THE GREATEST OF ALL TIME
Perfect Curve Ball

"In the 87th minute, Rosenborg gained a one-man lead over Troms due to a red card," Kristin heard Kjell's roar. "Can Rosenborg take advantage of this advantage and punish Tromso in the remaining three minutes plus injury time? Or will Coach Agnar Christensen and his men from the North hold Rosenborg for the rest of the game? Harald! What say?" The commentator's voice boomed over the loud chatter and cheers through the stadium loudspeakers.

"My money is still in Rosenborg" replied Harald, a pundit for the match that day. "Rosenborg's players were outstanding when moving forward from the start of the game. They dominated possession and had over twenty shots on goal. Nicki, Zachary, and Pull all hit the crossbar or the goalpost at one point in the game. . I feel they are really unlucky because the score remains deadlocked at 0-0."

"But we can't take anything away from the Troms team's performance" the expert continued. "Children from the North stay true to their tactics and are very disciplined when under pressure. I highly commend their efforts. But since their captain had received a red card, it would be a big enough challenge to continue to keep the Troll Kids at bay. Tromso is not the same without Miika Koppinen, their centre-back and captain."

"Thank you, Harald," said Kjell Roar. "Let's get back to the action. The referee is almost done setting the wall and the players in the box. But some of Rosenborg's players are still clustered, discussing how to take free-kicks, which is very difficult. Will Zachary once again be in set piece? Or will Rosenborg go with Mike Jensen or maybe Pull?"

Kristin Stein returned her full attention to the field of play. On the left wing, close to the box, he could see Zachary, Tarik Elyounoussi, Mike Jensen, Tore the captain, and Mikael Dorsin curling together on the ball. They seemed engrossed in discussions, strategizing how to convert free kicks. As the expert said, the position of the dead ball is in a very narrow angle, just a few meters from the goal line. It was also close to the Troms box, only three to five meters away, according to his estimation. But Kristin is still doubtful if any player can change that from such an angle.

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Contrary to what the commentator said, Zachary et al did not discuss strategies for set-pieces. Instead, they are still debating who will take it.

"Zachary," said Tarik, the left attacker, with a small smile. "I think you should hand this one over to me. After all, you've already taken one during the first half."

'...and failing to score', Zachary thought inwardly, a wry smile adorning his face. Unlike in the first half, all players did not unanimously agree to let him take a set-piece. Both Tarik Elyounoussi and Mike Jensen want to give it a try as they also have a proven track record in converting free kicks.

"Let's do it like this" Mikael Dorsin interrupted. "Let's leave this one to Zachary. Pull, you can take the next one while Mike will take the one after that. We will continue the rotation in the next game. Do not continue the debate because we need to concentrate on successfully converting dead balls. After all, the referee is almost done setting the wall."

"I support that" said Tore Reginiussen, Rosenborg's captain. He then turned to Zacharias. "This free-kick position requires a good right foot. But I've noticed that you mostly use your left foot when shooting. How confident are you?" He asked, raising an eyebrow.

"My right is as good as my left" Zachary replied, his voice filled with confidence. "So, I have a pretty high chance of successfully converting a set-piece if the goalkeeper doesn't perform as abnormally as in the first half."

"OK, then," said the captain while nodding. "You'll be the one who takes the ball off. Do your best and try to convert successfully." He patted Zachary on the back.

"Thank you very much" Zachary replied. "I'll try my best."

"Well, then," Mikael interrupted, smiling. "Since we've already decided who's going to take the ball off, should we move on to strategy?"

"No need," said Zachary, to start positioning the ball over the green. "I'll go straight to the goal. Just try running towards the goalpost, in case there's a rebound."

"All right then, let's leave it to your preparations," said Mikael, wiping the sweat on his forehead with the back of his hand. "The referee has finished setting up the wall. If you can, hit hard near the far post. Trust me: You will definitely beat the goalkeeper that way. Good luck to you." He added before turning around and started heading towards the Troms box.

"Thank you for your advice" Zachary said with a smile. "I'll try my best."

"Good luck..."

"Good luck..."

The rest also uttered some encouraging words before following Mikael to the Troms box. Neither Mike nor Tarik seem to be the least bit unhappy with the captain's decision on who takes the ball off. Nevertheless, Zachary is confident that if his efforts fail to live up to their expectations, they will not easily compromise him when there is another set-piece situation any time soon.

So, he took a deep breath and calmed his mind, making sure to get rid of all the exaggerated thoughts that could obscure his thought process and affect his delivery. He has to be in a very focused condition if he wants to convert dead balls successfully.

When he was sure his mind had reached a proper state of calm, he began to observe the position of the walls and the players in the Troms box. Meanwhile, his mind works like a supercomputer, trying to deduce the best way to take a free kick.

Even the Troms players who made the walls were no different. They tried several times to shorten the distance between them and the dead ball position. For a moment, chaos and confusion only existed inside the Troms box. The referee has to give a lot of verbal warnings and give three yellow cards to players from both teams to calm the situation.

Zachary received all of that with a relaxed and detached look as he waited for the whistle to pick up the set-piece. Her lips look like a smile—enough to show that she is enjoying her thoughts.

He had become as calm as the sea before the storm because of his well-earned confidence born from practicing Juju Bend-it-like-Beckham thousands of times. He was an unencumbered player and free from tension at the time.

*FREEEE*

The referee finally blew the whistle after setting the situation in the box.

Zachary wasn't lazing around because he had already finished his preparations. He took a few steps back from the ball and tilted his body in such a way that it faced Rosenborg's goal.

He then peeked at the corner flag and noticed that it was very quiet. At that moment, he could safely conclude that no wind was affecting his shot.

For a moment, the corner of his mouth stretched further into a brief grin that was suppressed as he realized that he did not need to account for the gentle breeze in his death ball technique. The absence of a gentle breeze will make his work less demanding. So, he started his short run to the ball without any unnecessary worries.

With his eyes locked on the ball, he tilted his body and connected with the ball with the instep while his ankles were locked. He hit the ball slightly on the side, just below the middle, with the inside of his right boot to make it spin while hovering in the air. Zachary felt like he had executed Bend-it-like-Beckham Juju with the greatest perfection at the time.

**** ****

Coach Johansen felt his heartbeat quicken as he watched Zachary take a free kick after a corner into the ball. The African boy released the beautiful but simple inside of a curve ball of boots that soared past the wall— into the air, seemingly aimed towards the crowd of players in the Tromso box.

For a moment, Coach Johansen thought that Zachary had decided to give a cross into the box for his team-mates to finish. But a moment later, he saw the ball curling slightly down once more before curling further to find its way into the top right corner, out of the reach of the goalkeeper.

1:0.

Zachary managed to put Rosenborg ahead with a curling ball perfectly executed from a very narrow angle in the 88th minute.

Coach Johansen raised his hand in the air and ran around the technical area like he was crazy. He could barely hold back his happiness. He had been waiting for his team to score for eighty-eight minutes. But his team have failed on several occasions to put the ball behind goal even after dominating possession for a long time.

Coach Johansen was frustrated and thought the game would end in a draw. But then, with Zachary's goal, he was finally able to let go and relax. So, he clenched his fists into the air several times before returning his full attention to the corner flag where his players celebrated goals.

But to his dismay, Zachary had taken off his shirt once more and tossed it into the stands. At that time, some Rosenborg fans were busy fighting to get the number 33. Coach Johansen's previously radiant face turned into a terrifying frown. A player taking off his shirt translates to a pointless yellow, which will affect his squad as the season progresses.

"Didn't any of you tell him not to take off his shirt one more time?" He asked Trond Henriksen, his assistant.

"We did it" replied Trond Henriksen, still grinning after celebrating the goal. "But I don't think he can hold back because he's too happy after scoring."

Coach Johansen sighed. "That's two yellow cards in two games now. We need to make sure this doesn't happen again. Otherwise, Zachary will soon face a suspension for collecting a yellow card."

"Sure," replied Coach Henriksen. "I'll have a serious talk with him before the next game."

**** ****