THE GREATEST OF ALL TIME
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chapter-525
On the pitch, the highly agile Stephan Lichtsteiner was already cutting through the right flank like a high-speed Swizz express train. He fed the ball past Christian Maggio, Napoli's left-back, and beat the man for pace. Then, with the most pin-point of passes, he picked out Fernando Llorente, the Juventus striker, who happened to have just run into an unmarked pocket of space between the two Napoli center-backs.
"Pa..."
Fernando Llorente controlled the ball mid-stride without slowing down. He quickly accelerated toward Napoli's box, hoping to leave the opposing center-backs in the dust. However, his speed was not impressive enough, and only a few seconds later, Kalidou Koulibaly, the no-nonsense defender, caught up to him and tried to tackle the ball from him.
Fortunately for Juventus, Fernando Llorente was a very talented and experienced striker. Even though he wasn't that fast on his legs, he still utilized his body to protect the ball and lured a foul from Kalidou Koulibaly. Moreover, the striker managed to draw the reckless tackle in a position only some twenty-seven or so yards from Napoli's goal.
*FWEEEEEEE*The referee blew the whistle immediately and awarded Juventus a free kick. He also fished out a yellow card from his pocket and showed it to Kalidou Koulibaly, the defender who had committed the foul.
"Zachary! Zachary..."
"Zachary..."
The Juventus fans behind Napoli's goal started chanting Zachary's name at the top of their voices. Of course, they hadn't forgotten that Zachary was one of the most clinical free kick takers in the entire world. As such, they were excited by the prospect of witnessing more magic from him as he converted yet another free kick.
"I will take the free-kick," Zachary declared as he quickly picked up the ball from the ground. Of course, none of his teammates, including Carlos Tevez, Arturo Vidal, and Stephan Lichtsteiner, tried to contest him for the ball. They all knew he was a better free-kick taker than them and thus left him to do what he usually did best.
"Phew..."
Inhaling deeply, Zachary strode forward and placed the ball on the spot marked by the referee. He then stepped back to observe the situation ahead of the box but not before activating the Dead-Ball Specialist Juju. As usual, he wished to utilize the skill to increase his analytical abilities, which would, in turn, raise the probability of him converting the set piece successfully."DING"
Suddenly, a system notification resounded within Zachary's mind, causing him to furrow his brows. He was against interacting with the system during a game, as he didn't wish to draw unnecessary attention to himself. But he still maintained a poker face and listened to the system AI's following words.
"The system has detected that the user's game intelligence has already achieved the SS grading," the AI said. "The user has met all the conditions to master the Dead-Ball Specialist Juju completely. As such, from this moment forward, the user will not need to utilize Juju points to activate the skill."
Zachary's eyes lit up ever so slightly as he tried to contain his happiness. "Will the skill still help me to enter a state of extreme focus before I take a set piece? Will the skill also boost my spatial awareness and risk analysis core attributes while I am preparing to take a set piece?" He communicated with the system AI telepathically.
"Yes, to all questions," the system AI answered. "The Dead-Ball Specialist Juju has become a true-blue passive skill due to your high game intelligence and growing experience of converting free kicks. As long as you are about to take a set piece, your 'spatial awareness' and 'risk analysis' core attributes will rise to the next grade. They will ascend to the SSS grade before you take the set piece, thus increasing your conversion chances. Moreover, that will be at no cost of Juju points."
"Wonderful!"
Zachary's heartbeat quickened as he finished his telepathic conversation with the system AI. Taking a deep breath, he calmed his bubbly emotions down and started observing the situation before Napoli's box.
The referee was in the midst of arranging the wall roughly ten yards away from the free-kick spot. It was a five-player wall, with all the Napoli men positioned in the 'most strategic way' to block all shooting angles to the goal. Additionally, a player was lying behind the wall, probably to guard against a potential carpet shot from Zachary.
But that was not all. Zachary also noticed that the opponents were playing a high defensive line to create an offside trap for all those Juventus players who wished to rush into the box and connect with the set-piece ball. The Napoli men were obviously going all out to prevent Juventus from scoring another goal through a set piece.
Zachary's eyes took in all the placement of the players ahead as his enhanced game intelligence processed the information. The gears in his mind turned before quickly falling into place. He smiled and reminded himself that all Napoli's preparations didn't mean a thing if he made the perfect execution. As long as he found the ideal spot between the goalposts, the keeper and the defenders wouldn't be able to do a thing to stop the ball from finding its way into the back of the net.
*FWEEEEEEE*
It didn't take long for Paolo Valeri, the referee, to organize the wall and the players before Napoli's box. After a few seconds, he blew the whistle and motioned for Zachary to take the set piece.
Zachary had already prepared for the moment. He didn't waste a second before making an angled run toward the ball and swinging his leg at it. He used the inner toe area of his boot to wrap around the ball with the intention of unleashing a curling shot toward the goal.
"BAM!"
The sound of the boot meeting synthetic leather reverberated in his ears, and the ball soared from the ground before flying over the wall. At first, it was as if it was heading over the crossbar. However, a few seconds later, it dipped abnormally before descending and bouncing right in front of the Napoli keeper, who happened to have already committed himself to a full-body dive. The ball then bounced again and nestled into the back of the net, causing thunderous cheers to rise from the stands behind Napoli's goal.
Juventus FC 2 : SSC Napoli 0
"Oh goodness me!" Fabio Crudeli, the middle-aged commentator, yelled at the top of his voice as Zachary raised his arms to celebrate. "What a sensational goal! What a beauty! Zachary has just converted a free-kick from 27 yards away to score Juventus' second goal during the 18th minute of gameplay. This young man is flying, and no one can stop him when he stands before a free-kick. We might be witnessing the rise of the greatest free-kick taker in history."
"His technique is always a marvel to look at," Tiziano Caressa, the other commentator, chipped in. "He is always spot on with his execution when he stands before a set piece. I don't understand how he does it! His ability is scary."
"Well..." Fabio Crudeli chuckled. "If you're playing against Zachary, better not concede a free kick in the areas close to your goal. A free kick within the final third is like a penalty kick in his case. I can't even remember a time when he failed to convert a set piece in such areas."
On the sidelines, Rafael Benítez, the head coach of Napoli, was in a sour mood. He couldn't make sense of what was going on with his players. He had instructed them not to draw fouls in the final third, but they hadn't listened. They had conceded a free-kick less than thirty yards away from the goal and gifted Zachary the perfect chance to extend Juventus' lead to two goals. Coach Benítez couldn't contain his frustration.
Moreover, he had long noticed that his players were not working hard enough. Their concentration levels were also a bit off, and they committed many errors during the opening twenty minutes of the game. In particular, the midfielders were doing a poor job marking Zachary and Arturo Vidal, thus allowing Juventus to conquer the midfield. They were just like amateurs who could handle the pressure of the Supercoppa Italiana final.
"This can't go on," Rafael Benítez thought after watching for a few more minutes. He turned his gaze to the bench, and his eyes fell on two players.
"Dries Mertens and Jorginho!" He said after a few seconds of contemplation. "Start warming up. I want you on the pitch in less than six minutes."
"Yes, coach!" The two players replied and changed into their warm-up gear. Then, after chugging down some water, the two players quickly jogged away from the technical area and initiated their warm-up routine.
Rafael Benítez returned his focus to the field of play, feeling dejected. It was already the 32nd minute of gameplay. Marek Hamsik, the man who was Napoli's captain and attacking midfielder, had just committed another error. He had fumbled the ball close to the center circle and misplaced yet another pass, thus gifting free possession to Juventus.
Arturo Vidal, the Juventus midfielder, who happened to be close by, quickly pounced on the ball and intercepted it. Vidal then played it to Zachary, who speared into Napoli's half like an arrow just let loose from a bowstring.
Coach Rafael Benítez suppressed a shudder as he watched Zachary quickly bearing down on Napoli's goal. Benítez couldn't stop his heartbeat from quickening as Zachary skipped past David López, one of Napoli's holding midfielders, with a simple change of pace. Then, before the helpless Napoli coach could yell out instructions to his players, Zachary dug his boot under the ball and looped it over the defense to set up Fernando Llorente, one of the two Juventus strikers.
The attack was on. Fernando Llorente timed his run well and rushed into the space between the two Napoli center-backs. His long strides pumped like the pistons of a race car, and he effortlessly connected with the overhead ball from Zachary right after beating the offside trap.
What followed depended on Fernando Llorente himself, and the Spanish striker didn't disappoint. He didn't even try to control the ball but just extended his boot and guided the ball goalward. His execution was spot on, and he skillfully looped the ball over the keeper, who had unfortunately come out to greet him. He effortlessly found the back of the net and scored Juventus' third goal for the night during the 33rd minute.
Juventus FC 3 : SSC Napoli 0
"Damn!"
Coach Rafael Benítez felt like punching someone when he saw the ball homing into the back of the net. He was just about to make two substitutions so as to rectify Napoli's precarious situation on the field of play. But his players couldn't hold on for even a few minutes, and they gifted Juventus the 3rd goal during the 33rd minute of gameplay. It was simply frustrating.
Coach Benítez's even felt that the game was a done deal, and he couldn't visualize how his team would recover from a three-goal deficit. He was even having second thoughts about making the two substitutions as thoughts of giving up took root in his mind. That was what three goals within the opening thirty-two minutes could do to you. They could make you doubt yourself, and there wasn't a thing you would be able to do but take a more severe beating from the opponents. Football was that merciless to those who gave up early in the game.
"No, I can't give up," Coach Benítez resolved. "We must do our best until the very end. At least, let's begin with a small goal of winning the second half."
As an experienced coach, Rafael Benítez quickly discarded the thoughts of surrender. If he couldn't win the entire Supercoppa, he would at least try to win only the second half. His pride wouldn't allow him to merely sit back and take a merciless thrashing from Juventus, no matter how good a team they were.
