THE GREATEST OF ALL TIME

After moving into the new villa, Zachary settled into a productive routine. Over the next few days, he would wake up early at around six and either jog around his beautiful neighborhood in Pinerolo, Piedmont, or go through a gym session within the comfort of his home. Then, a bit later, after enjoying a lavish breakfast prepared by Inger, his newly-hired professional chef, he would have Angelo drive him to the Vinovo, where he would spend hours attending Juventus' team training sessions.

In the evening, after putting in a few hours of his own personal training to hone his ball skills and free-kick technique, he would head to the language school and spend ample time learning Italian. The classes would end at around nine, and he would then have Angelo drive him back to his villa, where he would quickly return to his bedroom and jump into bed for the night.

Day in, and day out, Zachary didn't waste any waking moment in the slightest. He was so focused on improving himself as a person and a footballer that he even forgot to reach out to Eric Bailly for a few days. He only recalled that he'd forgotten to call his former teammate after his Thursday classes ended early and his schedule opened up slightly.

That day, he arrived home at around 7:00 PM and then enjoyed a sumptuous dinner prepared by Inger, his newly-hired professional chef. After the meal, he returned to his room and cleaned up before settling on his bed and dialing Eric Bailly's number through WhatsApp.

"Hello, Zach!" Eric Bailly was quick to reply. "Long time no talk, big man. How are you doing?"

"I'm doing fine, Eric," Zachary replied. "What about you? How is life at Tottenham taking you?"

"I can say quite well," Eric said with a chuckle. "I have already managed to make the first team. So, I'm having a blast playing in the Premiership. The only regret is that you didn't choose to join Tottenham with Kasongo and me."

Zachary also chuckled in response. "It wasn't time for me to join the Premier League. That's why I couldn't join Tottenham."

"Oh!" Eric Bailly sounded surprised. "Does that mean you'll join in the future?"

"Maybe, maybe not." Zachary didn't dare to give a definite answer as he'd just joined Juventus. Sighing slightly, he continued, "For now, I'm still focused on enjoying my time here in Turin. Let's put club football aside. Congratulations on defeating DRC over the weekend. I saw on the news that you won by two goals to one in Kinshasa."

"Thanks," Eric Bailly said. "And I'm sorry about my team defeating your home country. We just had to win, as we really wish to qualify for next year's African Cup of Nations."

"No problem, man," Zachary said dismissively. "You don't need to apologize. There's always a winner and a loser in football matches. And this time, my country was on the losing end. End of story."

Eric Bailly chuckled in response.

"Eric!" Zachary said. "I need a favor."

There were a few seconds of silence before Eric Bailly's voice sounded again. "Well, that's surprising. What do you need help with?"

Zachary took a deep breath and told Eric about his biological mother and how she was from Ivory Coast. Then, building from there, he also informed Eric about his wish to represent the Ivorian football side in as few words as possible. He then ended his short narrative by requesting his former teammate to help him contact the Ivorian Football Federation.

"Oh, my!" Eric Bailly exclaimed after hearing Zachary's request. "Do you really wish to represent Ivory Coast? Are you not joking with me?"

"Not at all," Zachary assured. "I'm being serious here. I have not played for any country before. So, if the Ivorian Football Federation is willing to take me up, I'll gladly represent them. I need to play for an African team that has prospects."

"This is excellent." Eric sounded excited. "I'm getting goosebumps just picturing you in Ivory Coast's orange jersey, partnering with Yaya Touré in midfield. Damn! With your addition, we would go places, and winning the African Cup of nations or advancing to the late stages of the 2018 World Cup would no longer be just a dream."

"I'm glad you're so welcoming of me," Zachary said, surprised by Eric Bailly's enthusiasm. "So, can you contact the Ivorian Football Federation on my behalf?"

"Of course, I'll contact them," Eric agreed readily. "In fact, let me contact the president immediately as this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for Ivory Coast. I would regret it for the rest of my life if any other country happened to poach you due to my dilly-dallying. Just give me a few minutes. Okay?"

"Okay," Zachary agreed. "Call me after you get a response. And thanks."

"No, don't thank me," Eric hurriedly said. "I should instead be the one thanking you for choosing to represent Ivory Coast. Just wait a few minutes, and I'll get an official response from the Ivorian Football Federation president."

Without waiting for Zachary to respond, Eric Bailly ended the call. It seemed he was in a hurry to call his home country's football governing body president.

Zachary, on his part, decided to busy himself with going through a yoga routine as he waited for Eric Bailly's response. He went through various relaxing yoga poses on the carpeted floor of his lavish master bedroom while listening to hip-hop music in the background.

Roughly a dozen minutes passed in a flash, and just when Zachary was about to execute the cow pose again, his phone rang, thus breaking him out of his routine. He picked it up and pressed the accept button without glancing at the screen.

"Hello, Zachary! It's me again." Eric Bailly's voice sounded as Zachary held the phone against his ear. "I have just gotten a response from the Ivorian Football Federation president."

"That fast!" Zachary exclaimed. "You were able to get a response quickly, even this late at night."

"Yes," Eric agreed. "As I said, this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for Ivory Coast. So, the president had to give me a response as quickly as possible, even if it meant waking up all the top brass of the country."

"Is that so?" Zachary was a bit amused. "So, what was the verdict?"

"Of course, it's a yes from the top brass of the Ivorian Football Federation," Eric answered with a light chuckle. "The entire Ivory Coast, the president of the football governing body, and the rest of the football officials in the country all wish for you to represent them in international competitions. Those were the president's very own words."

"That's great," Zachary said, letting out a breath. "So, what's needed for me to join the Ivorian Football team? Is there a lot of paperwork required?"

"Yes, there is," Eric said. "You must process your citizenship papers before you can represent Ivory Coast. But that's just a minor issue for a player with your standing. After I talked to the Ivorian Football Federation president, he promised to delegate some people to help you process your papers. So, you don't need to waste time trying to prepare the paperwork to represent Ivory Coast yourself. Instead, the Ivorian officials will help you complete all the required procedures and, later on, inform you when everything is ready. Moreover, your biological mother is Ivorian, and you already qualify as an Ivory Coast citizen by descent. So, the process will be quite fast and simple, and you might even be able to represent Ivory Coast during January's African Cup of Nations."

"That's great then," Zachary said. "Thanks."

"No problem," Eric said. "The Ivorian officials will contact you, most probably tomorrow. They'll give you more details concerning the necessary procedures."

"Okay, I will wait for their call."

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After ending the call with Eric, Zachary took another warm shower before jumping into bed for the night. He slept like a log and only managed to wake up when the clock hand had just pointed to the seven o'clock mark.

He quickly went through his morning routine, including yoga, cleaning up, and breakfast, before heading to the Vinovo to attend that day's team training session. He then spent the rest of the morning going through various teamwork drills under the strict supervision of his coaches.

At midday, as he took a break from training, he finally received the expected call from the Ivorian officials. After making some small talk, they asked him for his biological mother's details and contact information, which he eagerly disclosed. Then, they requested his own details before ending the call with a promise to work on all his paperwork within two months.

Zachary, who was in maniac training mode, obviously pushed the matter of Ivorian citizenship out of his head immediately after placing the phone to the side. He joined the rest of his teammates for lunch at the canteen before attending the afternoon team training session with them. He worked hard for the next hour, only stopping when the coaches called a halt to the day's training.

Settling on the sides for a post-training water break, Zachary's started thinking about Juventus' tight schedule for the following few weeks.

It was one hell of a schedule for sure, as Zachary and the other Old Lady players would have to tough it out with Sassuolo in an away Serie A match the following day before heading to Greece and playing against Olympiacos in the Champions League on Wednesday, four days later. But that was not the end. After the Olympiacos game, team Juventus would play US Palermo (at home), Genoa (away), and Empoli (away) within a small window of a week before ending their busy schedule with other home games against Olympiacos and Parma on the 4th and 9th of November, respectively.

Zachary and the rest of the Juventus players were obviously in for a hard time, as they had to play seven matches in just over three weeks. They were all under immense pressure and had thus been training more intensively compared to the weeks prior.

Fortunately, the training on that day, which happened to be a Friday and the eve of Juventus' game against Sassuolo, had just ended early at around 3:00 PM. Thus, after attending Coach Allegri's pre-match tactical meeting, Zachary, who was tired as a dog, decided to return home and rest. He was hoping to relax and enjoy his afternoon within the safe confines of his villa so that he would be fresh and ready to play against Sassuolo the following evening.

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