THE GREATEST OF ALL TIME



After taking a few interviews with reporters, Zachary returned to the dressing room. He showered and enjoyed dinner with all his teammates at the stadium, allowing himself to soak in the jubilatory mood of triumphing against Real Madrid for the first time in his career.

Then, after having his fill of the food and drinks, he said goodbye to his teammates and coaches before slowly making his way to the stadium exit. He repeatedly nodded at the guards and some of the night staff he met until he exited the tunnels and arrived at the parking lot.

Although it was close to midnight, a few fans and journalists were still camping beyond the barricades separating the player parking lot from the outside area. They all shouted and waved at Zachary when he slowly walked through the parking lot.

Zachary naturally waved back at them before ignoring them completely. He then quickly approached his Audi RS 7, eager to return to his mansion and rest for the night.

"Boss! You're back!" Lorenzo Riccardo, his bodyguard/driver, stepped out of the car and welcomed him. Without giving Zachary a chance to speak, he smiled and continued, "Congratulations on winning the match. Your performance was once again extraordinary."

"Thanks, Lorenzo." Zachary smiled and nodded. "But I'm quite tired. Let's head home immediately."

"Okay!" Lorenzo agreed and opened the door for him.

Zachary got into the back seat, and Lorenzo closed the door. The bodyguard then took his position on the steering wheel and eased the car out of Juventus Stadium's parking lot with expert familiarity. Before long, they joined the main road to Pinerolo, Piedmont, and speeded towards Zachary's mansion.

Zachary fell into a trance as the night scenery flashed outside the vehicle's window. His feelings slowly became a jumbled mess of pride and melancholy as he recalled all he had gone through over the past few years.

He had played in the academy in Norway only three years back. But within a short window, he had matured and joined one of Europe's top leagues.

He was now a proud Juventus player who had achieved incredible feats during his debut season. He had even just contributed to his team's victory against Real Madrid, which happened to be one of the strongest teams in Europe.

Zachary felt like he was walking on the clouds because of all the progress he had made in his career. But at the same time, he was also a bit sorrowful since he couldn't share all the results of his success with his late grandma, who had been the person that cared most about him in both of his lives.

"Bzzt Bzzzt! Bzzt Bzzzt!"

Zachary's phone suddenly vibrated and broke him out of his trance. He fished it out of his pocket and glanced at the screen. His expression softened on seeing that it was another person who really cared about him. He pressed the accept button and held the phone against his ear.

"Hello, Emily," he said. "You haven't gone to bed yet?"

Emily chuckled from the other side of the line. "How can I go to bed when my most important client is still busy working? Anyways, we left the stadium only about forty minutes ago. I'm now enjoying dinner with Kristin before returning to my hotel room for the night."

"Oh! Why didn't you invite me? I would have loved to have dinner with the two of you."

"How could we dare to take you away from your teammates right after the match?" Emily questioned. "By the way, Kristin is saying hi. Aside from that, congratulation on winning the first leg of the Champions League quarter-final. And congratulations on overpowering Real Madrid for the first time in your career."

Zachary beamed. "Thanks. And say hi to Kristin. Thank her on my behalf for doing great work on the publicity side before the game."

"Okay," Emily said, and then there were a few seconds of silence before her voice sounded again. "Zachary! Do you remember the Nike deal I told you about?"

"Yes. I remember you saying something about Nike proposing a ten-year-long endorsement deal with many attractive benefits."

"That's the one," Emily said. "The Nike representatives have finally come through with a great offer. They recently forwarded the proposal with incredible endorsement terms to me. If you partner with them, you could earn a potential annual income of 15 to 20 million Euros within a few years."

"Oh!" Zachary's heart skipped a beat. He was obviously very interested in the deal. The only problem was that the timing wasn't right since he couldn't divert his attention from football at that juncture. He couldn't afford to focus on other things when the UEFA Champions League trophy was still in the balance.

"I'm proposing that we meet and discuss the terms further," Emily suggested from the other side of the line. "What do you think?"

Zachary took a few seconds to organize his thoughts before saying, "I think we should postpone everything to do with this deal."

"Oh!" Emily exclaimed, clearly surprised. "I can say that this is a deal that only the best sports personalities can receive. Why aren't you interested?"

"Don't get me wrong," Zachary hurriedly said. "I'm very interested in the deal. But the timing isn't right since all my focus will be on the Champions League for the next few weeks. I wish to give my all to help my team to attain European glory. So, I can't afford any distractions at this juncture."

"Oh, so that is the case," Emily said, sighing with relief. "I get you now. Your football career is, of course, the priority. It's the only thing attracting all these famous companies to invest in you. So, go ahead and do what you ought to do to attain more glory in your football career."

"Thanks for understanding," Zachary replied. "But what about the potential deal with Nike? How do we handle it now?"

"Well, Nike is a sports company. They should understand that sports professionals must focus and go all out to win tournaments. I'll talk to them and ensure that they understand your position. We can then postpone all the negotiations to June after you're free from your team's Champions League obligations."

"Thanks again," Zachary said. "You're the best."

"You're welcome," Emily replied. "Before I forget, I should also inform you that Miss Heather Miller finished all the groundwork to set up your company. But I'm guessing you won't have time to finalize the process."

"Sorry, but that's really the case," Zachary said. "For now, I'll only spend all my time preparing for the Champions League, the Coppa Italia, and the remaining games of the Serie A. So, let's postpone everything outside football to June after we finish the current football season."

"Okay, let's do that," Emily promised. "I have to say good night now. If there's nothing else, I'll be hanging up."

"Goodnight to you, too. And thanks for calling," Zachary said and ended the call. He then leaned back into the seat and continued enjoying the ride back to his mansion in Pinerolo, Piedmont.

-----

The Juventus players only took a day off before returning to training. They headed to the Vinovo, Juventus training center, on Thursday morning to commence preparations for their upcoming Serie A game against Lazio.

Meanwhile, all the other first-leg Champions League quarter-final games had concluded over the previous two nights. Borussia Dortmund defeated AS Monaco at home by a score of 1:0. Barcelona then overwhelmed Paris Saint-Germain by a score of 4:1, even while playing at an away ground. And lastly, FC Porto thrashed Bayern Munich with a score of 3:1 at their home stadium in Portugal.

All the Juventus players, including Zachary, had already learned about the results by Thursday morning. But they didn't give the info much attention, especially since they were already in training mode to prepare for their next two fixtures.

Under the supervision of the Juventus coaches, they gave their all on Thursday and Friday. They went through targeted fitness routines and strict tactical drills while simultaneously preparing for their games against Lazio and Real Madrid.

Time flashed by, and Saturday evening eventually arrived. The Juventus players, who had already won the title, returned to their home stadium to face off against Lazio in their 31st Serie A fixture of the season.

With Wednesday's crucial away game against Real Madrid in mind, Coach Max Allegri rested most of his star players. He left the likes of Zachary, Carlos Teves, Andrea Pirlo, Arturo Vidal, Claudio Marchisio, and Stephan Lichtsteiner on the bench. He only fielded a squad filled with many second-stringers.

The result was the game turning into a tricky hassle, with Juventus struggling to match Lazio's intensity during the first half. The defense even made a mistake and allowed Miroslav Klose, Lazio's center forward, to score the opening goal during the 42nd minute.

Fortunately, the Juventus players on the field responded appropriately and got the goal back through Fernando Llorente during the 72nd minute. They then played a tenacious defensive game that repeatedly stopped the tricky Lazio side from scoring more goals for the rest of the game.

And with that, Juventus avoided a loss yet again by securing an acceptable 1:1 draw, even in the absence of most of their first-team players. Moreover, they had also pushed their season tally to 87 points and increased their point difference with the second-placed AS Roma to a whopping 29 points.

They were obviously flying as a team, and no one in Italy could stop them. They thus turned all their attention to the upcoming UEFA Champions League second-leg fixture with all the confidence and momentum they had accumulated over the weekend.