THE GREATEST OF ALL TIME
chapter-510

"Andrea! Listen well!" Coach Max Allegri said to his deep-lying playmaker after he arrived on the touchline. "The next few minutes will be crucial for us if we wish to win this game. We have got to play with a clear purpose when on the ball in order to get a goal quickly."

Andrea Pirlo nodded and said, "I'm listening, coach. Go on."

"Okay, here is the plan," the coach continued. "Now that Sampdoria has scored, they will grow confident and launch more attacks against us. So, our strategy is to wait and absorb the pressure until we catch them off guard and counterattack against them."

"Yeah, that might really work," Andrea Pirlo said, nodding pensively.

"Not so quick," the Coach hurriedly said. "There's more. At the onset of the counter, I'll expect the player with the ball to pass it to you as quickly as possible. And immediately, when you receive the ball, all our attacking players, including Zachary, Tevez, Lichtsteiner, and even Fernando, will have to start sprinting toward Sampdoria's box. I expect to see a scenario where Fernando and Zachary are bolting through the middle while Tevez is on the left wing and Lichtsteiner is on the right flank. And with such a scenario, you will have to work fast to release one of the players. Depending on the circumstances on the field, you'll utilize your vision and passing range to unleash a through ball quickly to one of those players. As long as you time your pass well, we should be able to catch Sampdoria's defense napping and score a goal. Okay?"

"Okay, I understand, coach," Andrea Pirlo said.

Coach Allegri nodded and said, "You can convey my instructions to the rest of the players on the pitch. But remember that we must use the first opportunity that comes our way effectively. After the restart, we must make our first counterattack count and get that winning goal. Otherwise, the Sampdoria players will get wind of our strategy, and they will turtle up and prevent us from easily attacking them again on the counter. Understood?"

"I understand, coach."

"Good," Coach Allegri said and nodded again. "The match is about to restart. Head back and execute all my instructions. Remember, we have only one chance."

"Okay, Coach."

With that said, Andrea Pirlo quickly chugged down some water before running back towards the pitch. And since the game was yet to restart due to the prolonged celebrations of the Sampdoria players, he immediately went around, conveying the coach's instructions to the rest of his teammates. For secrecy, he, of course, didn't shout them out loud but whispered them in the ears of most of the players until they all understood the coach's strategy for the last few minutes.

*FWEEEEEEE*

With the referee's whistle, the game restarted, with all the fans expecting that Juventus would immediately go all out to get a goal. However, a few minutes after the restart, they all realized their predictions were totally wrong when the Old Lady players decided to turtle up and absorb the pressure. And instead of doing their utmost to launch attacks and score, the Juventus players played defensive football that confused many watching the game.

"What has happened to Juventus?" Paolo Favero, a Juventus fan, exclaimed after noticing that his team was playing total defensive football. "Are the players tired? Are they satisfied with only a draw? Why have they stopped attacking?"

"Beats me!" Luca Maroni, his friend, said with a shrug. "Maybe, they are guarding against conceding another goal. You know, a draw is always better than a loss."

"Are you for real, man?" Paolo exclaimed. "You want us to get a draw against Sampdoria? Then, what happens when we play Inter or AC Milan?"

Luca shrugged but didn't answer. At that moment, his eyes were on the pitch, taking in a scenario where Sampdoria had just launched another attack on Juventus.

With renewed confidence after scoring the equalizing goal, the Sampdoria players played beautiful short passes from one end of the field to the other as they tried to stretch Juventus' defensive shape. They also dictated the tempo for minutes until they found a passing angle and sent forth an abrupt through ball forward to release Pedro Obiang, their left midfielder, on the left wing.

"This is not good."

Luca heard another fan grumble as Pedro Obiang controlled the ball. But Luca's eyes remained glued on the pitch, and he watched the Sampdoria man make a spirited run that allowed him to spear deeper into Juventus' half. And when the angle opened up, Pedro Obiang released a teasing cross toward Juventus' box, where a few Sampdoria players were lurking.

It was another goal-scoring chance for Sampdoria, and the players in the box reacted appropriately. The Juventus players leaped high, hoping to outsmart their opponents and clear the ball. On the other hand, the Sampdoria players jumped high, hoping to attack the cross and score the winning goal. The players of both teams were obviously doing their utmost to help their respective sides gain the advantage.

Fortunately for the Juventus supporters, Leonardo Bonucci, one of the Juventus defenders, came out on top during the battle for aerial superiority within the box. He outjumped everyone else before heading the ball and clearing it away from the crowded Juventus box.

"This is a chance..."

Luca Maroni's heart skipped a beat as he watched the ball rise above many players before descending toward the right side of the box, where Andrea Pirlo happened to be standing. And before Luca could catch his breath, the highly-experienced Maestro controlled the ball while spinning around to escape the entanglement of an opponent.

But that was just the beginning of Pirlo's magic on the pitch. He prodded the ball forward and past another opponent before unleashing a raking pass toward the right wing. And with that lightning-fast through ball, he managed to find Stephan Lichtsteiner, the attacking wing-back, who had long started making a spirited run toward the other side of the pitch.

On the right flank, Stephan Lichtsteiner's spirited run was as breathtaking as ever. He didn't even halt to control the ball -- but just took it in his stride as he continued bolting towards the other side of the pitch like a predator on the hunt. And when he finally stepped into the final third, he sent forth a lofted cross all the way over the field and toward the left flank, hoping to find Zachary.

As it was a counterattack, most Sampdoria players had not yet retaken their defensive positions. As such, Zachary managed to control the ball under no pressure before continuing toward Sampdoria's box at breakneck speed. He cut through the left wing like a whirlwind and soon started approaching the box like a raging Tsunami.

There were, of course, a few Sampdoria players who'd returned or remained back, barring Zachary's way toward the box. But with a slight shift of pace and a couple of well-timed side steps, he sent them packing and left them in the dust. He then stepped into the box and rounded the keeper, who'd come out of the goal to meet him, before burying the ball into the net to score Juventus 2nd goal during the 83rd minute.

"GOAAAL! Zachary has done it again!" Luca Maroni yelled as the ball homed into the back of the net. He was over the moon as he jumped and hugged the other Juventus fans around him to celebrate Juventus' second goal for the night.

"This counterattack was truly spectacular," he said to Paolo Favero after the cheers started fading. "I can literally feel goosebumps all over my skin just recalling the counterattack. Within seconds, Pirlo found Lichtsteiner on the right flank, who, in turn, found Zachary on the left wing. And from there on, Zachary executed his magic on the pitch and scored the goal. This counterattack was surely for the record books."

"Yeah," Paolo agreed. "We've become more lethal on the counterattack with Zachary, Lichtsteiner, Tevez, and Pirlo playing together on the pitch. When they combine, they turn into monsters on the counter, and I don't think there's an opponent out there who can stop them."

"Zachary has scored his 14th goal in his 14th Serie A appearance this season," Luca said. "He's averaging a single goal for every game he plays. Doesn't this mean that he could potentially score 38 goals by the end of the season?"

"Don't underestimate his abilities," Paolo scoffed. "There are days when he will bag a brace or a hat trick. So, going by that, he might score more than forty goals in the Serie A this season."

After the goal celebrations, the game continued with the Sampdoria players going all out in search of an equalizer. They showed glimpses of brilliant football as they launched a series of attacks on Juventus' defense over the next few minutes. And due to their relentlessness, they even forced all the Juventus players to fall back and execute the 'park the bus tactic' during the last five minutes of gameplay. For sure, they were doing all they could to get the equalizer against Juventus before the game ended.

However, the efforts of Sampdoria remained fruitless, especially since they lacked the creativity to break through a defensive-minded Juventus team that was hell-bent on protecting their lead. They could not create a meaningful goal-scoring chance or even get an opportunity to take a shot on target during the game's closing stages. As a result, they lost the match against Juventus by two goals to one when the final whistle sounded after five minutes of added time.