THE GREATEST OF ALL TIME
Important Day I

The twilight just melted. Gone are the open blue skies that blessed the day before. Above lay an unbroken layer of white and gray, brilliant where the sunlight broke through and dark where it did not.

"It might rain in a few hours" Zachary recited as he turned his gaze from the sky.

"What are you worried about." Kasongo smiled faintly and said, "We'll be done with the trial by then. The scouts will only stay here a few hours."

They were in the middle of the field among 26 other players who had passed a physical fitness test the previous day. It was 8 in the morning. Every player on the field is already wearing their soccer clothes. They are just waiting for the arrival of Coach Damata and his team to start an official football trial. Zachary is not bored as he is accompanied by his new friend.

"That makes sense" Zachary concurred as he looked around the stadium. "Are you sure the scouts are coming today?" He asked, furrowing his brows. No coach or scout was seen anywhere on the pitch or in the stands. He began to think he had misheard the actual date of the trial.

"Relax" Kasongo said confidently. "They'll be here. I'm sure" he laughed.

"I forgot to ask" Zachary said as he looked at Kasongo. "Did you move out of the hotel yesterday?"

"Of course," Kasongo patted his chest. "I've moved to the Rabi Hotel" he said, looking satisfied with himself.

"What the fuck!" Zakaria's eyes widened. "What is the difference between Rabi and Hollybum hotels?" He shouted, drawing some gazes from the surrounding players.

"The one named Rabi, the other Hollybum," Kasongo replied seriously, counting with a finger to emphasize his point.

"For God's sake," Zachary took a few steps toward the short man. "How many four-star hotels are there in Lubumbashi? Your dad just needs to check out a hotel that costs more than $100 per night to find you. Can't you see it?"

"That's right," Kasongo paled. "I'll move on to another one after the game ends today" he assured.

"Forget it, man," Zachary sighed. "I'll help you choose a hotel after a test run. I don't understand why I'm even helping you." He grumbled. He didn't want to see a talented player die prematurely.

"Thank you" Kasongo laughed. "From the moment I saw you, I knew that you were an honorable person. What can I do to repay you? Should I connect you with my sister? She's cute." whispered Kasongo.

"If he's as short as you, don't bother" Zachary snorted.

He was about to continue his conversation with Kasongo when he heard some players on the pitch shouting. "The coach is here. The coaches are here..." They sound like kind of kindergarten kids who just saw an ice cream truck.

Zachary ignored the excitement around him and turned towards the stadium gate. Coach Damata led a group of about 50 people towards the stadium stands.

He noticed that there were about twenty Caucasians among the crowd. They wear sunglasses and large hats to protect themselves from the sun. That's what he's guessing. There was also an old man and a young girl, not much older than him, among them. The rest appear to be fellow Congolese, possibly from teams in the Linafoot National League. He was able to recognize some of the Lubumbashi Sport and Racing Club de Kinshasa. All the scouts he had hoped for were finally here. His mood lifted.

"I told you they'd be here" Kasongo's voice came from behind.

"Are they all from ADTA?" Zachary asked. The African Development Talent Board is an organization that usually sponsors students to French and Belgian academies.

"Of course not" Kasongo said. "This is the scout of the sponsoring organization behind ADTA. Some even from the actual academy in France."

"You better do your best today" Kasongo warned. "I don't think they'll come back here after today."

"You sure?" Zachary furrowed his brows. "Where did you get all this information?"

"I have a trustworthy source. My info is completely legitimate." Kasongo smiled.

"All right." Zakaria was very excited. He felt refreshed after the delicious meal he had eaten the previous day.

"Be sharp" whispered Kasongo.

**** ****

After Damata led the group of scouts to the stands, he ran onto the field with his fellow coaches.

The scouts all sat close to the running track of the stadium. Caucasians among them hold very high-tech cameras. Some have binoculars and notebooks. African scouts, on the other hand, fold their hands on their chests, with stern expressions on their faces. They looked like they were ready to punch someone. They do not carry any equipment to track the players on the field.

In the bottom seat of the stands, a young blonde girl holding Nikon's camera for too long was talking to an old man, also a scout.

"Grandfather," he began. “Why we came here. Do you know there are world-class talents here? We should have gone to Nigeria, Cameroon or Egypt. At least they won the Africa Cup of Nations. I think we're wasting our time here."

"Christin" the old man smiled. "Remember, if you want to be a good scout, never neglect any place. Sometimes, real gems are hidden in obscure places. All we have to do is dig it." He's college.

"Are we really going to find someone talented here?" Kristin asked. "Because if you don't, the other shareholders will push you out this time."

"Don't worry" the old man replied. "One of the coaches was a friend of mine. He has told me that there are two or three promising talents here. The only challenge was to snatch them from the French team."

"Two to three talents?" Kristin frowned. "Do you have any files about them, grandpa? Why didn't I hear anything about this?"

"Well, here it is" the old man handed the girl two files. "You haven't been around for the last two days. When you go around the playground and watch buffalo and chimpanzees, I'm busy doing my job."

"Don't pick up that topic again, grandfather," Kristin pleaded. "How can you travel to Africa and go without seeing wildlife? You missed all the fun."

He opened a file about the players.

He spread his hand. "Welcome to Africa" she smiled. "Information about young players here is not there. Let's just see how good they are from their performances in the game."

**** ****

After the coach returned to the field, they led twenty-six players through a light warm-up before doing anything else. Everyone stretches and runs short distances to warm up their muscles. After they finished training, they returned to the center of the field to listen to instructions from the coaching staff.

"Good morning to all of you" said Coach Damata with a smile.

"Good morning, Coach Damata," the voices of the players boomed, returning greetings. They all seemed enthusiastic about the presence of scouts in the stands.

"I saw you all in time" Damata grinned. “Stay the spirit of good sportsmanship,” his insistence solemnly before continuing.

"We will start the test match soon. We've grouped you into two teams that will face each other."

"Please note that the match will only last for sixty minutes. So, you will get less than forty minutes to impress the scouts if we take into account the time for the substitutions. Try to do your best within that time frame." He concluded.

The coaches have separated the players into green and red teams. Coach Mande lays out a chart with the team's formation on the running track, giving players the opportunity to learn their position before heading to the field to start the match. Zachary breaks through the crowd of players to look at the team chart.

****

-> TEAM GREEN (4-4-2, Diamond.)

Goalkeeper; Number 1, Jackson Lunanga.

Come back soon; number 2, Yannick Bangala. Left-back; Number 3, Daniel Kidinda.

Central Defender; Number 4, Nike Kabanga. Number 5, Samba Farouk.

Defensive midfielder; No.6, Wagaluka Francis.

Attack Midfielder; Number 8, Paul-Jose Mpoku.

Left wing; No.11, Joel Ngandu. Right wing; Number 7, Edo Kayembe.

forward; Number 9, Stephen Mangala. Number 10, Ben Malango.

{*Subs; Leonard Busibwe, And Lusaka.}

-----

-> RED TEAM (4-4-2, Diamond.)

Goalkeeper; Number 1, Samuel Baraka.

Come back soon; No.2, Awax Bondeko. Left-back; Number 3, Patrick Luamba.

Central Defender; Number 4, Miche Mika. Number 5, Frederic Luamba.

Defensive midfielder; Number 6, Chris Luyinda.

Attack Midfielder; Number 8, Zachary Bemba.

Left wing; No.11, Tony Majembe. Right wing; Number 7, Paul Kasongo.

ahead; Number 9, Beni Badibanga. Number 10's. Emmanuel Luboya's.

{*Subs; Mpoyi Mohamed, Nathan Tambwe.}

****

Zachary sighed in relief after seeing the match formation chart.

The coaches seem to have made the line-up of players based on the historical data of the players. Zachary was on the red team along with the likes of Paul Kasongo, Chris Luyinda, and his former friends, Tony and Patrick. The other side has most of the would-be superstars from his previous life. Joel Ngandu, Ngonda Mzinga, Stephen Mangala, and several others were on the red team.

He was placed in the number eight position, just behind the striker, by the coaches. The number eight suits him because it involves sharing passes and lethal assists to the strikers. His Zinedine-Visual-Juju will be useful in that position.

Paul Kasongo is on the right wing, while Luyinda is on the sixth position in the defensive midfield position. Tony will attack from the left wing with Patrick placed behind him as a left-back. The other players wearing the green oto were too blurry to be remembered by Zachary.

Zachary's red team is weak on paper. However, he would not allow any hindrance to come between him and the recruitment of a football academy. He is ready to do his best during the game.

"Let's get your car together and go out onto the pitch" Zachary heard Coach Mande shouting from the sidelines. "The substitutes have to come here as well. They'll get a chance to play later in the game."

All the players hurriedly rushed towards Coach Mande. They take their oto before positioning themselves on the field in a 4-4-2 diamond formation. The ability of the coach and following the instructions are some of the qualities required in football. So, all the players set themselves up correctly in the designated position, waiting for the whistle.