THE GREATEST OF ALL TIME
chapter-300

The IF Elfsborg players were quite depressed during the half-time break. They'd done their utmost to keep the Rosenborg players at bay even when they were playing at an away ground. However, one moment of brilliance from Zachary Bemba, Rosenborg's young number-33, had rendered all their efforts fruitless. With a single run, he'd cut through their defense like a sharp knife through vegetables before forcing a penalty out of Sebastian Holmén, their center-back. That penalty was what resulted in the goal that'd put their team in quite a disadvantageous situation.

A more depressing fact was that the Norwegian giants were miles ahead of them in terms of ball possession — a scenario that led to IF Elfsborg's center-forward being isolated. As a result, they hadn't created any clear goal-scoring opportunities throughout the first half.

"Okay, guys, cheer up," Klas Ingesson, the head coach of IF Elfsborg, said while clapping his hands to rouse his players back to full attention. "The game is not over yet as we still have 45 minutes of the second half. As long as we focus and do our best in those 45 minutes, we'll obviously create chances to score and bring the proceedings back to level terms. Are you with me, guys? If you're with me, let me hear you reply, 'Yes, coach.'" The coach ended his speech with a drawn-out bellow.

There was an awkward and out-of-sync reply of "Yes, coach" from the audience. The players' motivation levels seemed to have already sunk to the abyss after facing a hard time against a well-organized Rosenborg during the first half.

Coach Klas Ingesson narrowed his eyes slightly and glanced around. "I couldn't hear you," he said, clapping his hands rhythmically once again. "Let me hear you yell out loud, 'Yes, coach.'"

"Yes, coach!" The IF Elfsborg players did a little better job replying in sync that time around.

"Good," Coach Klas Ingesson said, nodding. "That's the sort of energy I expect from you as professionals playing in the Europa League. We can't give up when we're just one goal down. Are we together?"

"Yes, coach."

"Good," the coach said, sweeping his gaze across some of his players. "For the second half, I want you to continue prioritizing our defense. We can't concede another goal as that will seal our fate. So, we've to stay on our toes and prevent Rosenborg from scoring another goal."

"Anders Svensson!" The coach continued after turning his gaze to the captain of IF Elfsborg. "I want you to move back from the midfield a bit so that you can keep your eyes on that Zachary Bemba. Mark him man-to-man, and prevent him from doing whatever he wants in our final third. I don't want to see him cut through our defense again as if we're a bunch of nobodies. Are you with me, Anders?"

"Yes, coach."

The coach nodded as a slight smile outlined his facial features. "Moving on. We'll only use counters, wing play, and a few long balls to negate Rosenborg's dominance in the midfield. As long as we properly utilize our counterattacking opportunities, I can assure you guys that we'll be able to score before the end of the second half."

"However, I must warn you not to be impatient, especially during the second stages of the first half. Just concentrate on remaining solid and make sure we don't concede. The goal will come eventually as long as we stay true to our game plan. Are we together, guys?"

"Yes, coach."

After a short while, the second half began.

Anders Svensson, IF Elfsborg's captain, followed the coach's instructions to the letter. He dropped from midfield and started man-marking Zachary — who was still playing as a false number-10 for Rosenborg.

The IF Elfsborg wingers then pinched into the middle spaces to fill the gap he'd left in midfield. In so doing, they'd compacted the formation and denied the Rosenborg players any chance to break through the middle. In such a way, they cut down Rosenborg's dominance and stabilized the game.

However, the Rosenborg players were not to be outdone. They soon switched to wing play and rendered IF Elfsborg's strategy fruitless.

Tobias Mikkelsen and Jonas Svensson, the Rosenborg wingers, constantly made runs through the flanks before floating in teasing crosses towards the box where Zachary and Nicki were lurking.

The Swedish giants were once again in a dire situation.

However, the IF Elfsborg players didn't buckle under the continued pressure. They remained solid and denied Rosenborg any chance to score a second goal.

In particular, Anders Svensson, the IF Elfsborg captain, was quite impressive. He stuck to Zachary like superglue throughout the entire early stages of the second half and tracked his every run. In so doing, he denied the young midfielder any chances to make any meaningful plays.

For the following few minutes, the game's tempo slowed down considerably. Neither team showed any signs of scoring until the 80th minute when Zachary abruptly lost his marker and made a run towards the left flank. With that well-timed run, he'd once again overloaded the wing.

He was soon playing a couple of one-twos with Jonas Svensson, the Rosenborg left-winger, as the two of them broke through IF Elfsborg's formation. They were clearly on a straight course towards IF Elfsborg's goal.

For a moment, Anders Svensson, The IF Elfsborg captain, felt ashamed for failing to live up to the coach's expectations. He'd let Zachary get away from him and run to the wings where he could pose a significant threat to IF Elfsborg's defense.

"No, I can't let him do as he pleases in our half," he decided.

He took off like a bullet out of a muzzle and covered a distance of more than ten yards in a matter of seconds. He was like the wind and managed to get to Zachary when he'd just received a return pass from Svensson.

The stage had been set. Another showdown between Rosenborg's young number-33 and IF Elfsborg's experienced captain was just around the corner.

The next moment, Zachary lowered his center of gravity slightly before exploding with speed and breaking through the left. With a well-timed elastico dribble, he'd managed to lose the Swede for a moment.

Anders Svensson was beaten but didn't surrender. "Block him! Don't allow him to cut back into the pitch," he shouted to a nearby teammate before turning around and following after Zachary's footsteps.

Zachary raised his eyes ever so slightly when he noticed three IF Elfsborg players corner him close to the touchline on the left. Two were barring his path forward while Anders, his bodyguard for the second half, was fast approaching from behind.

"Damn!"

Zachary couldn't help but slow down a little as he looked around, searching for a teammate as an outlet for the ball.

However, all the players around him were tightly marked by the aggressive IF Elfsborg defensive players. He was in dire straits and would lose the ball if he couldn't come up with an immediate solution.

"Here goes nothing!"

Zachary stepped on the ball and raised it slightly from the green. He followed that up by flicking it further upward until it was at his knee level.

As expected, the defenders barring his path reacted accordingly. They rushed in for the kill, probably thinking that he'd lost control for the moment.

But who was Zachary? He was a player with an almost textbook skill of controlling the ball. So, how could he ever make such a mistake?

Zachary grinned fiendishly. Without further ado, he tapped the ball slightly and looped it over one of the defenders who'd stretched out a leg to tackle the ball from his feet. He then exploded with speed and spun around the defender before the other two opponents could react and close him down.

With that well-timed move, he'd managed to escape the encirclement and was soon fast on his way towards the goal like a whirlwind. He was surprised to find that he had made himself several yards of space after beating the three opponents. But, that didn't slow down his actions in the slightest.

Soon, he managed to make it to the edge of the box, where he was again cornered by one of the IF Elfsborg center-backs. But he still didn't lose his composure.

He slowed down slightly to draw in the defender while assessing his options. When the angle opened up, he raised his foot high and unleashed a curling shot around the defender from the edge of the box.

"BANG!"

The sound of the ball smashing off the post was soon clearly audible in the almost silent stadium. The keeper had managed to brush the ball with his fingertips, thus sending it off its intended trajectory. It had veered off its course to some extent before pounding off the post and bouncing back into the area.

Zachary felt his heart sink to the bottom. He was disappointed with himself after working so hard to create the opportunity but failing to score in the very end. However, his heartbeat started speeding up again when he noticed a silhouette, dressed in Rosenborg's black and white colors, rushing towards the descending ball.

It was Nicki Nielsen, Rosenborg's center-forward, who'd been silent for most of the match. He sprang forward like an assassin in the night and placed a diving header inside of the right post.