THE GREATEST OF ALL TIME
Important Day II

A few minutes to 9 a.m.

Coach Mande looked at his watch before gesturing for the team to take their position. All the players on the pitch, including Zachary, were waiting for his whistle to start the game. It was a moment of truth that would determine their fate. Everyone is tense.

Coach Mande has picked the red team to start the game. Emanuel Luboya and Beni Badibanga were already standing in the center of the circle next to the ball.

Most of the scouts had already started to leave their seats in the stands. They have started moving closer to the touchline to get a better view of the process. Most adjust their cameras to face the field to capture the moment of the game.

Coach Mande looked at his watch again before looking towards Damata on the sidelines. The last one nodded.

*FREEEE!*

Kick-offs!

Emanuel passed the ball to Beni Badibanga and rushed forward to another round without looking back.

"Art, pass here," Zachary called Beni after seeing him looking for a teammate to pass the ball. He is unmarked and ready to receive the ball. The latter ignored him and kicked him towards Tony Majembe on the left wing.

It was then that Edo Kayembe, the team's right winger in green, came in with a tackle. He won the ball with fair and square and passed it straight to Wagaluka Francis in midfield.

Wagaluka controlled the ball beautifully and passed Beni who had been keeping it tight.

He looked up and kicked the ball high, sending a long pass towards Stephen Mangala who rushed towards the box in the red team section.

Zachary and his team-mates did not even react when Mangala received the ball outside the 18-yard box. Only Fredric Luamba stood between him and the goalkeeper.

Without looking up, he fired a powerful shot into the bottom left corner, forcing Samuel Baraka to make a brilliant save. The green team got a corner kick.

The red team was already under pressure due to Beni Badibanga's poor scoring in the first minute. He has chosen to pass to Tony, who is marked strictly by the opponent, not Zachary. As a result, the red team lost the ball and almost conceded.

"Art," call Zachary to number 9. "Why don't you pass it to me? He said as they ran back to their half to defend against a corner.

"Damn it," the striker scowled. "I'll play my game, and you play your game. Don't block my way." He added before increasing his speed.

"Young people." Zakaria breathed.

The green team took a corner kick quickly, but nothing worked.

Over the next ten minutes, the game continued to support the green team. The green-clad boy dominated the midfield and controlled most of the possession.

Both Wagaluka and Paul-Jose Mpoku have three times made Mangala lose in the penalty box red team. Their deadly balls could easily turn into goals if not for Baraka's brilliant performance, the goalkeeper.

Zachary already has a clear picture of what is wrong with his red team. His high game intelligence allows him to conclude that some players choose to isolate him. They didn't give him permission. Since he was the midfielder responsible for building all the attacks, the behaviour of his team-mates proved costly.

In his previous life, he faced similar isolation during matches in football trials. Such matches are so competitive that it is difficult for players to show off their skills. The main reason for this is the fact that players on the same team are still competing against each other. They all sought the attention of the scouts or coaches present. Players will be less likely to pass the ball to teammates whom they view as competition. But what surprised Zachary was the emergence of such behavior in trials involving teenagers.

[Where is sportsmanship?] He wonders.

His red team is already facing another attack threat from Mangala and his green team. Zachary has decided to move further back and against the pressure put on by the opponent.

But in the twenty-fifth minute of the first half, Chris Luyinda made a hard tackle against Edo Kayembe on the right side of the penalty box. Coach Mande blew his whistle for the foul and gave a free kick to the green team.

"What are you all doing there?" Luyinda shouted at her teammates. "Pair the wall and defend."

The red team players did not take issue with Luyinda's rudeness and quietly put up a wall to defend the free-kick. Even Zachary, who has been denied a pass since the game began, joined the player's wall.

Coach Mande blew the whistle, gesturing for the green team to take a free kick.

Edo Kayembe, number 7, sent a superb cross into the box where Mangala was lurking. The prodigy took advantage of him, and from around the penalty spot, he made a header past Samuel Baraka. The ball bounces off the bottom of the left post before sliding into the back of the goal. Mangala has shown his eyes for the purpose.

Score becomes 1:0.

Zachary stood with his hands akimbo, watching the others. All the red players had sad expressions with their shoulders slumping. He saw some scouts on the sidelines nodding to themselves as they stared at Mangala.

[So this is how Mangala got to Europe in my previous life.] Zachary sighed. He was confident that the boy would be recruited by one of the academies after the match. He would say some encouraging words to his team-mates but was interrupted by Chris Luyinda.

"The basis of a useless joke from the attacking midfielder" he said, pointing his index finger at Bemba. "They've taken over the whole midfield! What are you doing?" She asked.

"Our strikers didn't even have a single chance to score. Why don't trainers replace fools like you?" He continued.

"Awas, man," Zachary said, moving closer to face Luyinda. "You haven't passed the ball to me. What do you expect from me?" He asked angrily.

*FREEEE!*

As their argument begins to escalate, Coach Mande blows his whistle.

"Whatever the case may be," he asked, running towards them.

"No." Both Zachary and Luyinda responded simultaneously. They jumped away from each other like frightened rabbits looking at lions.

"Both of you! Go to the bench and calm down." Coach Mande shouted, furrowing his brows. "Quickly. We need to give a chance to those who take the ordeal seriously."

**** ****

"One has been replaced," Kristin observed as she put down her camera. "Are you sure that Zachary is a talent? He has not had any impact on the match, so far!" He frowned.

"I beg to delay," the old man smiled, sitting back down. Unlike the other scouts who had moved to the track, they were still sitting inside the pavilion.

"Have you noticed that the other players on his team have isolated him?" Grandfather asked.

"What does this have to do with something?"

“In a test match, the player will only isolate his team-mates in two scenarios,” the grandfather said. "One is when a player is too good and is able to shade the other and reduce their chances of attracting the attention of a scout. The other is when the player has no skills and will waste the team's chances."

"Christin dear," the grandfather smiled. "Under which category do you think Zachary belongs to?" She asked.

Kristin would inevitably raise her camera to observe the player who was walking lethargic outside the field. He was somewhat fat and tall for a child his age, approaching five-nine by his estimation.

"I can't say it right now" he replied. "I'll evaluate Zachary's talent only when he's on the pitch." He added, gently put down his camera.

"We will not be able to take the Mangala boy from the French club" the old man said. "They have deeper coffers than our little Norwegian club. So, we have to start looking at players they don't pay attention to."

"Like Zachary and Paul?" Kristin asked, opening the file once more.

"Yes, like them," the old man smiled. "It's good for us that Zachary didn't perform well. Otherwise, he would also be taken away."

"You wicked old man" Kristin joked with a smile.

"Must succeed in this business," the grandfather chuckled before focusing on the match once more.

**** ****

Zachary moved back to the sidelines with his shoulders slumped and his eyes staring sadly. His mouth was made half-snouted. He imagined himself slapping Luyinda in the face as he repeated the moment when Coach Mande sent him off the field. He felt desperate. There was nothing left to feel, nothing left to hope for, nothing left but the void that enveloped his mind in the swirling darkness. Everything he has worked so hard to accomplish will be destroyed.

He sadly sat on the sidelines.

[Why should I fight Luyinda on such a day?]

[Why? Why?]

Before the game, he thought that he had already controlled his emotions perfectly, unlike in his previous life. But he easily churned after a slight provocation from Luyinda.

He hears a cheering sound and raises his head only to discover that the child prodigy Mangala has just scored again. It was 2:0 right before half-time.

"DING"

The system interface appears by itself.

****

GOat MISSION

NEW MISSION: Lubumbashi football test (serial mission)

*Task 2: Help your red team win over the green team.

*Task 3: Attract the attention of football academy officials or club scouts.

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* Gift:

-> Surveillance Tool to unlock (Will tell you everything about your opponent. It is only related to football.)

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*Punishment if failed:

-> GOAT system will be offline for a year.

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*Specification: GOATS never give up.

****

[What the fuck!?]

"How do I expect me to achieve all this when I have been suspended from the game?"

Zachary distracts her and sinks into depression until the first-half whistle goes off. He remained on the sidelines until being called up by Coach Damata a few minutes later.

"How are you feeling?" The coach asked when Zachary arrived by his side.

"Like I want to dive into the Congo River with a rock tied to my back," Zachary smiled sadly.

"Hahaha," Damata laughed, pulling some gazes from the nearby scouts. "That's very subtle. You should never think like that. There are various paths one can take to achieve something." He suggested.

Zakaria nodded. He glanced towards the field and noticed that the second half had already started. The score is still 2:0.

But Zachary believes the red team will soon concede more goals. The boys in green clothes, especially Mangala, Kayembe, and Wagaluka, were too fierce. They are still pressing their opponents in red in their half of the field. Their tiki-taka football is too fast for Kasongo and the others to compete.

"The red team players lost all motivation" commented Coach Damata indifferently. "You and Luyinda are the main culprits for this" he added.

"Sorry, coach," pinta Zachary.

"You know that temperament is one of the most important attributes of a sportsman. You won't get anything if you can't shower your emotions." Damata college.

Zachary waited in silence. He noticed that one of the other trainers was also talking to Luyinda.

[Did they allow us to return?] His mood lifted. He would do his best even if he was only given a match time of around fifteen minutes. He just wanted to leave without regret.

The coach's next words instantly kicked him out of hell into heaven.

"I'll give you one more chance to impress the scouts" Coach Damata smiled. "Because of your previous behavior, many of them will avoid you. But you never know. There may be one among them who might like the way you play." She added.

"Thank you, coach, for the opportunity," he bowed respectfully.

"Speak with Luyinda first. You two are teammates now and also the best midfielders the red team has. If you don't solve your problems, the two of you will never succeed." Coach suggested.

"Well, Coach," he said softly. To succeed, he would do anything. Talking to the idiot was just a small inconvenience compared to losing everything.