THE GREATEST OF ALL TIME

Zachary abandoned all the redundant thoughts and focused on assessing the field when he stepped into his position. He started scrutinizing both his opponents and teammates carefully while waiting for the whistle to restart the game. Positioning, standing postures, facial expressions, alertness—Zachary took them all in.

His brain was in overdrive as he searched for gaps in the green team's 4-3-3 attacking formation. He also tried to anticipate future passing opportunities that could arise from the potential actions of his teammates. He had taken the first step to perform as a Maestro by beginning with the necessary on-field risk analysis even before the game restarted. That way, he would release the ball accurately and quickly to his teammates after receiving a pass.

*FWEEEEEEE*

The assistant coach blew his whistle a few seconds later, signaling for the red team to restart the scrimmage game.

John Chibuike, the red team's center forward, kick-started the game with a simple pass back to Borek Dockal, the attacking midfielder. The latter didn't even control the ball. Instead, he flicked it towards Ole Selnæs, the red team's defensive midfielder, with his first touch.

Ole controlled the ball beautifully and passed it towards the left-wing before Nicki Nielson, the green team's center forward, could close him down.

Jörgen Skjelvik, the red team's left-back, received the ball near the touchline, showcasing his high-level ball control with a flashy deft touch. But he was instantly closed down by Tobias Mikkelsen, the highly agile Rosenborg starting winger.

Tobias positioned his body well while pressing Jörgen, thereby cutting off all his forward passing options through the wing.

Jörgen Skjelvik could only choose to make a back pass to Daniel Örlund, the goalkeeper, instead of standing the risk of losing possession.

Daniel Örlund then played the ball quickly towards Ole Selnæs since Nicki Nielson was almost closing him down. Zachary could guess that his teammates were about to fall into a disadvantageous situation. Although his red team still maintained possession, he could tell that it was the opponents with the initiative. The first-stringers in green bibs were very good at creating high-pressing zones deep in the red team's half. They had managed to keep the red team in their own half before Zachary arrived on the pitch using those tactics.

However, Zachary wasn't prepared to let the game situation continue following the green team's tempo. He hoped to earn a spot on the starting squad for the match against Malmo the following day. The best way to achieve that was to make a marked impact against the much stronger side comprising the first-stringers in green bibs.

"Ole, pass here," he yelled at the top of his voice, running back into his half—away from Mix Diskerud, the player in green that was marking him. "Pass here."

Ole Selnæs just cast a single glance towards him while controlling the low ball from Daniel Örlund, the goalkeeper. Without any pause in his actions, he then raised his leg and kicked the ball to Zachary with his second touch.

Zachary could feel his heart palpitating with excitement as the ball rolled towards him. He was finally playing in an internal scrimmage match for a professional club in Europe for the first time after signing his contract. A soft smile outlined his face as he received the ball with a simple deft touch, pushing it just a few feet in front of him in the process.

Meanwhile, he simultaneously let his gaze survey the situation on the pitch.

In that instant, his brain mapped the entire placement of all the players in his field of vision. He noticed that both Ole Selnæs and Borek Dockal, his counterparts in the red team's midfield, had already moved into open space. They were seemingly waiting for a pass from him. Daniel Berntsen, his teammate in the wing for that match, was already sprinting on the left flank, ostensibly anticipating a through ball from him. On the other hand, Mix Diskerud, the green team's attacking midfielder, was closing him down quickly. He would be upon him within seconds if he didn't release the ball right away.

However, Zachary had long gotten used to playing under tense situations. He had a lot of experience under his belt since he'd already played in two international youth tournaments and even won one—that's was while playing on the weaker side.

He was very confident in his skills, and even the pressing of the professionals couldn't phase him. So, he maintained his composure as his brain filtered out the noise and assessed the game situation at that very instant.

Zachary's soccer brain managed to take in many other trivial situations that he would have ignored if he hadn't mastered the Zinedine-Pirlo Mental Juju. His mind was in overdrive, analyzing risk and deducing the best position to distribute the ball before the opponents could close him down. Zachary managed to complete a simple vector analysis, including a summation of the easiest linear or curved routes to make the most effective pass at that moment.

And then it all came to him. Out of the corner of his eyes, he noticed John Chibuike, the red team's center forward, taking his first step away from Per Rönning, the center-back who'd been marking him.

A light bulb went off in Zachary's head as he shifted his full attention towards the striker from Nigeria. Their gazes seemed to collide for a brief moment over the fifty-yard distance.

Zachary was made aware of the intention of the forward in that instant. By instinct, he knew that John Chibuike wanted the ball, and he wanted it then.

Thus, he didn't dawdle. He raised his leg high and smashed the ball away from him before any opposing midfielders could close him down. Zachary even incorporated some kicking postures of the Bend-it like Beckham Juju when he'd unleashed the defense-splitting pass towards the striker. Furthermore, he'd timed it perfectly to release John Chibuike just as he was stepping away from his marker.

The ball flew towards the green team's half, flashing above the players in both red and green bibs. Then at the last moment, it curved abruptly, taking a nosedive and bouncing a few yards ahead of the sprinting John Chibuike.

"Offside," Per Rönning, the center-back who'd been marking John Chibuike, raised his arm and yelled at the top of his voice. However, Trond Henriksen, the assistant coach refereeing the scrimmage game, waved his arms before indicating for play to continue. Per Rönning could only shake his head as he rushed back towards his goal to defend.

But by then, John Chibuike was already ahead of the green team's last line of defense by a few yards. He was sprinting towards the bouncing ball like the wind.

He managed to reach it first and head it in front of him with his first touch. His control was perfect. He'd managed to guide the ball to the front of the 18-yard box using his head and even left the chasing defenders in the dust with only that single touch.

Zachary smiled as he watched the striker chasing after the ball before beating the keeper with a fine strike on his second touch from the edge of the box. 1:1. The red team had managed to pull one back in the scrimmage game.

Zachary could hardly contain his delight since he'd made a good assist and contributed towards the goal. He couldn't come to terms with how easy it was to quickly assess the playing field after learning the Zinedine-Pirlo Mental Juju. His only wish was that the coaches were watching him.

*FWEEEEEEE*

**** ****

Coach Boyd Johansen watched the scrimmage game from the sidelines. He was attentively watching out for any promising players that could play an instrumental role in Rosenborg's game against Malmo the following day.

He couldn't help but smile when he watched Zachary still performing like a superstar, even against the pros. The young player had been making a lot of defense-splitting passes since entering the pitch. Sometimes he would unleash the ball towards the wing where one of the wingers was lurking—and at others, he would play it low through the defense. He'd revitalized the red team with his uncanny passing ability. And thanks to him, the score remained only 2:1 in favor of Rosenborg's starting players in green bibs. That was even after playing the game for more than 30 minutes. If he hadn't been present, the red team's situation could have been worse.

The boy was still a prodigy, just like he'd been in the academy.

However, Coach Johansen knew that he couldn't rush to use him in the official games before dealing with his growth spurt. He didn't want to lose a promising young player to injuries only because he was impatient to use him. Moreover, the club chairman had urged him to manage Zachary's training with care so that the club wouldn't incur a loss.

Coach Johansen, though, was glad that the management had already purchased the highly tactical Mike Jensen from Bröndby IF. Thanks to that, he could afford to wait for a few months before using Zachary. So, he'd reinforced his decision of keeping Zachary out of the starting roster after watching Jensen playing.

He smiled as he watched Zachary make another raking pass towards Daniel Berntsen, the red team's winger. Meanwhile, his mind worked on a plan to help Zachary adapt to the professional league. He resolved to design a good fitness training regimen to keep him busy and prepare him for the more competitive stage of the Tippeligaen as soon as possible. His only hope was that Zachary wasn't one of the impatient types who would grow frustrated from lacking first-team football.

**** ****