THE GREATEST OF ALL TIME
Debut Game I

Kristin glanced at her watch. Six o'clock past twelve minutes—official kick-off time. "The teams should be out right now, too," he said excitedly to his Monica Rnning— who sat to his right.

Before Monica could voice her answer, the stadium loudspeakers came alive, blaring and dwarfing the surrounding chatter. And without delay, the live commentary in Norwegian began.

"Good night everyone! Today, we bring you the Norwegian Football Cup—tournament that will determine the Norwegian Football Champion for the year," the melodious voice of a female commentator was heard from the loudspeaker.

"I'm Anne Rimmen, your beautiful commentator, bringing you live commentary for this Norwegian Cup second round match alongside our special guest Harald Brattbakk, a former Rosenborg player and legend. He will be our expert for today's game. Signore. Brattbakk, can you say hello to our listeners?"

"Good night, everyone," Kristin heard a loud voice Harald Brattbakk coming at her through a loudspeaker.

"Hehe," Anne Rimmen, the first commentator, chuckled. "We're glad you're here, Mr. Brattbakk."

"Thank you, Anne."

"For this second-round match, on the one hand, we have Strindheim Toppfotball, a club that plays quite well in the second division. On the other hand, we have Rosenborg Ballklub, the most successful club in Norway. They have won Cupen eleven times like I am. So, what do you think of these two teams, Mr Brattbakk?"

"Well, I don't think I need to give an in-depth analysis of Rosenborg" replied Mr. Harald Brattbakk's. "They are a team that has performed well in the top league over the last two decades. There is no doubt that they are the favourites to win this second round Norwegian Cup tie. With the form of Nicki Nielson, their centre-forward, active, they can score at any time. We just hope Mr. Boyd Johansen, the new head coach, does his job well. Rosenborg should have no trouble winning the game."

"Then Strindheim..." Anne Rimmen investigated.

"Oh," said Mr. Harald Brattbakk. "Strindheim are a good team. They really did and have done well in the second division. They won against Steinkjer FK in the first round of Cupen with a score of 7:0. That should say something about the talent of the players compared to others in the lower divisions. But comeon. They're facing Rosenborg here. To win, they needed a lot of luck on their side."

"Does this mean you believe that Rosenborg will win this game?"

"You can't be one hundred percent sure in football" replied Mr. Harald Brattbakk's. "What I'm saying is that Rosenborg has a very high chance of winning the game. It all depends on how the new coach handles the game."

"Okay, thank you, Harald," said Anne Rimmen. "Now let's focus on the games that exist and..." He paused in the middle of the sentence as the cheers rose to a brief peak, interrupting every other sound in the stadium.

The crowd suddenly came alive, releasing pent-up energy at the long-awaited kick-off. For the next minute, the singing of the fans was deafening.

However, Kristin was not at all bothered by the noise.

He has been a Rosenborg fan for as long as he can remember and has attended countless matches since he was young. He always felt at home in the crowd and could sing and celebrate freely with the rest of Rosenborg's supporters.

So, he clapped his hands, following the rhythm of the crowd. But he did not forget to set his sights on the exit of the dressing room. He really wants the game to start.

"Leaded by three-match officials, both teams entered the field of play," Anne Rimmen, commentator, announced after a while amid the majestic music.

Kristin soon realizes that the players of both teams are finally showing up. They marched onto the pitch in two rows, holding hands with adorable youngsters wearing match jerseys of both teams. Among Rosenborg's players, he could have picked a very tall Zachary in his black Rosenborg away shirt. He walked behind the other players— his head held high with a grim expression on his face.

"With yellow jerseys, blue shorts, and yellow stockings, is Strindheim Toppfotball, the home team." Kristin heard Anne Rimmen, the commentator, begin the introduction as the players lined up to shake hands on the pitch.

"In Strindheim's goal, there's Ole Naess, number-1 and captain."

“In defense there are four players. No.14 Mats Ingebrigtsen and No.15 Vidar Giske Henriksen. No.24 left-back Mathias Hegna, No.4 right-back Kristian Sorli."

“Coach Finn Morten Moe also seems to use a 4-3-3 formation this time. In midfield, there are three players—namely: No.3, Emil Rokke, No.26, Sindre Kjos-Wenjum, and No.8, Preben Hammersland."

"And finally, Strindheim's attackers were No.22, Christopher Moen, No.16, Eirik Nerland, and No.22, Sondre Stokke. In the black shirt, we have a team that everyone knows; Rosenborg..."

Kristin listened carefully as commentators announced all the players. He nodded in agreement when he heard the names—Tore Reginiussen, the new captain, and Nicki Nielsen, the centre-forward. Both have been playing well since the start of the new season. But what worries him is that most of Rosenborg's other first-team members are not on the line-up.

Placing one or two midfielders would be fine. However, the coach risked using only young players without much experience in midfield. He seemed to take the game lightly, and it was not at all convincing as far as he was concerned.

The four friends sitting to his left laughed at it.

"I feel sorry for Strindheim" said Kendrick Otterson, Zachary's former teammate, shaking his head. "Playing against Zachary when you've never seen him work with the ball is the worst mistake any club can make."

"Right," Melissa Romano agreed. "I just remembered the goal he scored against Valencia in the SIA Cup. If he could score a goal like that, he would soon become a Rosenborg superstar. I wonder if he'll still remember us after that."

"Do you really think Zachary will be able to survive this match?" Kristin inevitably asked after seeing the relaxed atmosphere that Kasongo and his friends were projecting. They do not seem to be the least bit worried about Zachary, who is playing his debut match and allegedly their friend.

Kasongo smiled, throwing a glance at him. "When was the last time you saw Zachary play?" She asked.

"About two years ago, I guess," Kristin answered honestly. "Why are you asking?" He has been traveling and studying for the past two years. So, he could not take the time to watch the academy match.

"Then get this from us who have been playing with Zachary for the last two years" Kasongo said. "He's not the perfect guy off the pitch. But when the ball is at his feet, he turns into something else. You just have to wait and see. He should have given us a lot of surprises in this game."

**** ****

At exactly 18:00, the referee blew his whistle.

Hearing the whistle, something appeared in Zachary's mind. All the background fanfare disappeared instantly from his mind, leaving him in a state of calm. The loud cheers from the fans seemed like a distant frenzy to him at that moment. His focus was entirely on the match, with no random thoughts running through his mind. In that state, he watched Sondre Stokke, Strindheim's centre-forward, raise his legs high and kick the ball back into his own half.

The second round of the Norwegian Cup finally began with Strindheim kick-off.

Preben Hammersland, Strindheim's attacking midfielder, received the ball in midfield with a simple touch. He then pulled it back with his right foot and passed it across the pitch to Mathias Hegna, the left-back.

The latter immediately controlled the ball close to the touchline on Strindheim's left wing. With a very fast movement, he kicked it towards Christopher Moen—kiri forward. In the first minute of the game, Strindheim started attacking. It seems Strindheim players intend to score early by attacking through the wings.

Zachary adjusted his position in midfield, moving to the right as he watched Christopher Moen pass John Chibuike, Rosenborg's right-hander. With his high game intelligence, he smelled some 'danger' as soon as the attacker touched the ball. Christopher is one of those fast wingers who can beat any defender for speed.

Zachary's football intuition had already warned him that if the captain did not stop on the wing, he would be a problem for centre-back Rosenborg.

So, with a one-way mind, he went straight into action. He decided to stop the winger before he moved further towards the Rosenborg goal. As a midfielder in a 4-3-3 formation, he cannot simply think of attacking. He also has to help the team defend against possible threats to the goal. Otherwise, Ole Selnaes, Rosenborg's central defensive midfielder, will have a problem with an unguarded attacking opponent.

So, he started tracking Christopher's pace from the sidelines and his mind quickly processed all possible routes the attacker might take towards goal. Meanwhile, his spatial awareness and A-level risk analysis allowed him to create mental maps of other Strindheim players around him.

When he made sure that there were no unguarded Strindheim players around, he ran across the field towards Christopher Moen who was running like the wind. He accelerated his top speed in an instant, his legs pumping like the pistons of a race car. In no time at all, he cut the left forward as he passed Brede Moe, Rosenborg's right-back.

Zachary maintained his composure, slid in, and handled the ball without making physical contact with Christopher's feet. He made sure to catch the ball when the captain had just turned, cutting back into the field— towards goal.

Challenge succeeded.

Zachary stopped the ball with his left foot outstretched and made the captain fall to the ground.

Zachary believes he answered the challenge correctly.

He did not even glance at Christopher, who was pretending to be injured on the grass.

He quickly lifted himself off the ground and passed the ball to Ole Selnaes in defensive midfield immediately.

He didn't want to make a complicated game when the game was just starting. He will follow Coach Johansen's advice and grow slowly in the game. He wanted to play it simple until he set the skill level of the opponent. That way, he would avoid repeating the mistakes of his previous life.