THE GREATEST OF ALL TIME

The atmosphere in the dressing room was anything but somber. It was nothing like any break during a competitive match. Gone was the tension and anxiety the players had felt before the game.

There was chatter among Zachary's teammates, like old friends catching up. Everyone talked in a relaxed manner and made jokes as if they had already won the match.

Zachary was surprised since he knew one could never count matches as won—until the final whistle. Worrisome thoughts looped around in his mind until there was room for nothing else.

There had been many matches in history where teams made comebacks from disadvantages of three goals or more and won. Famously, Liverpool had managed to win the UEFA Champions League final of 2005 after overcoming a three-goal deficit within the second half.

Zachary didn't want to leave the Riga team any chance of pulling off the same trick. He hoped the coach would talk some sense into his teammates before they messed up in the second half.

Paul Otterson came up to him and interrupted his train of thought. "Why do you look worried even when we are three goals ahead? Come and join us. Why are you sitting there in the corner?" He asked while fanning himself with his shirt.

Zachary sighed, shaking his head. He chugged down some water before answering: "I don't like the atmosphere here in the dressing room."

Paul grinned. "Relax. The players know what to do when they get back to the pitch. We might even clinch this one with more than five goals. And here I thought Riga would be a tough opponent since they have the home advantage. They've simply been a letdown." He sighed audibly. Zachary saw that his Swedish flatmate was in a good mood after scoring a goal in the first half. He decided to remain silent and keep his worries to himself.

He'd come to the realization that many players unknown to him in his previous life were performing well in matches. For instance, the captain of the Riga team looked like a phenomenal player. He dribbled, passed, and defended like a first-rate midfielder.

Zachary was worried his teammates' confidence would reduce the team's chances against a Riga squad with such a good player.

The coaches came into the dressing room soon after. Coach Johannsen was in his default somber mood. His assistant Bjorn Peters was all smiles, high-fiving the players and congratulating them upon their performance.

"Quiet," bellowed Coach Johannsen.

All the players ceased their murmurings and focused on the coach who stood before the whiteboard.

"I need all of you to stay focused on the game until the final whistle. We'll maintain the same game strategy for the second half. Just make sure you don't concede..."

The coach laid the approach for the second half while assigning individual roles to all the players. He expounded on the weaknesses he had observed which could be—exploited in the Riga team's formation. Once he finished delivering his talk, he sent the players back to the pitch.

However, Zachary still felt worried about his teammates' mood. They were still behaving as if they had already won the game—even after listening to Coach Johansen's address.

As they exited the dressing room, Zachary approached Magnus, who also served as the assistant captain, to discuss the problem.

"I think the players are overconfident," he began. "I'm worried we will concede unnecessarily at the start of the second half."

Magnus looked around at the rest of the players before replying. "I'll keep on reminding the defenders when we get back on the pitch," he said. "Don't worry. I have your back in the defensive midfield. We only need one more goal to kill their momentum in the second half." He smiled before running to his position.

Zachary sighed and shook his head. He pushed his unease to the back of his mind as he ran to his position.

He resolved to work harder than ever for another goal and seal off Riga's last chance to resurrect. He could not accept anything but a win in the opening match. 2000 Juju-points and a B-grade Agility Enhancing Elixir were at stake. If he managed to complete all the system's milestones, he would improve his stats significantly.

"RIGA, RIGA…"

A chant from the Riga players, in their black jerseys, interrupted his reverie. He looked ahead—towards the other half, and saw the Riga players in a circle yelling slogans to pump themselves up. They looked nothing like a team that was three goals down. The home fans joined in the chant and began clapping, bellowing, and singing. They ended with one final sudden clap that echoed off the walls of the indoor stadium like thunder.

Zachary turned around and saw his teammates, in dark blue jerseys, standing languidly—watching their opponents. Players like Paul Otterson, Robin Jatta, and Kasongo had their arms folded across their chests with smirks outlining their faces. They looked nothing like athletes prepared for a match, but an audience, unresponsive to their opponents.

Zachary sighed as he made last-minute adjustments to his shin guards. He made sure to tighten his shoelaces as well.

The familiar routine calmed his mind and helped him focus wholly on the game. He had a feeling that the second half wouldn't be as easy as the first.

The match restarted after the referee blew his whistle.

Örjan Börmark, NF academy's lone striker, kicked the ball back to Zachary, stationed right outside the center circle.

The Riga players did not give Zachary any time to think. They ran at him with a hunger befitting their zeal to win the ball back. Zachary passed the ball further-back, to Magnus in the defensive midfield.

"To the right-wing," he hollered, pointing towards the right wingback.

Magnus Blakstad followed his instructions and passed to Öyvind Alseth without a pause. The NF academy's number-2 received the ball and hammered it back to Magnus—who kicked it towards Robin Jatta, the left center-back.

However, one of the Riga strikers dashed at the center-back as soon as possible. He was as relentless as a hungry dog chasing after a bone.

Robin played a one-two with Martin Lundal, NF academy's left wingback, at a leisurely pace without waiting for the Riga number-9 to close him down.

The NF academy players continued enjoying a rich spell of possession at the beginning of the second half. For the next ten minutes, they passed the ball slowly but steadily, between their defenders, without any urgency to transition and attack the Riga team's half.

They had yards of space to work with since one of the Riga strikers was—tied up, shielding-off the passing routes to Zachary. The Riga number-10 kept himself positioned between Zachary and anyone with the ball in the defense or the wings.

In the meantime, the other two Riga players, including their captain, shadowed Zachary's every move. They followed him all over the pitch without allowing him a single inch of space to receive the ball.

Zachary could tell that the Riga team's strategy for the second half was to isolate him. Isolation tactics were aimed at sealing off all passing routes to a player to diminish his impact on the game. The Riga players wanted him out of the game. They intended to put a stop to the fast-paced transitions from the defense through him. That way, they would nip NF academy's counters in the bud.

"Use wide areas and wing-play," Zachary heard Coach Johansen yelling from the sidelines. It seemed he had noticed Zachary's predicament and was trying to exploit it.

Isolation also came with some marked disadvantages resulting from assigning three players to keep an eye on a single opponent. There would be gaps left in the defensive shape of the Riga team.

Zachary's tactical awareness let him notice the coach's intention to exploit the gap left by one of the Riga wingers marking him. He only needed to tie up the players and keep them busy, creating yards of space for his teammates. Keeping his marks occupied would leave the Riga formation in tatters, with plenty of gaps for his teammates to exploit.

Zachary was confident in his pace, stamina, and endurance. He could easily take his opponents for a ride around the pitch.

For the next few minutes, he ran around the midfield without pausing to rest. However, his three bodyguards persisted. They continued shadowing his every move as he chased the ball around the pitch. In a way, the Riga team managed to isolate him.

The game proceeded in favor of the NF academy until a slight dip in the concentration of Zachary's teammates started to manifest in their style of play. They still dominated possession, passing the ball from wing to wing without allowing the Riga team players to touch it. However, they lacked the hunger for attacking—a situation brought about by their belief of having already won the game. Such complacency led to some mistakes in the latter part of the second half.

In the 72nd minute, Riga's wingback picked up a misplaced pass from Magnus close to the touchline. The short number-2 bolted like the wind past two of Zachary's teammates, advancing in the right-wing and piercing into NF academy's half. He then sent a teasing cross into the penalty area. His ball-handling was swift and effective, leaving no chance for the defenders to close him down.

Unfortunately for the Riga team, Daniel Kvande (NF academy's number-5) out-jumped all his opponents and comfortably dealt with the cross. He brushed the ball with the top of his head, guiding it a meter over the crossbar. The referee blew the whistle and pointed to the corner flag.

Zachary returned to his box to defend against the corner. The Riga team captain dutifully shadowed him back. The other players that had been marking him remained standing at the edge of the box. However, their attention was still on him rather than their teammate taking the corner. It seemed they were still traumatized by the counterattacks in the first half.

"Kasongo and Paul," he yelled. "Mark the two players outside the box."

Although the two players showed no intent to attack the ball, he didn't want to risk giving them a chance to score.

However, the referee blew the whistle before his flatmates could close-in. The ball was whipped in from the corner by Riga's right wingback.

More than fourteen players within the box pushed and shoved, trying to out-maneuver their opponents and win the incoming ball. Magnus, the tall NF academy defensive midfielder, managed to out-jump everyone else. He then headed the dangerous-looking corner ball out of the box.

To Zachary's dismay, the ball flew towards the two unmarked Riga players outside the box.

"Close them down," Zachary shouted as he set-off after it. However, he felt a tug on his shirt that slowed him down. The two players remained unmarked—with all the time in the world to harm the NF academy.

One of the players confidently chested the ball to his side as Zachary tried to close him down. Before the NF academy could react to the danger, he unleashed a volley towards the goal. The ball zoomed past Zachary like a bullet and curled into the top right corner.

3:1. The Riga team had managed to pull back one goal in the 75th minute.