THE GREATEST OF ALL TIME
chapter-560

*FWEEEEEEE*

The referee blew the whistle at 9:00 PM, and the game between Empoli started immediately after. The Juventus players were the ones to kick off the game. They sent their home fans into a frenzy of excitement and boundless expectations as they quickly settled into a comfortable rhythm of slow build-ups during the opening stages.

The Old Lady players continued passing the ball among their defenders and holding midfielders while trying to stretch Empoli's defensive shape. They didn't try to force anything and only arrayed themselves into their traditional 3-5-2 formation while hoarding most of the ball possession during the opening minutes.

But as the proceedings moved forward and the 14th minute arrived, most of the Juventus starting eleven on the night demonstrated why they were usually on the bench. The second-stringers who had made the starting line-up showed tendencies toward being impatient. They began rushing and trying out complicated plays and consequently became prone to making amateur mistakes.

The young Juventus players, like the 18-year-old Federico Mattiello and the 21-year-old Stefano Sturaro, even made blind passes within the defensive third that almost cost the team dearly. Their negligence really did invite immediate counters from the well-disciplined Empoli players during the 16th, 21st, and 24th minutes.

Fortunately for Juventus, Gianluigi Buffon, the experienced keeper, was on fire again that night. He performed beyond expectations on all occasions and kept the score deadlocked at 0:0 with stunning saves that wowed the fans, commentators, and players alike.

The game was on, and after profiting from the mistakes of the Juventus players and coming close to scoring, the Empoli players, who had been on the backfoot all night, grew into the game. They quickly settled into a dynamic 4-3-1-2 system and played intricate and brilliant football against Juventus for the next dozen or so minutes.

One of the main trademarks of their play was the highly-organized four-man back-line, which remained disciplined at all times to allow Empoli to play a high defensive line and consequently adopt the offside trap strategy against Juventus' forwards. With that strategy, Empoli's defense managed to thwart three waves of lightning-fast offensives, which would have otherwise turned into goals if the Juventus players who had gotten the opportunities were to be onside as they connected with the final through balls that set them up for perfect one-versus-ones against the Empoli keeper.

The other trademark for Empoli's game was their zonal marking system that required their defensive players, including the holding midfielders, to remain synchronized in their movements, anticipate plays, and look at the ball as a point of reference, not their opponents. Except for Zachary, who got special tight marking treatment, Empoli utilized that strategy to create many challenges for the other Juventus players, who were having an increasingly more challenging game as the minutes flashed by.

The Empoli players showcased their mastery of the zonal marking strategy as the 30th minute approached. Disregarding the keeper, nine of their ten field players didn't match the Juventus team man-for-man. Instead, they concentrated on creating a defensive structure in which horizontal and vertical compactness was the focus. They compressed the distances between each position of their players and prioritized controlling and defending spaces at all times.

Their zonal-marking approach was a bull's eye on that night. It allowed them to delay and frustrate the underperforming Juventus players without allowing any sort of penetration whatsoever within their defensive block. Moreover, an even more demoralizing fact was that they were not taking risks to embark on sudden attacks against Juventus while executing their tactic. As such, the Juventus players didn't get any opportunities to launch any of the terrifying counterattacks they had come to be known for over the past few months. Evidently, Maurizio Sarri, the Empoli coach, had done his homework, and his well-thought-out strategies were enough to give his team a fair chance against the flying Juventus team.

Zachary, on his part, was also not having it easy. From the first minute, he had been getting 'special treatment' from Empoli's three holding midfielders, who annoyingly took turns to stick on him like superglue. Their tight-marking approach was a nuisance for his game, especially since the coach had left the other creative Juventus midfielders like Andrea Pirlo on the bench.

Zachary found it challenging to escape his markers on numerous occasions since he could not easily link play with the less creative on-pitch Juventus midfielders. Even worse, going at it alone and using his dribbling to break through was not an option. His markers were going all out to torment him, and they would not hesitate to kick his shin, step on his foot, bump into him, or execute some other dark arts if he as so much showed the intent to hold onto the ball and advance an attack. The opponents had isolated him in such a way, and his impact had been minimal the whole evening.

The first half passed quietly, and the second half commenced after a fifteen-minute break. Zachary, who had just gotten well-thought-out instructions from his coach, settled down and started floating around the pitch to tire out his markers. He relied on his newly acquired SS-grade stamina and endurance attributes to constantly move around the pitch.

He would be in the midfield at one moment, but a few seconds later, he would take off abruptly and position himself in the wings. At other times, he would be on the striking line, and then he would suddenly fall back and settle in the defensive midfield zone.

His movements and switch of positions became more erratic as the game progressed. He didn't make many touches on the ball, but he repeatedly managed to draw his markers out of their holding midfield positions, thus allowing the other midfielders to come alive on the field of play.

His impact on the pitch became apparent during the 54th minute when he initiated a sudden and spirited run out of the midfield. At the very instant when Juventus was transitioning from its slow build-up to a full-blown offensive, he took off from the center circle and bolted forward like a raging whirlwind toward the left side of Empoli's box.

But even though his speed was quite impressive, he still couldn't shake off Mirko Valdifiori, the holding midfielder who happened to be marking him at that moment.

But even then, Zachary didn't lose hope. His strides were spirited as ever as he was sure that drawing away an important Empoli holding midfielder from his position would benefit his team even if he didn't get involved in the attack. He just continued dashing forward without any care while the midfielder shadowed him.

Simone Padoin, the Juventus midfielder, who had just received the ball, spotted Zachary's run. His instincts almost took control, and he was an instant away from playing the ball to the young number 10. But just then, Coach Allegri's half-time words sounded in his mind.

"At crucial moments when Zachary makes sudden runs and draws away the holding midfielders marking him," the coach had said, "all our other midfielders should work quickly and try to utilize the gaps he leaves behind with the sole intent to score..."

Lightning-fast thoughts raced through Simone Padoin's mind, and he made a decision within an instant. He took off like a rocket before Empoli's zonal defense could shape up again and drove straight into the space left by the midfielder marking Zachary. His speed was impressive, and in only mere seconds, he was already stepping into the final third.

However, more work still awaited him as he approached the box. The Empoli back-four had already compacted their defensive line to deny him passage. As such, he couldn't force his way through their ranks, even if, by some chance, he acquired skills that would match those of Zachary.

A glint passed through Simone Padoin's eyes, and his instincts tingled. And right then, he spotted a shadow in Juventus' white and black striped jersey about to cut into the space behind Empoli's back-line on the right flank.

Simone Padoin didn't hesitate even in the slightest before threading the ball through a gap between the Empoli left-back and the opposing center-back. With that well-timed pass, he caught the defenders napping and played the ball into the space just behind the opposing left-back.

"Whoosh..."

On the right flank, the young Federico Mattiello, who was Juventus' wing-back for the day, dashed past the dazed Empoli left-back at the exact moment when Simone Padoin was releasing the ball. His run was well-timed, and he smashed through Empoli's offside trap by a split second before connecting with the immaculately placed through-pass.

Though still only eighteen years, Federico Mattiello was a player who could remain composed at certain crucial moments. He drove the ball further toward Empoli's side of the pitch like a true-blue incarnation of a one-hundred-meter champion. On arriving in the space a few meters from the goalline, Federico did what any wing-back should do. He immediately swung his leg down and sent a hell of a cross towards the box.

"Whoosh..."

The ball from Federico Mattiello tore through the air and soared toward the box like a surface-to-surface missile. At that moment, the Empoli center-backs were already in action, tightly marking the two Juventus forwards in the area while also anticipating the incoming cross. Their positioning was perfect. As such, everyone watching the game must have thought they would come out on top and clear the danger.

But then, something unexpected transpired when everyone's eyes were still glued on the incoming cross. Just when the ball started to descend into the box under gravity, a tall silhouette rushed in from the space beyond the left side of the box.

It was Zachary, and he had just initiated a sudden run to leave his marker in the dust before racing to meet the incoming cross. Like a true-blue fox in the box, he floated into the unmarked space before Empoli's center-backs and pushed off the ground with all the momentum he had accumulated.

He rose into the air like a Ninja and made the subtlest of touches with his head to brush the ball and guide it goalward. His heading technique was world-class, and he effortlessly found the inside of the far post to score Juventus' 1st goal during the 55th minute.

As for the Empoli defenders and keeper, they couldn't even react. They seemed to know not what was going on, and they were still struggling to mark the other Juventus strikers when Zachary was already outwitting them and finding the back of the net.