THE GREATEST OF ALL TIME
chapter-526

Coach Rafael Benítez finally introduced Dries Mertens and Jorginho into the game during the 38th minute. The two players came on for Marek Hamsik and Jonathan de Guzmán and quickly helped stabilize Napoli's situation on the field of play. But aside from that, they achieved nothing else due to the tenacity shown by the Juventus players on the field.

The Juventus players, on their part, didn't step on the brakes even after gaining the three-goal advantage. They continued playing beautiful possession football while doing everything possible to deny Napoli any chances of creating goal-scoring opportunities. They were like a well-oiled machine, and they utilized teamwork and individual brilliance to maintain their three-goal advantage until the half-time break.

The second half of the game commenced after the fifteen-minute break. The Napoli players seemed to have woken up and applied pressure on Juventus during the opening minutes of gameplay. They launched several counterattacks against Juventus and came close to scoring twice during the 49th and 57th minutes, respectively. However, their efforts were rendered fruitless by the unwavering spirit of Juventus' defenders, and the score remained 3:0 in favor of the Old Lady throughout the second half's opening minutes.

As the game continued, the Juventus players eventually rectified the situation and regained dominance on the pitch. They exuded confidence on the ball and effortlessly outplayed Napoli for about a dozen minutes. Moreover, their possession of football also froze out the opponents, thus depriving them of the ability to create opportunities that could result in goals. Evidently, Juventus was in the driving seat, and they were managing the game well.

However, the excitement wasn't over, as the situation changed again during the 74th minute. That was because the Napoli players got a chance to counterattack after a failed wave of attack by Juventus.

It all started with Rafael Cabral, the Napoli keeper, making a save. The Napoli shot stopper executed a stunning dive and seized a powerful shot from Carlos Tevez out of the air. Then, before anyone could react, the keeper picked himself from the ground before running toward the edge of the box and making a one-handed throw to the left flank. His throwing technique was flawless, and he set up Dries Mertens, the substitute winger, for a counterattack.

Dries Mertens, on his part, was quick to advance the counterattack. He raced along the touchline like a whirlwind before skipping past Leonardo Bonucci, one of the only two remaining Juventus defenders between him and the goal. Dries Mertens then accelerated and cut into the pitch before squaring the ball to the middle to set up a perfect one-versus-one situation between Gonzalo Higuaín and Gianluigi Buffon, the Juventus keeper.

Cheers mixed with gasps of desperation arose from the stands as Gonzalo Higuaín, the highly clinical Napoli striker, controlled the ball right at the edge of the eighteen-yard box. The Argentine stepped forward confidently before squaring his body and kicking the ball with his instep. He was, of course, trying to score by surprising a keeper with a powerful drive toward the inside of the far post.

However, the Napoli man's decision couldn't have been more wrong.

Just as Gonzalo Higuaín's boot connected with the ball, Gianluigi Buffon, the highly experienced Juventus keeper, reacted instantaneously and put his body on the line. Buffon made himself big and lounged forward to throw his entire frame at the ball. His daring gamble paid off, and he blocked the ball with his knee and sent it toward the right side of the pitch.

"Clear the ball... Be fast..." An anxious roar came from the sidelines. It was from Max Allegri, and he was again doing his best to urge his players to solve the precarious defensive situation quickly. It seemed he was aiming for a clean sheet, and he didn't wish to see his team concede even a single goal against Napoli.

The Juventus defenders obviously didn't need any reminders and quickly solved the danger. Giorgio Chiellini pounced toward the descending ball and hammered it high and far toward the other side of the pitch before the opponents could close him down.

"Whoosh..."

The cleared ball from Giorgio Chiellini traveled high into the air, like a surface-to-surface missile heading to the other side of the pitch. A few seconds later, the earth's gravitational force acted on it, forcing it to descend towards the right flank.

"Pa..."

The sound of the ball meeting rock-hard chest muscles sounded ever so slightly. It was Zachary in action, and he had effortlessly leaped off the ground to bring the descending ball under control with his chest.

"Pa..."

The sound of a boot meeting synthetic fiber soon followed as Zachary looped the ball over an approaching Napoli player. Then, with the most spartan of touches, he again flicked the ball over another Napoli player, who tried to rob him from the side.

But Zachary didn't just stop at that and only finalized his display of skill after executing an elastico dribble to escape from an encirclement of three. He then accelerated to his top speed and initiated a daring sprint toward Napoli's box like a raging Tsunami.

"Zachary! Zachary..."

The Juventus fans in the stands began yelling Zachary's name as he cut across the field at breakneck speed. But he stayed calm and didn't let the noise affect his decision-making. He soon approached the box and unleashed a through-pass toward Carlos Tevez, who had just dashed into an unmarked pocket of space at the edge of the box.

Carlos Tevez, on his part, was not selfish with the ball. He didn't even spend time controlling it but just played it along into the path of Zachary, who was still sprinting toward Napoli's goal like a rocket.

One-Two! Through-Pass!

The lightning-fast exchange of passes between the two players was all it took to break through Napoli's defense again. Zachary circumvented Raúl Albiol, Napoli's center-back, before stepping into the box and connecting with the return ball from Carlos Tevez. He then curled the ball over the approaching goalkeeper and found the back of the net to score Juventus' 4th goal during the 76th minute.

Juventus 4 : SSC Napoli 0

"GOAAAL...."

Coach Max Allegri yelled like a madman when Zachary found the back of the net. His heart leaped for joy, and the curses from Rafael Benítez within Napoli's technical area sounded like music to his ears. The fact that he was only minutes away from winning yet another Supercoppa Italiana cheered his soul, making him feel like he was walking on clouds. He punched the air again and roared like a beast as his players celebrated the fourth goal.

"Damn!" Coach Max Allegri said after a few seconds. He wasn't cursing out of frustration but out of happiness. "Zachary has done it again. I don't know what happened to the boy over the past few days, but he looks sharper on the field of play. His decisions have been spot-on during the game, and I can't find any fault with his play. It's as if he matured in a short span of less than a week."

"Maybe, it's because of winning the Golden Boy award," Maurizio Trombetta, the assistant coach, replied uncertainly. "He might be that type of player who gains more confidence and maturity after winning major awards."

"Maybe, maybe not," Coach Max Allegri said. "Let's focus on the important stuff first. This game is already in the bag. We need to rest our key players. We must preserve them for the January games."

"Excellent plan, boss," Coach Trombetta agreed. "Who are we taking out?"

"Zachary, Tevez, and Arturo Vidal," Coach Max Allegri replied with a smile. "I'll replace them with Martín Cáceres, Federico Mattiello, and Roberto Pereyra. Those three should be able to help us weather the final minutes of the game without taking any damage."

"Good," Coach Trombetta said. "I'll go and tell them to warm up. They should be ready to join the proceeding in five minutes max."

The game restarted after the goal celebrations. Juventus still didn't let up the pressure and immediately robbed the ball from Napoli with high-pressing tactics. Then, from there on, they started moving the ball around the field meticulously to outplay Napoli.

Zachary was especially in Black Mamba mode. He continued playing like a Maestro in the middle of the pitch while searching for an opportunity to initiate another attack against Napoli.

Of course, he hadn't forgotten the milestones for the system's Supercoppa Italiana mission. He still yearned for a hattrick that would allow him to win one of the shards required to master Ronaldinho's Step-Over and Feint Kingly Magic.

However, Zachary soon conceded that he could not realize his wish since Coach Max Allegri substituted him out of the game during the 81st minute. But again, he was not angry as he understood the coach's intentions, especially after noticing that Carlos Tevez and Arturo Vidal had also moved out of the pitch. Obviously, Allegri wanted to rest his players, and thus, Zachary had no right to question the man's decisions.

The Juventus players remaining on the field didn't rest on their laurels after the substitutions. They continued playing with tenacity and matching run-for-run against the opponents. They played compact and solid defensive football during the final moments and eventually won the game with a score of 4:0 after five minutes of injury time. They had finally emerged victorious from the Supercoppa Italiana battle and won their first silverware for the 2014/15 Italian football calendar.