THE GREATEST OF ALL TIME

In another office at the Juventus headquarters, Fabio Paratici, Juventus' sporting director, sighed after ending the call with his boss. The morning sunrays streamed in through the big window on the opposite side, highlighting the helpless expression plastered on his face. He was at his wit's end as he considered how to fulfill President Agnelli's request.

"Let's talk to Coach Allegri first," he thought, standing up from his seat. "He's the only one who can determine whether the current Juventus squad can achieve an unbeaten run this season."

After donning his overcoat, he quickly walked out of his office and headed towards the exit of the building. Along the way, many of the Juventus staff greeted him, while a few others nodded to him with smiles. Of course, he responded to their salutations politely, sometimes with a nod, before continuing on his way. And very soon, he exited the main Juventus office building at Corso Galileo Ferraris and walked into the heartwarming autumn sunshine of Turin.

Standing before the entrance of the head office, Fabio quickly called his driver, who arrived within a few minutes. After exchanging a few words with the middle-aged driver, Fabio boarded his shinning Maserati Quattroporte, and off they went, driving off into Turin's morning traffic and heading to the Juventus Training Center, also known as the Vinovo. They arrived within 30 minutes, and Fabio alighted from the vehicle and walked into the training center.

On passing by the gym a few seconds later, Fabio was amazed. Through the crystal-clean window glasses, he could see players working out that early morning, even if it was a day off for the Juventus squad. Second-string players like Kingsley Coman, Paolo De Ceglie, and Simone Pepe were already working with the weights or breaking a sweat on the treadmills and cycling machines. But that was not what shocked the sporting director. Instead, what caused his eyes to bulge out was when he noticed Zachary Bemba, Fernando Llorente, and Álvaro Morata working out in the gym. After playing a game yesterday, the three players didn't utilize the day off to rest. Instead, they had already hit the gym and were busy executing stretches and going through light body-strengthening workouts. As far as the sporting director was concerned, those three players were not humans, but machines, who didn't have the word post-match fatigue in their vocabulary.

"Director!" A familiar voice sounded behind Fabio as he was still peeking into the gym. "To what do we owe the pleasure of having you here today morning?"

On hearing the voice, Fabio immediately whirled around with a smile. And as he expected, he came face to face with Massimiliano Allegri, the head coach of Juventus. The head coach looked all dapper and fit in a tracksuit with the label of Juventus on his chest.

"Coach Allegri!" Fabio exclaimed, still maintaining his smile. "I was just about to look for you. How's your morning?"

Coach Allegri laughed. "The team is in fine form, and we just defeated AS Roma in Rome yesterday. So, my morning is as good as it can ever be. What about you, director? How's your morning?"

"My morning is also great," Fabio replied. "Thanks for a good job yesterday, by the way. The 3:1 victory over AS Roma really lifted the spirits of the fans. But coach! I have to ask. Is it okay for players like Zachary and Fernando to be training the morning after the match? Don't they require some rest to recover from post-match fatigue?"

Coach Allegri smiled and said dismissively, "Let them be. They know their bodies best. Moreover, they didn't play the full 90 minutes yesterday. So, they should have some fuel left in their reserves to do some training today. There's no need to worry about them."

"Okay, if you say so," the sporting director said, casting one more glance into the gym. "But I hope they can remain fit throughout the season. We wouldn't want our key players getting injured even before the middle of the season. That would be too unfortunate."

"Light gym workouts won't cause injuries," Coach Allegri remarked. "But director! What brings you to the Vinovo today morning?"

Fabio smiled, turning his attention from the gym and back to the coach. "We need to talk. Let's head to your office first."

"Okay," Coach Allegri said.

Turning around, the coach led the way toward his office while Fabio followed him closely. They quietly traversed the spotlessly clean hallways of the Vinovo until they arrived at a large glass door with Coach Allegri's door label sign. After opening it, they quickly headed inside before taking their seats.

"So, Mr. Director!" Coach Allegri said, leaning back in his seat. He narrowed his eyes and continued, "What do you need to talk about today?"

In response, Fabio smiled and told the coach about President Agnelli's ambition to accomplish an unbeaten run in the Italian Serie A that season. After that, he asked what was required to achieve such a feat.

"You guys are really setting very high goals for the team," Coach Allegri said with a bitter smile after hearing Fabio's question. "But worry not. If we play our cards right, we can really achieve an unbeaten run this season. As the president said, we only need to play every game as a final."

"Hearing your words brightens my spirits," Fabio said with a hearty chuckle. "So, what's needed?"

The corners of Coach Allegri's lips lifted, and he leaned forward. "I only have one request. That's for the club to sign another lethal striker and a solid center-back. I'm talking about promising names like Robert Lewandowski, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, and Romelu Lukaku on striking, and players like Nicolas Otamendi, Diego Godin, and Jose Fonte. Get me two of those players, one a defender and another a striker, in the January transfer window. Then I'll have all the tools to aim for an unbeaten run during the latter half of the season. As for staying unbeaten during the first half of the season, that will have to depend on our luck."

"Those are some big demands you're making," Fabio said, narrowing his eyes. "Don't you already have enough defenders and attacking players?"

"But they are not enough when targeting an unbeaten run," the coach argued. "To win every game, we must have unbelievable squad depth and lethal options on our bench. For instance, if the going gets tough, we can bring in a lethal striker to shake things up. And in case of injuries, we must replace the injured players with those of the same quality. That's how we can play all the games in a season without losing."

"Could you be hoping to exploit the president's ambition and sign more players?" Fabio narrowed his eyes while looking at the coach.

Coach Allegri laughed, shaking his head. "You're the one who came to me, asking the requirements needed to accomplish an unbeaten run. All I did was answer your questions."

"Well, that's true," Fabio said, sighing resignedly. "I'll communicate to the president your demands. But don't hold much hope, as all the players you've mentioned are expensive. In the meantime, utilize your current squad to win every game. With Zachary and the rest, there's a possibility."

"Yes, there's," Coach Allegri answered. "And for your information, I'm always working hard to win every game. It's just that factors out of my control, like injuries and player morale, come into play and cause me to fall short at certain times. Otherwise, I would also love to make history by not losing or winning all the games in a season."

"By the way, what's with Zachary?" Fabio asked. "He played as a striker and performed incredibly against Atlético Madrid. Can't we convert him into a center forward? I'm sure he would do wonders on the striking line."

Coach Allegri shook his head and said, "I have already thought about that on several occasions. However, if we convert Zachary into a forward, we'll be losing one of the best midfielders in the world. If he plays as a striker, we'll obviously be underutilizing his vision, passing range, creativity, tactical awareness, and dribbling skills during crucial games. As you can see, the gain doesn't equal the loss in such circumstances."

"Okay, I understand," Fabio said, standing up. "I'll communicate to the president about your demands. Otherwise, thanks for the incredible work with the team, and have a good day."

"You too," Coach Allegri said and shook hands with the sporting director. "Have a good day too."

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