THE GREATEST OF ALL TIME
Post-Match Interviews & Analysis

"That bike kick was something else" said Paul Otterson, shaking his head. "Zachary has upgraded his skills to a level we can't even imagine."

"The setpiece is even smoother than it was in his time at the academy" added Kendrick Otterson. "He must have tried so hard to reach such a level."

"Well," Kasongo said as he shook his head. "It's not just effort, but talent. No matter how much you practice, if you don't have the talent, you won't make such an improvement in a year."

The other two sighed before throwing their gaze back at the LCD-TV flat screen on one of the tables on one side of their kitchen in Moholt. The three of them watched the game through TV2 Sportskanalen— - one of Norway's leading sports channels because they were unable to travel all the way to lesund.

When Zachary scored the first goal with a bicycle kick, they all jumped in shock. Based on his academy days, they couldn't imagine he would try such a stunt during an official match. On the other hand, they were not at all surprised by the second goal. They know how good Zachary is at picking up dead balls. He can even hit the goalposts twenty out of twenty times from the edge of the 18-yard box if he wants a good day. Finding the back of the net was just a walk in the park for him.

"Friends," said Kendrick, shaking his head. "We have to increase the intensity of our workouts over the next few months. I feel if we don't make it into the Rosenborg team this year, we'll never get the chance to play with him again."

"Right," Paul said with a wry smile. "But we still can't rush. He's growing a lot faster than us, that's for sure. But if we keep training with the intention to chase him, I'm sure one day we'll also play at the same level as him."

"Geez!" Kendrick exclaimed, looking at her brother's face intently. "What's that in your eyes?" He asked, looking agitated.

"Do you see any abnormalities in my eyes," Paul asked, his voice slightly raised.

"Let me see" replied Kendrick, drawing near to his brother. "Is that the wink of intelligence I see in your eyes? That's really weird!"

"Kendrick," cried Paul, standing and clenching his fists. "I'll fight you today. I'm tired of your verbal spanking."

Kendrick laughed at that, not the slightest bit worried about his brother's threat.

"Friends," Kasongo interrupted, pointing to the screen. "Zachary's on TV. You should watch this. He's the one representing the team for the post-match interview."

Hearing Kasongo's warning, the two brothers stop their quarrel—and turn their attention to the TV screen, where Zachary's serious face has just appeared.

"Yes" said Paul with a smile. "He still looks like he wants to beat up someone. Why can't he smile at the camera?"

"Shhh!" Two others told him to be quiet, more or less simultaneously.

"The press conference begins. Let's hear Zachary first." Kendrick said, increasing the volume on television by remote.

"Zachary, there's a lot going on in the second half" the reporter said, his voice heard through a TV speaker. "How do you feel after coming on as a substitute and helping your team make a perfect comeback?"

"Well, I feel excited" Zachary said briefly and solemnly.

"What comes to mind when the coach asks you to take to the field? Do you believe that you will score two goals and make one assist at that time?"

"Of course, I believe that my team, Rosenborg, can make a comeback and win the game" Zachary replied, still with a stern expression. "But I'm not even 50% sure that I'm going to score. Football is a team sport. There are eleven players on the field. Anyone can score goals and help the team win. It depends who gets the chance."

"So, you believe you can win then?"

"Yes, of course," replied Zachary, his voice firm. “I always head to every game with the sole belief that I will emerge victorious. When I entered the game, all I had in mind was how to create chances and score goals. I have watched the game from the sidelines and already know we can do it. That's what drives me to give everything on the pitch."

"This is just your second game in Rosenborg. Don't you feel the pressure when you come in when your team is two goals behind?"

"No" answered Zacharias. "Just the excitement of finally getting the chance to perform."

"Let's talk about his goal" the reporter continued. "Your first goal is completely out of this world."

"Oh, yes," replied Zachary, smiling for the first time on the screen. "I just tried my luck with a bicycle kick and luckily hit the target. I also could not believe it at that time. This is the first time I've tried something like that."

"Then the second goal ..."

"For the second goal, it was easy for me to be in a very suitable position. I just have to focus and hit the ball right to score."

"We saw a bit of a fight between you and your teammates before you took a free kick. What's going on?"

"Not much" said Zachary seriously. "We only discussed the best strategy for taking free-kicks among ourselves. And you should know that because it's the last minute, things can get intense because everyone on the team is trying to give their advice."

"Is that really that?"

"What else could happen?" Zachary replied with a question, frowning slightly. But that expression made him seem even more like he was about to punch someone.

"It's simple" said Zachary, his expression softening. "I was given the responsibility to take a free-kick because I was the player with the best luck in the team at the time."

"Luck?"

"Yes, my luck was the highest back then," Zachary said solemnly.

"Move," the reporter said, apparently defeated by Zachary's response. "Are you really eighteen, as they say? We see you bluffing Aalesunds midfielders out there, sometimes just by relying on your physique. You don't look like an eighteen-year-old out there."

"Then, how old do you think I am?" Zachary replied with a question, smiling slightly. He seems to have gotten used to standing in front of the camera.

"At first glance, I would say that you are at least twenty-five years old," the reporter jokingly said. "That's mainly because we have to look at your well-defined muscles when you celebrate your second goal."

"Well, I eat well. Nothing is excessive."

The reporter laughed at it before saying: "Zachary, it's nice to have you here. Congratulations on being the man of the match. Hope your career is successful. May we meet again here, soon."

"Thank you," Zachary replied, and the image disappeared from the screen—be replaced by three live television experts in the studio.

"Here it is" said Samantha Fladset, a female presenter, speaking Norwegian. "At that time Zachary Bemba did an interview with Olav Brusveen—our reporter at Color Line Stadium in lesund—where the match between Aalesunds Fotballklubb and Rosenborg Ballklub just ended."

"Zachary is a player who likes to win" he continued, the corners of his lips curled into a smile. "And, of course, he is a player who eats well. Those are his words."

The other two in the studio laughed at it.

"Harald," said Samantha, turning towards a man in a suit on his left. "You are the expert on the pitch for Rosenborg's match against Strindheim during the middle of the week. What do you think of him?"

"The boy is talented" said Harald Brattbakk, the Rosenborg legend, smiling. "Midweekly, he produced a superb assist and scored a shock goal from outside the 18-yard box. We all said; oh well, he was only against a second division team. But this time, he was against Aalesunds, the team currently top of the table. However, he still managed to dominate the midfield and even scored two incredible goals. What an amazing player!"

"You are absolutely right, Harald," Andre Rekdal, another scholar for the day, added. "I've just looked at the statistics of the game now. He played 29 minutes. In those 29 minutes, he made 72 touches on the ball and had a 97% pass completion rate%. He produced five key passes, all of which resulted in a clear shot on goal. He also won quite a number of ground and air duels in midfield, helping his team dictate the tempo. And of course, we can't forget his incredible assists and his two goals. What a great player!"

"Do you think those two goals will be on Tippeligaen's best monthly list?" The host asked.

"Of course," answered Andre Rekdal immediately, his tone confident. "Especially the first goal. It was a surprise we've never seen here in Tippeligaen forever. Really true?" He looked at Harald with a questioning look.

"Not in any of the matches that I can remember," Harald replied, shaking his head.

"Well, I also think so," Andre said with a smile. “The bike kick was a surprise that should have been one of the top goals of the season. The second goal was also out of this world. The way Zachary applied that round of the ball to curl up on defense was truly genius. Harald, can you tell us?"

"A funny question." Harald laughs. "I'm not in Rosenborg's management. They're just my former employers."

"To answer that question," Samantha Fladset, the host, cut in. "Zachary has been at NF Academy for the past two years. He played in several smaller international competitions such as the Riga and SIA Cups and performed quite well. "

"Of course, we can't forget his performance at the Norwegian Youth Cup" Harald interjected, smiling. "It was the first time I saw him on the pitch. He's the tournament's MVP."

"There's too much we don't know about Zachary." Samantha laughed. "But Coach Johansen said that he was one of Rosenborg's secret weapons for the season."

"But not too secret anymore" said Andre with a grin. "The other team is now aware of the threat he is posing on the pitch. I think a lot of them are already thinking of ways to handle it over the next few games."

"Yes, exactly," Harald agreed. "In the last two games, I felt like he was allowed to reign freely in the middle of the pitch because very few were aware of his skill level. But he had to deal with tough times when the coaches started eyeing him."

"Alright, let's wait and see how he performs against Troms midweek" Samantha added. "For now, let's take a look at the standings after the first two games of Tippeligaen's Match-Day-7. Rosenborg have moved into third place with 13 points after their win today. In front of them is Stromsgodset Toppfotball in second place, also with 13 points, but they play tomorrow. And in first place is still Aalesunds Fotballklubb also with 13 points. This is a pretty table! Three teams tied at 13 points."

"The Tippeligaen has been very competitive this season" Andre, the pundit, added. "This is no longer Harald's past where Rosenborg used to dominate everything."

"Right, that," Harald replied with a smile. "But with the new secret weapon, who knows? Perhaps, this is another golden age of Rosenborg..." His voice disappeared in the middle of the sentence as Kendrick shrank the volume of the screen.

The three boys then sat in silence, pondering over the information they had just obtained. They were too shocked by Zachary's performance after hearing the details of his match stats.

"Tomorrow, I get up at five to train" Kendrick said after a while.

"Me too" replied Kasongo and Paul Otterson, more or less in unison. They had set their priorities straight after watching Zachary's performance on the professional stage.

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