THE GREATEST OF ALL TIME
chapter-531

Tuesday, January 6, 2015.

Juventus Stadium, Turin, Italy.

Time: 9:00 PM

*FWEEEEEEE*

The referee blew the whistle, and the highly anticipated Serie A face-off between Juventus and Inter Milan commenced. The cheers around the stadium hit a thunderous crescendo as Carlos Tevez, the Juventus striker, kicked off the game with a backward pass. He booted the ball all the way to his backline and found Giorgio Chiellini, one of the two Juventus center-backs, for the night.

Giorgio Chiellini, on his part, was pretty relaxed as he linked up with the ball. He then flicked it to Leonardo Bonucci, his counterpart in central defense, to kickstart a period of dominance by the Juventus squad.

Everything was plain sailing for the Juventus players during the opening fifteen minutes. The players in the striped black and white jerseys moved the ball around the field immaculately while effortlessly monopolizing the ball possession. They relied on their exceptional midfield to dictate the proceedings and gained more and more momentum as more minutes flashed by. Their superiority while in their 4-3-1-2 formation was clear for all watching the match, and they looked more and more like the team that would score the opening goal for the night.

But then, the game situation changed during the 21st minute after Roberto Mancini, the Inter Milan head coach, made a surprising first-half substitution. The Italian tactician bravely took Zdravko Kuzmanovic, a midfielder, out of the game and replaced him with Lukas Podolski, an attacking player who could play on both flanks and also as a center-forward. It was a thoughtful substitution on Roberto Mancini's part, and with that, the game changed beyond measure over the next few minutes.

First and foremost, Inter Milan switched from a 4-3-1-2 to a 4-4-2 formation after Lukas Podolski stepped onto the pitch. Danilo D'Ambrosio, Juan Jesus, Andrea Ranocchia, and Hugo Campagnaro continued maintaining Inter Milan's backline of four. Then, Mateo Kovacic and Fredy Guarín adjusted slightly to play as the central midfielders while working hand-in-hand with the freshly introduced Lukas Podolski and Gary Medel to complete Inter Milan's new midfield of four. And lastly, Mauro Icardi and Hernanes maintained their positions as the two strikers to complete Inter Milan's 4-4-2 tactical formation.

The transformations were made in a seamless manner on the field of play as the game continued. And slowly by slowly, the Inter Milan players adjusted to their new roles and started playing meaningful football for the first time that night.

Of course, Inter Milan didn't try to beat Juventus in its 'own game' of slow but steady possession football. Instead, most of the Inter Milan men just sat back and weathered Juventus' relentless attacks while waiting for an opportunity.

Their defense was solid, their midfield compact, and they tirelessly matched Juventus run for run. They were also patient in their approach and only ensured that Juventus would not threaten their goal. But when an opportunity arose, they would not hesitate to play a long ball forward, hoping to find either Mauro Icardi or Hernanes, the two strikers who were the only Inter Milan players without defensive duties on the night. But those times they attacked were few and far between as they were clearly focused on the defensive side of the game.

More minutes passed, and Inter Milan's tenacity on the field of play remained beyond what words could describe. The men from Milan were obviously on the back foot, but they stayed disciplined and performed their duties flawlessly against the much stronger Juventus side. Their hard work evidently paid off, and Juventus only managed to create three opportunities throughout the rest of the first half.

The first opportunity arose when Zachary unleashed a sudden and brilliant through-pass to set up Fernando Llorente for a perfect one-versus-one with the Inter Milan keeper during the 35th minute. However, the Spanish striker failed to beat the keeper and thus missed out—on the opportunity to put Juventus in the lead.

Zachary then created the second opportunity by drifting into the wing and unleashing a teasing cross toward the box during the 38th minute. He managed to pick out Carlos Tevez, who immediately controlled the ball and unleashed a snap-shot goalward. However, nothing came of the Argentine's thoughtful attempt due to the brilliance of the Inter Milan keeper, who spared no effort to save the shot.

The third and final opportunity for Juventus during the first half was initiated by Patrice Evra during the 43rd minute. The left-back sprinted through the wing like a whirlwind before squaring the ball into the middle to find Zachary, who happened to have dashed into an unmarked pocket of space a few yards away from Inter Milan's box.

Zachary, on his part, made the perfect connection with the ball and unleashed a first-time missile of a shot toward the goal from more than thirty yards away. His execution was flawless, and he caught the keeper napping. However, the ball swerved and deviated from its intended trajectory at the last minute before smashing off the post and heading out of play. And with that, the score remained deadlocked at 0:0 as the players headed for the halftime break.

"Guys!" Coach Allegri said to his players after they settled in the dressing room during the halftime break. "Games like this are the ones that will make or break our indomitable success this season. If we don't win, our momentum will lower, and we'll find it hard to attain victory during the next few games. But if we can play brilliantly and defeat Inter Milan right now, at the start of the new year, we'll build up even more momentum to face all our future opponents. We'll gain unlimited confidence, and no other team — whether in Italy or Europe, will be able to match us this season. So, guys! Let's treat this match as a must-win game. Let's treat the match as a final. Let's go out there, utilize all our chances efficiently, and take the lead as soon as possible during the second half. Are you guys with me?"

"Yes, coach," the players replied, more or less in unison.

"Are you guys with me?" The coach asked again.

"Yes, coach!" The voices of the players were even louder that time around.

"That's the spirit." Coach Max Allegri smiled and swept his gaze around. "I know that Inter Milan is a good side. They have relatively skilled players in all areas of the field. But again, so what? The strength of their squad and all their preparations don't matter because of one single reason. We're better as a team. We're are a stronger team, and if we can play at our best, we'll be able to send them back to Milan crying. So, let's play with confidence during the second half and win this game. Clear?"

"Yes, coach."

"Good." Coach Allegri smiled and said a few more encouraging words to the players. He then assigned a few individual roles to all the players before sending them back to the field of play.

"Zachary! A moment please!"

A familiar voice called out to Zachary as he was about to follow his teammates and return to the field of play. Inclining his head to look, he noticed that it was Maurizio Trombetta, the assistant coach in charge of the first team, who happened to have called his name.

"Coach! Is there anything else?" Zachary said and stopped in his tracks.

"More instructions from the boss." The assistant coach went straight to the point. "During the first half, we noticed your impact on the pitch wasn't high. You're not as sharp as you were during the Supercoppa final! Is there a problem?"

"No, coach," Zachary replied. "I was just growing into the game while studying the Inter Milan players. I'm confident that I'll perform better during the second half."

"Then, that's good," Coach Trombetta said. "Try to take more risks and take on the opponents with your dribbling when you see fit. Additionally, whenever there's a chance, don't hesitate. Try to test the keeper from a distance. Maybe you will succeed and score. Is that clear?"

"Yes, coach," Zachary replied.

"There's also something else we noticed," Coach Trombetta continued. "There's a lot of space we can use on the flanks. With your speed and dribbling skills, you have a high probability of beating either Danilo D'Ambrosio or Hugo Campagnaro, the opposing wing-backs, during one-versus-one situations. So, try your best to float into the wings and take them on with your dribbling and speed. If you succeed, break into the box and try to score or set up one of your teammates. Is everything clear?"

"Yes, coach."

"Good." Coach Trombetta smiled. "I wish you all the luck during the second half. We have to win this game."

"We surely will," Zachary promised. Then after chugging down some more water, he exited the dressing room and headed to the field as he thought about his first-half performance against Inter Milan.

During the first half, his condition had been slightly off due to the recent rapid growth of his attributes. His timing and reactions had been slightly off, especially since he hadn't gotten used to the SS-grade agility. His body would, at times, move faster than his brain anticipated, and that would cause his actions to be out of sync.

But fortunately, Zachary overcame the slight difficulty towards the end of the first half. His SS grade game intelligence had worked wonders and allowed him to adapt to his recently enhanced attributes during an intensive match. He was now at a hundred percent match fitness and ready to perform at his best during the second half.