strømsgodset defenders could shape up, he unleashed a lofted pass across the mouth of the goal — seemingly intent on finding Nicki Nielsen, Rosenborg's central striker.

However, Adam Kwarasey, the Strømsgodset goalkeeper, managed to get to the ball before Nicki could connect with it. He punched it with an outstretched fist, directing it away from the striker's reach — to the outside of the box.

Zachary immediately adjusted his course slightly after judging that the ball was approaching his general direction. However, he wasn't the only player after the rebound. Aside from him, two other Strømsgodset players were also sprinting on course to intercept it.

Of course, Zachary wouldn't allow them to get to it first. He intended to make the best of the attacking opportunity against the table leaders before they managed to settle down into their game.

So, he upped his speed and shot after the ball, sprinting like a predator on a hunt. With his long strides, he reached it first before leaping high to chest it down onto the ground.

By then, the first one of the two Strømsgodset players was arriving. However, Zachary didn't panic. He made the gentlest of touches on the ball before it could land on the green, sending it just barely over the head of the approaching opponent.

But, the second Strømsgodset player was upon him just as he was circumventing the first one.

Zachary remained calm and composed since he had the initiative. He brought the ball to the ground with swift and seamless motions before slowing down slightly — to draw in the second approaching opponent.

When he noticed that the defender had seemingly relaxed, he accelerated within an instant, leaving him in the dust. He was soon inside the opponent's box.

At that moment, the cheers of the Rosenborg fans rose to new heights. They almost drowned out every other sound around the stadium. But Zachary remained calm and flicked the ball quickly between his left to right foot repeatedly, trying to find a gap to exploit within the box.

Just then, one of the defenders blocking his path to the goal stretched out his leg to tackle the ball from his feet. But that was what he'd been anticipating. He immediately raised his foot and pulled the trigger, unleashing a carpet shot through the defender's legs towards the goal.

At that instant, silence descended across Lerkendal stadium as the ball rolled close to the ground, flashing past several outstretched legs before homing into the bottom left corner.

**** ****

ROSENBORG BK 1 : STRØMSGODSET IF 0

That was the score showing on the large screen above the stands on one side of Lerkendal Stadion.

In the third minute, Rosenborg had managed to draw first blood against the table leaders.

Lerkendal exploded into a Tsunami of cheers that caused intense vibrations across the entire stadium. The noise was at an astronomical level. It felt like the whole of Trondheim was experiencing an earthquake right after the goal.

Kristin was all smiles as she joined the rest of the fans in the stands to celebrate the lightning-fast goal. At last, her team was well on its way to returning to the top of the table.

She felt her mood lifting as she watched Zachary head to the corner flag before raising both arms in the air like he was hugging the sky. The guy was amusing as ever, even during his goal celebration. She immediately decided his celebrations needed some work if he intended to use them to boost his popularity around Europe. She made a mental note to bring up the issue when they next ran into each other.

"Well, that was unexpected," she heard Anne Rimmen, the commentator, say after the cheering had started dying down. Her voice was loud and clear through the stadium's loudspeakers.

"It's just the third minute," she continued, "But Zachary Bemba, the Rosenborg number-33, has already managed to score the first goal. The young midfielder even seems sharper than he was last month. What's your take on this, Harald?"

"Well," Harald Brattbakk, the pundit of the day, said. "From that one attack, I can already tell that Zachary Bemba is much more lethal than he was during the Tippeligaen matches in May. He initiated the whole chain of attacks by switching play and linking up with the wingers. He then ended the attack by taking that shot through the legs of a couple of defenders."

"Moreover, we cannot forget that deft second touch, just as he was about to loop the ball over the defender," the pundit continued. "For me, that was magic, and it was the defining moment that made me realize that the young prodigy has improved yet again."

"Now that Rosenborg has scored, do you think Strømsgodset still has a chance to turn this around?" Anne Rimmen, the commentator, inquired.

"That, I can't predict," Harald was quick to reply. "We all know that Rosenborg's is strong up front, for sure. They've got the likes of Nicki, Tarik, and above all, Zachary Bemba launching and handling their attacks. That's why Rosenborg has averaged above two goals during the previous month."

"But that aside, the team also concedes many goals," he continued. "Over and over again, we've seen the Troll Kids take the lead in the first half and then come close to losing it during the second half. So, winning or losing will depend on whether the Rosenborg defense can shape up — and make sure Strømsgodset doesn't score. Otherwise, Zachary and co will have to score at the very least four goals to win against the table leaders from Drammen."