THE GREATEST OF ALL TIME
chapter-524

Two men in black suits sat in the commentator's booth close to the top of the Jassim bin Hamad Stadium. One was Fabio Crudeli, a middle-aged man with a lean physique, while the other was Tiziano Caressa, an aged man with streaks of white in his hair. They were the two Italian sports journalists chosen to provide commentary for that year's Supercoppa Italiana.

The two men had ample experience and would never lack words for any situation on the field of play. They were like walking football dictionaries, and they would always effortlessly find perfect descriptions for any scenario happening during the game. They were true poets, and anyone listening to their commentary could vividly visualize the exact plays on the pitch even while not watching a game. If there were awards for commentators, maybe they would come in the second and third-best positions, with only Peter Drury, the British sports commentator, coming up ahead of them.

However, just two minutes into the Supercoppa Italiana, the two commentators were already faced with a situation that caused them to be at a loss for words. The light streaming into the commentary booth illuminated their stunned faces, and for a moment, they couldn't find the exact verbal portrayal of what they had just witnessed. They couldn't understand how Zachary had managed to pick out Carlos Tevez from a crowd of Napoli defenders and provide the defense-splitting pass that resulted in Juventus' first goal for the night.

"Well..." Tiziano Caressa, the aged man, sighed and took a deep breath as the cheers around the stadium started dying down. "That was unexpected. Don't you think so, Fabio?"

"Of course," Fabio Crudeli, the middle-aged commentator, replied. "It just took Juventus about 70 seconds to score their first goal of this Supercoppa. But even more surprising was the way they scored the goal. I have to say that it was the true definition of magic coming alive on the football field. Zachary Bemba received the ball deep in his half, and we all expected him to pass the ball to another midfielder or defender to maintain possession. But the young Maestro did what none of us, including the Napoli players, had expected. He went for the spectacular and took out the entire Napoli team with a single brilliant ball. His pin-point defense-splitting pass took the opponents out of the equation, and he managed to set up Carlos Tevez for the goal. In my book, this is one of those incidences where the assist is more breathtaking than the goal itself."

Tiziano Caressa, the other commentator, chuckled. "Zachary Bemba has just shown us what he can do even in the absence of Andrea Pirlo and Claudio Marchisio, the other two key players in Juventus' midfield. His awareness of the spaces around him, game reading, and ability to assess risks during crucial moments should be really exceptional. That was why he effortlessly spotted Carlos Tevez's run in a split second before providing the perfect pass to set up the goal."

On the field of play, the game was yet to restart due to Juventus' lengthy celebrations. The coaches hurriedly summoned Zachary to the sidelines and gave him a few instructions.

"Listen, Zachary," Maurizio Trombetta, the assistant coach in charge of the first team, said. "We don't need to force anything since we have already scored the 1st goal. So, over the next few minutes, let's settle down and play possession football. Let's pass the ball around slowly and confidently as we build up play and look for opportunities. Let's stay in control, and let's not create any chaotic situations on the pitch which might benefit Napoli. Understood?"

"Yes, coach," Zachary said, taking a quick glance at the pitch. The referee was about to restart the match. So, Zachary quickly stepped into the opponent's half to stop the referee from following through with the intended action.

"For us to play possession football," Coach Trombetta continued, "You'll have to drop deeper into the midfield when necessary. Try to open up the spaces in the middle of the pack by forming triangles with the rest of your teammates. You can occasionally play a through-ball to the strikers when you see fit. But please, don't try to force anything, as that will pointlessly give away our possession. Understood?"

"Yes, coach. I understand."

"Good," Coach Trombetta replied. "You can head back to the pitch."

Zachary nodded and quickly ran to his position. The referee glared at him, probably as a form of warning against his time-wasting behavior that delayed the restart. But he just apologized, and the referee let him be. He then took a deep breath and focused his senses in preparation for the action that was about to commence.

*FWEEEEEEE*

The referee finally blew the whistle after a few more seconds. The cheers resounded around the stadium, and Gonzalo Higuaín, Napoli's center forward, kicked off the game for the second time that evening. He kicked the ball and passed it 'further' back into his half to find Kalidou Koulibaly, one of Napoli's center-backs. It seemed that the striker had learned his lesson, and he was afraid of gifting possession to Juventus by passing the ball to his unreliable midfield.

In the backline, Kalidou Koulibaly controlled the ball effortlessly. The defender then flicked it to Raúl Albiol, the other center-back, who, in turn, passed it to Faouzi Ghoulam, the left-back.

Most likely, the Napoli players were trying to rebuild their confidence by playing short but sure passes at the back. So, their defenders continued passing the ball among their ranks without showing any intent to move it forward. It was as if they were provoking Juventus to come and get the ball — or else, they would continue playing pointless possession in their backline.

"High press... Go after the ball. Don't let them get comfortable and play." A loud shout reverberated from the touchline a few seconds later. It was from Max Allegri, the head coach of Juventus, and he was waving his arm animatedly to signal his players to high press the Napoli backline.

On hearing Coach Max Allegri's instructions, all the Juventus players went into action. They pushed forward like a pack of wolves with the intent to close down the spaces and freeze Napoli's passing game.

The two Juventus strikers and wing-backs went even a step further to man-mark the four Napoli defenders. They ran at the four Napoli players like a pack of wolves on the hunt, eventually forcing Kalidou Koulibaly to play the ball high and long. They had thus achieved their objective and frozen Napoli's pointless passing game at the back. What remained was for them to execute the next step of their game plan.

"Pa..."

The long ball from Kalidou Koulibaly was brought under control with an outstretched boot in the other half of the field, close to the border of Juventus' defensive third. The player in action was Leonardo Bonucci, one of Juventus' defenders. With fluid motions, he pocked the ball forward with the tip of his boot. Then, before any of the opponents could close him down, he passed it to Arturo Vidal, one of Juventus' defensive midfielders, to kick-start a period of dominant possession for Juventus.

"Pa... Pa, Pa..."

The passes started flowing like water over the pitch as the Juventus players moved the ball around. They arrayed themselves in their customary 3-5-2 formation and played beautiful possession football that wowed critics and fans alike. They froze out Napoli, and by the 15th minute, they had already amassed an incredible ball possession statistic of 74%, while Napoli only had 26% of the ball.

Zachary, in particular, was especially impressive within the midfield. He followed the coach's instructions and didn't force anything. He didn't even try to execute risky dribbles but just adhered to the basics of passing and receiving the ball.

You give me the ball, and I pass it to another or return it to you. That was his policy throughout the opening fifteen minutes of gameplay.

Even at the most crucial moments, he would utilize the spaces well by relying on his enhanced game intelligence, graded at SS by the system. The opponents couldn't seem to find his trails on the pitch, as he was always floating around the opposing players' blind spots while occasionally moving into gaps. Moreover, by finding the most strategic positions in the middle of the pack, he often provided the best outlet for the ball, thus allowing Juventus to continue dominating possession. His midfield play was simply too spectacular, and even the commentators were not shy with their praises when talking about him.

"It's Zachary on the ball," Fabio Crudeli, the middle-aged commentator, said, his voice rising up a notch. "He turns and twists and passes it to Arturo Vidal, his counterpart in midfield. Arturo passes to Simone Padoin, who in turn passes back to Zachary. Oh! Juventus' midfield play is simply incredible. Their midfielders, especially Zachary and Vidal, are in top shape today. They look confident on the ball, and there's nothing the Napoli players could do to stop them."

"Yes, this is Juventus at its best," Tiziano Caressa, the other commentator, supplemented. "Before the game, I thought they would suffer in the absence of Claudio Marchisio and Andrea Pirlo, the two sidelined by injuries. But I couldn't have been more wrong. Zachary has stepped up his game to fill the shoes of the two missing experienced players. He's playing in a more intelligent fashion and helping his teammates to dominate the game. The Napoli players can't do a thing to stop him, and he has already conquered the midfield..."

"Oh, my! What do we have here?" Fabio Crudeli suddenly interrupted, his voice going up a notch. The commentator seemed excited as if something interesting had just transpired on the field of play.

"Zachary Bemba is finally willing to take a risk in this game," Fabio Crudeli continued as the cheers resounded. "He sidesteps, dribbles past David López, and accelerates into space. He looks up once and sends a diagonal ball to the right wing. Oh my, goodness me! He has just picked out Stephan Lichtsteiner, Juventus' wing-back, on the right flank. What an excellent through-ball! The attack is on, and the Juventus players are flying forward..."