THE GREATEST OF ALL TIME
chapter-544

Sunday, March 22nd, 2015

Juventus Stadium, Turin, Italy.

Time: 3:00 PM

*FWEEEEEEE*

The referee blew the whistle on time, and the much-anticipated Serie A battle between Juventus and Genoa commenced. The first few minutes were full of midfield battles as both teams fought hard to gain dominance on the field of play. But eventually, after about twelve minutes of intense football, Juventus came out on top by relying on their star-studded midfield, which included world-class players like Andrea Pirlo, Arturo Vidal, and Zachary Bemba. The team from Turin effortlessly settled into the game and started dictating the tempo. From there on, Juventus' attacks grew increasingly more threatening, and it wasn't long before the men in striped black and white jerseys created their first goal-scoring chance.

"Whoosh..."

Zachary, who had already gotten used to his unrestrained role on the Juventus squad, floated into the left wing during the 14th minute. He connected with a raking long ball from Andrea Pirlo and then initiated a two-versus-one battle against Facundo Roncaglia, one of the three Genoa defenders. By working with Patrice Evra, the two of them effortlessly beat the Genoa defender, and before long, they started cutting back into the pitch towards Genoa's goal.

"Zachary! Zachary..."

The cheers around the stadium hit a thunderous peak as Patrice Evra received the ball and quickly threaded it back to Zachary to complete another lightning-fast exchange of one-twos.

Zachary controlled the ball well without losing composure and squared it toward Carlos Tevez, who happened to have just dashed into an unmarked pocket of space at the edge of Genoa's box.

Carlos Tevez, on his part, was quite unselfish at that juncture. He took only a single deft touch to escape from his marker. Then, when the angle opened up, the Argentine unleashed a diagonal pass through the legs of the defender and into the path of Zachary, who happened to have continued his brazen sprinting toward the opponent's goal.

With that rapid exchange of passes between Zachary and Tevez, the Genoa center-backs were thoroughly beaten. Their expressions appeared contorted as they instinctively turned around to stare at Zachary, who happened to be already driving into the box like a lightning bolt. But despite their unwillingness to surrender, there was not a thing they could do at that moment to stop him. Like statues, they remained rooted in place as the cheers rose up a notch in anticipation of Juventus' first goal on the night.

"Pa..."

Zachary slowed down and took another touch as he approached the keeper from a tight angle. Everything before him seemed to slow down at that moment, and he drew his leg back before unleashing a shot toward the goal. His intent was to curl the ball past the keeper and then effortlessly find the inside of the far post before the Genoa defenders could recover.

However, to Zachary's surprise, Mattia Perin, the Genoa goalkeeper, reacted abnormally. The keeper, who had already initiated a diving motion to the right, suddenly altered his center of gravity to realign his posture and spring to the left. Moreover, Mattia Perin's reflexes were lightning-fast, and he managed to graze the ball with his fingertips, thus altering the shot's trajectory by a slight margin.

"Shit..."

Zachary couldn't help but mutter a curse when he saw the goalkeeper's fingertips skimming the ball. He had gone for accuracy, intending to find the far corner, just inside the far post, as he released the ball. As such, he was already dreading the fact that the slight graze from the keeper would send the ball away from its intended target, and then he would be in for a world of disappointment.

"BAM!"

As expected, Zachary's curling shot didn't find the inside of the far post. The ball instead smashed off the post before rebounding into the box. Fortunately, Juventus' chance wasn't over as Carlos Tevez was the first to pounce toward the just-rebounded ball. The Argentine reached it before all the opponents and unleashed a first-time snapshot toward the middle of the goal. Moreover, he had taken the shot with power and thus effortlessly beat the Genoa keeper, who was still trying to pick himself up from the ground after saving Zachary's effort.

"This is it..."

Zachary, who happened to be watching from the side, felt his hopes soar as the ball dashed past the keeper while heading fast toward the back of the net. But the next second, his spirits sank into the abyss of boundless gloom as a silhouette donning Genoa's red and dark blue jersey appeared out of the blue to intercept the shot. The Genoa man moved like a ghost, and before Zachary could blink, the ball was already being cleared away from the goal line.

"What the hell..."

Feelings of surprise and dismay assaulted Zachary's psyche as he watched the just-cleared ball soar high toward the night skies of Turin before floating out of play. Zachary had tried his best to chip the ball past the keeper and score Juventus' 1st goal during the 15th minute but failed. Seconds later, Carlos Tevez also tried on the rebound but still failed. Moreover, there was also that Genoa defender who appeared out of nowhere to clear away Tevez's effort from the goal line. The entire series of events replayed through Zachary's mind, and he could contain his anguish. He was even more disappointed with himself for missing the chance after taking in the dejected expressions of the Juventus supporters in the stands behind the goal.

"Don't mind, don't mind!" A familiar voice sounded beside Zachary as the negative feelings threatened to overwhelm him. "We have missed these two chances. That's a fact. But let's get over them quickly and create more opportunities. As long as we keep on testing their defense and keeper, we'll, at one point, score a goal."

Zachary inclined his head and realized that the player trying to console him was Fernando Llorente, Juventus' second-striker for the day. Smiling slightly, Zachary said, "Thanks, Fernando. I understand what we have to do. Let's continue creating more opportunities. I don't believe the Genoa defenders will continue being lucky if we create more chances on goal. We'll surely score and win the game."

"That's the spirit." Fernando Llorente smiled and patted Zachary's back. "We try once, and if we fail, we try the second, then the third, and countless more times until we finally score. That's all we have to do until we score."

Zachary nodded and headed back toward his position in midfield. The cleared ball had moved out of play for a throw-in on the left flank. So, he readily sprinted into an unmarked space close to the left of the midfield and shouted for the ball.

*FWEEEEEEE*

The referee blew the whistle a second or so later. Patrice Evra, the Juventus left-back, immediately raced towards the line and threw the ball into the pitch. The Frenchman's accuracy was spot on, and he effortlessly found Zachary, who was still lurking in the unmarked pocket of space close to the border of the final third on the left flank.

"Whoosh..."

Zachary took off like the wind and connected with the throw-in ball from Patrice Evra. His SS-grade skills worked like a charm, and he brought the ball under control on the first try.

But right at that moment, his instincts tingled. With a slight incline of his head, he spotted a Genoa player approaching his position like a speeding train.

Zachary held his breath and let his instincts take over. He controlled the ball with his right boot while using his body to shield it from the fast-approaching defender. The next second, the Marseille Turn Juju worked wonders — and just like a true-blue incarnation of the great Zinedine Zidane, he smoothly completed a 360-degree turn before accelerating quickly past the defender.

Control the ball! Marseille Turn! Instant acceleration!

Zachary completed the entire series of movements swiftly and gracefully, like a skilled dancer performing an elegant dance with the ball. Before the helpless defender could realize what was happening, Zachary was already dashing past another opponent while approaching Genoa's box like a raging tempest.

A few seconds later, Zachary floated into the space before the box and faced off against Nicolás Burdisso, Genoa's captain and center-back. Zachary didn't choose to take the defender on with his dribbling skills. Instead, he skillfully threaded a diagonal ball past the defender to set up a one-versus-one battle between Fernando Llorente and the Genoa keeper. Moreover, Zachary's timing was spot on, and he released the ball a second before Fernando Llorente could run into an offside position.

At that moment, the cheers around the Juventus stadium hit a thunderous crescendo. Fernando Llorente was, of course, not bothered by the loud noise in the stadium. He connected with Zachary's pin-point through pass on the left side of the box and drove it forward like the wind. Then, before the Genoa defenders could react, he dug his boot under the ball and dinked it over the keeper with the grace and composure that matched his skills as a world-class finisher.

Right after that, Fernando Llorente slowly started raising his hands, seemingly to celebrate. But then, the next moment, his expression turned aghast as something he had not expected transpired. And just by reflex, he placed his already raised hands to the back of his head as the ball smashed off the crossbar and bounced back into the space just before the goal line.

"The chance is still on," Zachary yelled to remind the stunned Fernando Llorente. "Hurry and go after the ball..."

Fernando Llorente, being a sharp striker of the world-class level, didn't need any reminders on what to do in such a situation. He reacted like a mighty lion going in for the kill and dived head-first toward the still-bouncing ball.

Right at that moment, when Fernando's head was 'just about' to make contact with the ball, the time seemed to slow down, and a gloved hand appeared out of nowhere. It was, of course, Mattia Perin, Genoa's goalkeeper, in action. The shot-stopper's acrobatics were almost inhuman as he palmed the ball away from Fernando's head at the last instant to save the situation.

*FWEEEEEEE*

The referee immediately blew the whistle and pointed to the corner flag after the ball bounced beyond the touchline for a corner kick. But all the Juventus players, including Zachary, seemed oblivious to the referee's actions. Their shocked and dismayed expressions said it all. It was as if they were still stuck in a past moment, and they couldn't believe they had missed yet another clear chance to take the lead during the 17th minute.