THE GREATEST OF ALL TIME

"Hey, Kristin!" Zachary spoke into the phone. "What's up?"

"Hey, Zachary!" Her voice sounded from the other end of the line. "I'm calling to inform you that I'm about to travel out of Turin. I'll be away for about a week, so don't be surprised when you try my phone and find it unavailable."

"Oh!" Zachary said while noting that her voice sounded a bit off. He asked, "Is anything the matter? Are you facing any challenges?"

A few more seconds passed, and she answered, "Honestly, this has to do with my grandpa. His health has gotten worse. He is undergoing treatment at the Haukeland University Hospital in Bergen. I'm heading there to see him."

"Your grandpa is not well!" Zachary's eyes narrowed.

Kristin's grandpa was Mr. Martin Stein, the same old scout who brought him from Lubumbashi before sending him to the football academy associated with Rosenborg Football Club in Trondheim, Norway. He had even proposed that they start a sports agency and talent development center together in DR Congo a few years back. But he didn't immediately agree to the proposal since he was still trying to establish himself as a professional footballer.

"How is he coping up?" He asked Kristin.

"Honestly, he's not doing well," she replied. "The doctors say that he has a problem with his liver. They will be carrying out more tests before making sure."

"That's too unfortunate," he said. "I really wish him a quick recovery. Do you need any help?"

"Not right now," she said. "Maybe it would..." She stopped mid-sentence.

"Maybe it would?" Zachary probed.

There were a few more seconds of silence before she spoke. "I know this is selfish of me, considering your fixed schedule. But could you spare some time to visit the old guy? He had always looked forward to meeting and talking to you again."

Zachary considered his schedule over the next few days and said, "I would surely like to visit him. But I'll have to first request permission from the club and my coaches. If they agree, I'll link up with you in Bergen, and we can visit him together."

"That's great," she said, her voice more relaxed. "Just tap on me on WhatsApp when you confirm with your coaches."

"Okay," Zachary agreed. They then started discussing work-related matters, like his publicity events with Nike and Audi. They talked for about ten minutes before she hung up with the excuse of having to catch a flight.

Zachary pushed the phone back into his pocket before considering how he could fulfill Kristin's request.

Coach Max Allegri planned to rest him over the period of the following three Serie A games. But that didn't mean the coach would agree to his travel request to Norway. On the contrary, the coach could refuse while thinking of not exhausting one of his players crucial to his team's performance in the UEFA Champions League semi-finals.

"Well," Zachary thought with a sigh. "I'll just put in the request. If they agree, well and good. If they don't, I'll be honest with Kristin about it."

With the resolution, his mood cleared. He pushed the matter to the back of his mind and started enjoying his food. He ate with all the haste he could muster, as he had to rest for only an hour before attending more tactical training sessions in the afternoon.

-----

The hours on Friday and Saturday went by quickly as the two units of the Juventus team underwent their respective training regimens under the supervision of their coaches.

Sunday, April 26th, the day of Juventus' first match in the busy ten-day schedule, arrived, and players attended their final pre-match tactical meeting. After the coach finished going through the game plan again, they took their team bus to the nearby Stadio Olimpico Grande Torino to battle their close rivals, Torino FC, in yet another Derby Della Mole of Turin.

For Torino FC, this was a high-stakes game to determine whether they would qualify for the following season's Europa League. They were also playing for pride, with the yearning to embarrass Juventus in the derby. As such, they fielded all their best players, hoping to put up one of their best displays for the season.

For Juventus, a team that had already secured the Serie A title, the game was just an inconsequential fixture and a not-so-important derby match stalling their preparations for the UEFA Champions League semis.

Coach Allegri did what everyone expected. He rested seven of his best players and fielded a team full of second-stringers. He left crucial names like Zachary, Tevez, Andrea Pirlo, and Claudio Marchisio, among others, on the bench, showing that he was not that invested in the famous Turin derby.

The game commenced at 3:00 PM, with Torino setting a blistering tempo from the first minute. The men in maroon colors rushed forward, tearing through Juventus' ranks with lightning-fast one-two exchanges before eventually playing a final pass to Fabio Quagliarella, their forward.

Fabio Quagliarella, on his part, remained composed and took a touch that carried him past Angelo Ogbonna, the Juventus center-back for the day. The striker then drove forward and fired a grounded shot towards the inside of the far post from a tight angle.

Fortunately for Juventus, the ball rebounded off the post and headed out of play. And with that, Juventus survived an early goal during the second minute of gameplay.

The game resumed immediately after with a Juventus goal kick. But the spirited Torino players didn't waste a minute before winning possession back.

The home players then settled into a steady rhythm of playing intricate one-twos in the middle while sometimes using abrupt runs through their wing areas to pressure Juventus. They soon became the better team on the field of play and forced the opponents on the defensive. Moreover, when they lost the ball, they would immediately press the opponents to win back possession as soon as possible before recommencing their relentless attacks.

Their brilliant efforts eventually paid off during the 35th minute when a loose pass from Simone Padoin, the Juventus left-back for the day, allowed Matteo Darmian to exploit the space behind Juventus' backline. The other Juventus defenders were clearly caught off guard as the Torino man beat the offside trap before collecting the ball and unleashing a thunderous shot from beyond the edge of the box.

Matteo Darmian's shooting technique was brilliant, and his shot blasted past Marco Storari, Juventus' keeper for the day, before finding the back of the net. With that, the score was 1:0 in favor of Torino, and the Juventus players had to find a way to make a comeback.

On that front, Coach Max Allegri fumed and yelled at his players from the sidelines, making his feelings known to everyone watching. He even instructed some of his first-team players he had left on the bench to start warming up. His warning was clear. If the team didn't start performing, he would probably make some first-half substitutions without a second thought.

Fortunately, Juventus' field players spared him the trouble by soon settling down. They began playing brilliant football and set a relentless tempo as they searched for an equalizer. They constantly beat down on Torino's door and came close to scoring several times.

However, the home team played solid defensive football and thwarted all of Juventus' opportunities. They held on and walked down the tunnel for the halftime break while still leading by a goal to nil.

The second half commenced after the fifteen-minute break, with Juventus continuing to rain down more pressure on Torino's defense. The men in the striped black and white jerseys played ingenious football, with the highlight being when Fernando Llorente got to the end of Roberto Pereyra's well-timed pass during the 72nd minute.

Fernando Llorente remained composed and showed his class as a striker. He drove past the Torino center-backs with a simple weave-and-turn before pulling the trigger. He slotted the ball past the keeper and finally found the back of the net to score Juventus' 1st goal on the afternoon.

The proceedings were back to level terms, and the score was 1:1. Be that as it may, the Juventus players didn't step on the brakes. They continued using penetrating interchanges through the middle to break down the still-tenacious Torino side.

Eventually, their efforts bore fruit during the 83rd minute when Fernando Llorente got to the end of another brilliant diagonal pass from Stefano Sturaro, one of the midfielders. Llorente overpowered one of the Torino center-backs in an aerial battle before heading past the keeper and scoring Juventus' second for the day.

The score was then 2:1 in favor of the visiting Juventus. Coach Max Allegri immediately made appropriate changes and introduced Patrice Evra, a defender, and Arturo Vidal, a defensive midfielder. The two bolstered Juventus' defensive efforts and allowed the visiting team to whittle away the remaining minutes without much fuss.

Eventually, the referee blew the whistle after three minutes of added time. And with that, the game ended with Juventus still leading by two goals to one.

The Juventus players and coaches couldn't contain their happiness as they had won yet another Serie A game and pushed their season tally to 90 points with six matches to go. They even had a huge opportunity to topple the team's 102-point record set by Antonio Conte's Juventus during the previous Serie A season.

Zachary, who had watched the whole game from the bench, was also excited. He had long forgotten his discontent resulting from not getting some playing time. He really felt good about being a part of a team that was going places and close to breaking records.