THE GREATEST OF ALL TIME
Match I Video Review Meeting

"Okay, let's get serious" said Coach Johansen, his tone serious.

He had just finished moving around the room and making small talk with the players. At that time, Trond Henriksen, assistant coach, had set up video equipment and turned on a large flat screen hanging on the wall in front of the room.

"I welcome you once again to another post-match meeting where we review our most recent performances" Coach Johansen began. "However, I'm not in a good mood today. I'm still not happy with our defeat to Sandnes yesterday."

"If we follow the game plan, we will definitely avoid it. But we messed it up, put on a miserable game, and lost again. That's a concern." He stopped, letting his gaze explore the players in the tactical space.

For a few seconds, there was complete silence in the room, except for the sound of Coach Trond Henriksen rummaging through several papers on one side of the room. The players on their side, including Zachary, all waited attentively until the coach continued his speech.

"I know defeat can happen in football" continued the coach, his eyes narrowed. “And I understand there are always winners and losers in every game. But losing the game because we didn't give our best on the pitch is unacceptable. We had all the possession against Sandnes, but we didn't convert any of them into goals. I'm disappointed with your performance in that game."

Coach Johansen sighed. "Let's talk about the one goal we conceded in the 23rd minute" he said before turning to look at his assistant. "Trond, can you set the video to the right moment when we conceded," he told him.

"OK," said Trond Henriksen, putting his papers on a chair beside him. He then picked up the remote and started playing the video of the match quickly. In just a few seconds, the assistant head coach stopped the film, and a Sandnes player in a light blue T-shirt appeared on the screen.

Zachary instantly recognized Freyr Thorsteinsson, the winger who scored the only winning goal against Rosenborg the previous day on screen.

"That's perfect" Coach Johansen said as he nodded. "We can start watching from here. Thank you, Trond." He added, moving towards the screen.

Coach Trond Henriksen smiled in response before playing the video once again. Freyr Thorsteinsson, number 23 Sandnes Ulf, started dribbling and passed Mix Diskerud, Rosenborg's left-half midfielder. Zachary watched as he avoided two more players in white and went on to deliver a high pass into the box.

Then, one of the Sandnes strikers, a black colleague in a light blue shirt number 11, jumped over the defenders and connected with the ball. But instead of trying to score, he headed the ball back— into the running path of Freyr Thorsteinsson, the left winger. Freyr managed to maintain his composure and fired a howitzer shot at goal despite being marked by two Rosenborg players.

Lund Hansen, goalkeeper, helpless. He could only turn around and watch the ball curl into the top corner of the goal. The video stops there and then when the assistant coach presses the pause button on the remote.

"OK," said Coach Johansen, letting his gaze pause to some of the players in the tactics room. "Can someone tell me what our mistake was before conceding that goal?"

All players, including Zachary, remained silent. Some frown or smile sadly. The rest stare at the screen with full attention—as if their gazes can penetrate the fabric of reality and get a better view of what is going on inside.

"Whoever?" Coach Johansen asked once again to see his players remain silent.

Mikael Dorsin, the veteran defender of Rosenborg, raised his hand.

"Yes, Mikael." Coach Johansen pointed at him.

"That's right, thank you, Mikael," Coach Johansen said, smiling for the first time since starting his speech. "You get the words out of my mouth. Our defensive form was a mess before that goal."

"Trond, back off a little bit" he said, returning to the screen. The assistant coach did as instructed, replaying the video and simply pressing the pause button at the time Freyr Thorsteinsson received the ball. It was just over a minute before the left winger scored.

"Take a good look at the Sandnes players" said Coach Johansen, stepping away a few steps from the screen as the video began playing once again. He leaned against a table on one side of the room before continuing.

"Dead and see how we conceded this goal. If you only take a quick look at this, you might decide that the goal was a Mix error. He lost track of running. This guy ran across the wings and broke through our half, and finally gave a cross into the box." He added, pointing to a picture of Freyr Thorsteinsson running on the screen.

“But when a cross goes into the box, the centre-back does not jump to challenge the ball. Worse still, Freyr Thorsteinsson somehow managed to make a 30-yard dash off the wing and arrived near our box—before shooting and scoring. None of you tried to track his run. What the fuck?"

"Where are the midfielders?" His voice went up a little. "Where is his right back? How can we let a player run from wing to box without a fight? We were supposed to be the best team in Norway, for God's sake."

He sighed, shaking his head. "It's unacceptable for a player from Norway's biggest club. You have to read the game. You should anticipate any changes in tempo and react accordingly. You have to communicate and stay in the right form of defense for the duration of the game. That's the only way to avoid conceding such a stupid goal in the upcoming game."

All the players in the tactics room remained silent, waiting for the coach to continue. Zachary also watched the video with a serious expression. But if he had to be honest, he would have admitted that he was a bit happy inside that the Rosenborg first team had made a mess in the previous three games.

If the club is at its best and continues to win every game with ease, he believes the coaching staff will not consider him to be in the squad that soon. Therefore, Zachary watched Coach Johansen's presentation with a flat face—just to adjust to the solemn atmosphere in the tactics room. Otherwise, he would have already started grinning if he was alone.

After a few minutes, Coach Johansen began alternating with Trond Henriksen, his assistant, in making presentations. The two took turns exposing some of the players' mistakes in the match against Sandnes Ulf while replaying the video of the match. They are very detailed in showing what the players can do better to win. The minutes passed quickly, and before Zachary realized it, the meeting was almost over.

Zachary was, for the most part, rather bored. Throughout the session, she struggled to hold back from falling asleep— as she woke up early and spent most of the morning exercising intensively. He was only of undivided concern when Coach Johansen took to the stage towards the end.

"If we want to achieve something this season, we have to work as a team" Zachary heard coach Johansen say in an excited tone of voice. "If our goal is to win Tippeligaen or the Norwegian Football Cup, we have to defend and attack as a team when we are on the pitch. There's no other way to do that."

"When we got into trouble in the box—let's say two attacking opponents in attack, we must not think that our two centre-backs will stop them alone. I saw that moments before Tore received a red card for his last-person challenge, some of our guys were walking. They're walking." He emphasized, letting his gaze explore some players.

"The opposing team attacked our goal, but about five of us walked," Coach Johansen exclaimed, his tone changing a little dramatically. "We played 4-3-3, for God's sake. Three midfielders and two attackers on the wing should have rushed back and helped the defence. But, all of you let Tore face their two attackers alone, forcing him to commit a professional offense."

"Don't misunderstand me. I'm not saying that Tore should have done the tackle." He half-smiled, shaking his head. "I'm just stressing that you shouldn't let him fall into a 1-vs-2 situation alone. If any of you three can run backwards when their attacker picks up the ball, I can guarantee you that we'll't have—encumbered with a red card."

"You should thank Lund for saving the penalty. Otherwise, we'll lose by a bigger margin, not just that one goal."