THE GREATEST OF ALL TIME
chapter-576

A very odd atmosphere had descended over the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium with the sound of the final whistle.

The Real Madrid fans were quiet as they digested the bitter reality of their team's elimination from the UEFA Champions League. Their faces were glum, and some were even crying. Others were holding their hands behind their heads, just like a group of mourners at the funeral of one of their close ones.

On the contrary, the Juventus fans were at the zenith of their joy after witnessing their team overcome the reigning champions and eliminate them from Europe's most prestigious competition. They had taken over the Santiago Bernabéu and were constantly singing and yelling at the top of their voices.

Such scenes were what Zachary saw as he moved around the pitch to celebrate with his teammates after the heated quarter-final game. A wide smile had already outlined his facial features, and he felt he was at the peak of life. He couldn't contain his happiness after eliminating a team as strong as Real Madrid from the Champions League.

"Congratulations upon putting up another exceptional performance tonight," a reporter said after abruptly shoving a microphone into his face. "How do you feel after eliminating the reigning champions and qualifying for the semis?"

"Happy, of course," Zachary replied, the smile never leaving his face. "The game was tricky, and we were on the back foot for a long time. But I'm still satisfied with what we did. Yes, the first half was tough, and we even conceded a goal. But we changed for the better during the second half and played a solid game. We got the required result and won the game. Now, we can begin preparing for the semis."

The reporter smiled and nodded. "You got your 16th goal for this Champions League campaign. You're only one goal shot from equaling the record Ronaldo set last year after he found the back of the net seventeen times to become the player with the highest number of goals ever in a single Champions League season. Do you have the confidence to break or surpass this record?"

"I'm not sure," Zachary said. "Scoring goals sometimes depends on luck. Sometimes, it's your day, and you will effortlessly find the back of the net. Other times, you can try dozens of times and still fail to put the ball in the back of the net. So, I don't know whether or not I will score in the upcoming semis. But I'm confident that I'll do my best to help Juventus win the next stage of the Champions League."

"Zachary, thanks for answering my questions," the reporter said with a smile. "And congratulations again upon qualifying for the UEFA Champions League semi-finals. I wish you the best in your upcoming matches."

Zachary nodded and shook hands with the reporter. After saying his goodbyes, he walked away and followed his still-jubilant teammates and coaches to the dressing room.

Meanwhile, BT Sport's UEFA Champions League wrap-up show had just commenced. The main presenter was Gary Lineker, and with him were the three pundits - Michael Owen, Rio Ferdinand, and Steven Gerrard.

Gary Lineker waited for the broadcast from the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium to end before smiling at the cameras and saying, "Our dear viewers! That was Zachary Bemba, the match winner, speaking to one of our reporters at the Santiago Bernabéu. For those just joining us, he's the one who scored Juventus' goal on the night and helped them secure their qualification for the Champions League semi-finals."

"What a game we just had!" His smile widened, and he turned to glance at the pundits for the game. "Gentlemen! Let's start with Zachary Bemba's performance in the quarter-final. He scored a landmark 16th goal for this Champions League campaign. He's only one away from equaling Christiano's record of the most goals in a season. Do you see him getting this goal and putting his name in the record books?"

Michael Owen smiled. "Zachary Bemba has been brilliant over the past few games. He's a player who is always hungry and eager to score whenever he's on the pitch. He will get the goal in one way or another and equal the record. He might even get two and surpass the record."

"I can't dispute that." Rio Ferdinand grinned. "Zachary is a brilliant player in and out. Tonight, we saw for ourselves what he can do with even a single opportunity. He's one player who can create something out of nothing. I would instead be surprised if he failed to find the back of the net over the two legs of the semi-final."

"That brings us to our next question." Gary Lineker smiled. "Does he make the Ballon d'Or shortlist for this season?"

"That's a no-brainer," Michael Owen said. "He will be on the shortlist, and he will be one of the top contenders. In fact, he might as well go home with the prize if he can score a few more goals and help Juventus win the Champions League."

"I agree with Michael on this one," Steven Gerrard said. "Zachary Bemba has already made plenty of contributions towards Juventus' successful defense of their Serie A title. He has also scored more than fifty goals in all competitions this season. If his team can win the Champions League, the Ballon d'Or could be his for the taking."

"Well," Gary Lineker said. "Before we continue discussing the quarter-finals, let's look at the results from the other fixtures."

As his voice sounded, the camera crew quickly changed the pictures on the big screens to the results of the other Champions League quarter-final fixtures.

UCL Quarter-final Results

Played on Tuesday, April 21, 2015

->Bayern Munich 6 (7) - (4) 1 FC Porto

->Barcelona 2 (6) - (1) 0 Paris Saint-Germain

Played on Wednesday, April 22, 2015

->Real Madrid 1 (2) - (4) 1Juventus FC

->AS Monaco 1 (1) - (2) 1 Borussia Dortmund

*Results in brackets are the aggregate scores over the two legs.

"The surprise for the weak was Bayern Munich," Gary Lineker spoke while the results were still showing on the screens. "The German champions overcame a two-goal deficit from the first leg to win the quarter-final by an aggregate score of 7:4."

"Barcelona also performed as usual and defeated Paris Saint-Germain 2:0 on the night to win the quarters by an aggregate score of 6:1. The match between Monaco and Borussia Dortmund was full of ups and downs, with the French team being the first to find the back of the net. But Dortmund eventually got the better of Monaco by scoring an equalizer late in the game."

"We now have ourselves two great semi-final fixtures to look forward to. Juventus will face Borussia Dortmund, with the first leg of the semis in Turin. On the other hand, Barcelona will battle Bayern Munich in the other semi-final, with the first leg at the Camp Nou in Spain."

"Wow!" Michael Owen chimed in. "The battle between Barcelona and Bayern Munich is going to be a huge one. One side has the free-scoring trio of Neymar, Suárez, and Messi, while the other has Robert Lewandowski and Thomas Müller. The midfield face-off between Barcelona's Busquets, Rakitic, and Iniesta, as they clash with Bayern Munich's Xabi Alonso, Bastian Schweinsteiger, and Thiago Alcántara, will also be interesting to see."

"Don't forget the battle between the two coaches - Luis Enrique and Pep Guardiola," Steven Gerrard reminded. "It will be interesting to see whether the new coach of Barcelona can outwit the former one."

The others laughed at that.

Gary Lineker smiled. "What about the other semi-final fixture between Juventus and Borussia Dortmund?"

"In all honesty," Rio Ferdinand replied, "Juventus have it a bit easy during the semi-finals. They are against Borussia Dortmund, a team that hasn't been in great form and is currently only 7th in the Bundesliga. With the form Juventus is on, I expect them to win. Unless something goes terribly wrong, I expect them to put this semi-final to bed and qualify for the finals."

"Borussia Dortmund is not so weak as a team," Michael Owen reminded. "They have names like Marco Reus, Ciro Immobile, Ilkay Gündogan, Henrikh Mkhitaryan, Mats Hummels, and Shinji Kagawa. They also have Jürgen Klopp, a coach with a knack for performing on big occasions. I have a feeling that the game won't be that easy."

"They are a good team," Rio Ferdinand agreed. "But against the flying Juventus, they still fall short. Unless there is a miracle, I can't see them outperforming Juventus, a team with players like Zachary, Andrea Pirlo, Carlos Tevez, and many others."

"Well, gentlemen," Gary Lineker, the presenter, interrupted. "The match is on May 5, roughly two weeks away. But between now and then, Juventus will have to play three Serie A games. First, they will play Torino away from home and then face Fiorentina at home before battling Sampdoria in another away fixture. All matches are within a short window of seven days."

"The Serie A fixtures no longer matter for Juventus since they are already champions," Michael Owen said. "I'm sure Coach Allegri will rest most of his key players, including Zachary Bemba, Andrea Pirlo, Carlos Tevez, and even the defenders, like Giorgio Chiellini and Leonardo Bonucci. He could use his second squad so as to allow his first team to focus on only preparing for the Champions League semis."

Gary Lineker nodded, and the show went on. The pundits continued discussing football issues until the TV program ended forty minutes later.