THE GREATEST OF ALL TIME
First Official Training as a Pro IV
Zachary left all thoughts exaggerated and focused on assessing the field when he stepped into his position. He began to observe his opponents and teammates carefully while waiting for the whistle to restart the game. Position, standing posture, facial expression, vigilance—Zachary accepts it all.
His brain was overdrive as he searched for gaps in the green team's 4-3-3 attacking formation. He also tried to anticipate future passing opportunities that could arise from the actions of potential teammates. He has taken the first step to performing as a Maestro by starting with the necessary on-field risk analysis even before the game starts again. That way, he will release the ball accurately and quickly to his teammate after receiving a pass.
*FREEEE*
The assistant coach blew his whistle a few seconds later, gesturing for the red team to restart the scrimmage game.
John Chibuike, the red team's centre-forward, started the game with a simple pass to Borek Dockal, the attacking midfielder. The latter does not even control the ball. Instead, he flicked it towards Ole Selnaes, the red team's defensive midfielder, with his first touch.
Ole controlled the ball beautifully and passed it to the left wing before Nicki Nielson, the green centre-forward, could close it down.
Jergen Skjelvik, the red team's left-back, received the ball near the touchline, showing high-level ball control with a striking deft touch. But he was instantly shut down by Tobias Mikkelsen, Rosenborg's very agile early winger.
Tobias positioned his body well while pressing down on Jrgen, thus cutting all forward bait options through the wings.
Jurgen Skjelvik could only choose to do a back pass to Daniel rlund, the goalkeeper, rather than risk losing possession.
Daniel Rlund then played the ball quickly towards Ole Selnaes as Nicki Nielson almost closed it off. Zachary could have guessed that his team-mates would fall into an unfortunate situation. Although his red team still retained possession, he knew that the opponent took the initiative. The forward with the green oto is great at creating a high-pressure zone deep within the red team area. They had managed to keep the red team in their own half before Zachary arrived on the pitch using that tactic.
However, Zachary is not ready to let the match situation continue to follow the tempo of the green team. He hopes to earn a place in the starting squad for the match against Malmo the next day. The best way to achieve this is to make a real impact on a much stronger side that consists of the first string player with a green oto.
"Ole, this way," she cried with all her might, running back to her half—stripping Mix Diskerud, the green-clad player who marked her. "Get in here."
Ole Selnaes only glanced at him while controlling the ball from Daniel rlund, the goalkeeper. Without a pause in his actions, he then lifted his foot and kicked the ball into Zachary with his second touch.
Zachary could feel his heart pounding with excitement as the ball rolled towards him. He ended up playing in an internal scrimmage match for a professional club in Europe for the first time after signing his contract. A gentle smile graced his face as he received the ball with a deft simple touch, pushing it just a few feet in front of him in the process.
Meanwhile, he simultaneously let his gaze observe the situation on the ground.
At that moment, his brain mapped out the entire placement of all the players in his field of vision. He saw that both Ole Selnaes and Borek Dockal, his red team midfield partners, had already moved into open space. They seem to be waiting for permission from him. Daniel Berntsen, his teammate on the wing for the match, was already running on the left wing, as if anticipating a breakthrough pass from him. On the other hand, Mix Diskerud, the green team's attacking midfielder, quickly closed it down. He will be on it in seconds if he does not release the ball immediately.
However, Zachary has long been used to playing in tense situations. He has a lot of experience under his belt as he has already played in two international youth tournaments and even won that one — while playing on the weaker side.
He was very confident with his skills, and even the pressure from the professionals could not make it gradual. So, he maintained his composure as his brain filtered through the noise and assessed the game situation at that very instant.
Zachary's football brain managed to take on many other trivial situations that he would have ignored had he not mastered the Juju Mental Zinedine-Pirlo. His mind was overdrive, analyzing the risks and deducing the best position to distribute the ball before the opponent could close it. Zachary successfully completed a simple vector analysis, including the summation of the easiest linear or curved routes to make the most effective operands at the time.
A light bulb exploded in Zachary's head as he turned his full attention towards the striker from Nigeria. Their gazes seemed to collide for a moment within fifty yards.
Zachary was made aware of the attacker's intentions at the time. Instinctively, he knew that John Chibuike wanted the ball, and he wanted it at the time.
Thus, he did not linger. He lifted his foot high and smashed the ball from him before the opposing midfielder could close it. Zachary even put in some kick postures from Bend-it like Beckham Juju when he unleashed a pass that split the defence towards the striker. Furthermore, he arranged the timing perfectly to release John Chibuike just as he was moving away from his marker.
The ball flew towards the green half of the team, flashing above the players with red and green oto. Then at the last moment, he suddenly curved, swooped and bounced a few meters in front of the running John Chibuike.
"Offside," Per Ronning, the centre-back guarding John Chibuike, raised his hand and shouted with all his might. However, Trond Henriksen, the assistant coach leading the scrimmage match, waved his hand before gesturing to continue the game. Per Ronning could only shake his head as he rushed back to his net to hold on.
But by then, John Chibuike was already ahead of the team's last green defensive line by a few yards. He ran towards the ball that bounced like the wind.
He managed to reach it first and aimed it in front of him with his first touch. Control perfect. He managed to steer the ball forward of the 18-yard box using his head and even left the chasing defenders in the dust with just one touch.
Zachary smiled as he watched the striker chase the ball before beating the goalkeeper with a fine kick on his second touch from the edge of the box. 1:1. The red team managed to avenge one goal in a game of scrimmage.
Zachary could hardly contain his excitement because he made a good assist and contributed to the goal. He could not accept how easy it was to judge the playing field so quickly after studying Juju Mental Zinedine-Pirlo. His only hope is that the coaches are watching him.
*FREEEE*
**** ****
Coach Boyd Johansen watched the scrimmage match from the sidelines. He attentively watched every promising player who could play an important role in Rosenborg's match against Malmo the following day.
He couldn't help but smile when he saw Zachary still performing like a superstar, even against the pros. The young player has made many passes splitting the defence since entering the pitch. Sometimes he releases the ball towards the wing where one of the wingers is lurking in— and in other moments, he will play it low through the defense. He has revitalised the red team with his incredible passing ability. And thanks to him, the score remains only 2:1 for the early players of Rosenborg with green oto. It was even after playing the game for over 30 minutes. If he is not present, the situation of the red team could be worse.
The boy was still magical, just like him in the academy.
However, Coach Johansen knows that he cannot rush to use it in official matches before facing his growth spurt. He doesn't want to lose a promising young player through injury just because he can't wait to use it. Moreover, the club chairman has urged him to manage Zachary's training carefully so that the club does not suffer any losses.
Coach Johansen, however, was pleased that the management had purchased the highly tactical Mike Jensen from the Brondby IF. Thanks to that, he could wait a few months before using Zachary. So, he strengthened his decision not to include Zachary from the main cast list after watching Jensen play.
He smiled as he watched Zachary make another sweeping pass towards Daniel Berntsen, the red team winger. Meanwhile, his mind is working on a plan to help Zachary adapt to the professional league. He decided to devise a good fitness training regimen to keep him busy and prepare him for a more competitive stage in Tippeligaen as soon as possible. His only hope is that Zachary is not one of the impatient types of people who will become frustrated over a lack of first-team football.
**** ****