THE GREATEST OF ALL TIME
Continuation Match

Kristin was greatly relieved when Zachary scored the equaliser to level the scoreline to 1:1. He could not go to the Ullevaal Stadium in Oslo to watch the game live as he was busy preparing for his trip to Bergen with Zachary the next day. Instead, he has been watching the game on TV—back in the comfort of his living room.

When Vlerenga scored the first goal, he thought Rosenborg was in for a tough 90 minutes. So, she felt anxious. But when Zachary scored the equaliser just four minutes later, he put his concerns aside.

He began to believe that as long as Zachary was at his best, Rosenborg would find it very difficult to lose even if they wanted to. As long as he was present on the pitch, he could make and score at any time to crush his opponent. There is no point in worrying unnecessarily.

"She gets better and better in every game" said Monica Rinning, Kristin's flatmate, her eyes never leaving the screen. He sits on the same sofa as Kristin, also following the course of the game. On the table in front of them lay various snacks and drinks to add to the experience of watching the game.

"On screen, she looks very different than usual" Kristin commented.

His mind went back to the night they had dinner with him a few days earlier. "She's almost like a completely different person."

"How's it?" Monica asked, leaning forward and picking up some snacks from the table in front of her. "I don't see the difference."

"Maybe, it's because you've seen it a few times" Kristin said. "But the difference is there. On the pitch, he looked confident, not playful. But off the pitch, he lost all his confidence and acted bashfully. Don't you remember he barely spoke during the first game? a few minutes of our dinner last Tuesday?"

"Oh," said Monica, smiling slightly and tilting her head to observe Kristin. "In addition to being a little too quiet, I don't see much difference. Unless he's just acting like that when he's alone with you. And you know what that means. Aren't you?"

"Are you trying to tease me again?"

"Well," said Monica, shaking her head. "I'm not kidding. If he's acting like that around you, then he might actually be interested in you. Try to get his attention when you see him again if you want to test that theory."

"Don't you say you're going with him to Bergen tomorrow?" Monica asked as her friend remained silent. "That would be the perfect opportunity to test my theory."

"Can you stop with the joke?"

"I'm very serious here" said Monica, sighing. "I'm your friend. So, I'm just giving you a little advice. Remember: with how quickly his fame rises, you have to act fast. Otherwise, some other cool person will catch it faster than you can snap your finger. But it—only if you have feelings for her. If not, pretend I didn't say anything."

"Let's watch the game" Kristin said, hoping to change the subject. Although she likes Zachary, she doesn't want to look like a stereotypical fangirl by throwing herself at him. It was a huge rejection for him.

What's more, he wasn't entirely sure whether the good impression the man left on him was because he was a Rosenborg player. He wasn't sure he was really interested in her on a personal level. So, he had no intention of following his friend's advice.

"But tell me one thing" continued Monica, her eyes wrinkled at the corners. There was mischief in his eyes when he glanced at his friend to the side. "Is she as good as she is now when you first saw her? I feel he's impressive. I'd take it myself if I were you then."

"What do you mean?" Kristin quickly answered. He tilted his head slightly to observe his friend, his gaze probing. "Are you referring to skill with the ball?"

"What else am I going to talk about?" Monica answered and laughed. "Of course, it's about his skills as a footballer."

"Oh!" kristin said as she nodded and looked back at the TV screen. "Seriously, I was also amazed by his level of progress. When I first saw him in DR Congo about two years ago, he was good, yes. But he's not very good. His improvement over the past two years has been truly remarkable. I really don't know how he trains for..." He stopped in the middle of the sentence and suddenly raised the volume of the TV with the remote. Since Rosenborg attacked once again, she forgot all the other things around— and concentrated on following the progress of the match.

"Borek on the ball. He twisted and twisted and played the ball back into midfield—ke Jonas Svensson. Jonas quickly passed the ball to Zachary once again."

"Zachary has the ball. He wriggled past Kristofer Hastad, Valerenga's defensive midfielder, before passing the ball to the right flank with a diagonal ball past midfield. Oho! Beautiful game change. Rosenborg continues to build momentum on the attacks ! The Trolls are on fire. Even the scorn from the Valerenga fans was unable to stop their urge to attack..."

Kristin's attention was completely on the screen. He watched as Rosenborg grew more dominant in the game and began dictating the tempo.

All Rosenborg players started playing fantastic one-touch or two-touch football after the goal. They tear apart the Valerenga formation with extreme technique while moving the ball smoothly around the field. Their style of play is very indulgent to the eye as they continue to put more pressure on the Valerenga goal.

Kristin enjoys watching the new Rosenborg. He enjoyed watching the game with Zachary in the lineup. He helps the team play much better with his creativity on the field of play.

Minutes pass quickly. Soon it was the 44th, just moments away from the end of the first half. But Rosenborg still failed to score the second goal despite continuing to launch a wave of attacks into the opposing box. Both Nicki Nielsen and Borek Dockal even missed clear chances on goal. So, Kristin thought the match would go into the first round without any more drama, with the score still deadlocked at 1:1.

He found the end of the first half a bit anticlimactic. He will reduce the volume of TV— to return to his conversation with Monica. But then, he saw Zachary do a sliding tackle and win back possession for Rosenborg—close to the centre circle.

His heart began to beat with anticipation as he put the TV remote back on the table. He remembers both Zachary and Nicki most dangerous during the last minutes of the second half. It was impossible for him to miss the last moments of the first half.

After winning back possession with a successful tackle, Zachary immediately got off the ground before passing to Jonas, another attacking midfielder, who was already running in sync with him.

Jonas had the mid-sprint ball in right midfield. With a deft touch, he fed it between the legs of Morten Berre, Valerenga's left midfielder, and outwitted him. He kept running towards Valerenga's box like the wind amid the rising cheers of some Rosenborg fans present at the Ullevaal Stadium.

Giancarlo Gonzalez, the centre-back of Vlerenga, came in next to shut out Jonas. But Jonas didn't try to get through it. Instead, he flicked the ball to his right—ke Zachary, who had already equalled his run, holding Valerenga's goal like a wolf chasing prey.

Zachary didn't even stop to control the ball. He immediately gave it to Nicki, who had already escaped his marker in the final third. Nicki received it perfectly with a deft touch and turned to face Valerenga's goal.

Kristin felt it was another goal-scoring opportunity created by the perfect team play of Zachary, Jonas, and Nicki. The three have worked well together to break through Valerenga's defensive form with a smooth pass.

He felt a wave of excitement sweeping over him as he watched Nicki run past Simon Larsen, another Vlerenga centre-back. He then continued to run towards the box, like a bullet train on the tracks, with the ball fixed close to his feet.

"That must be another goal," Monica commented from the side. He slowly chewed on the potato chips as he watched the match. "Valerenga's defenders have let Nicki run past them! He won't miss, not with his current performance."

"Shhh," Kristin immediately nudged her flatmate. He didn't want to miss Nicki's moment of firing on goal.

He kept staring at the screen as Nicki ran like crazy and stepped into the box. Number 9 then tried to chip the ball past the goalkeeper, and Kristin almost jumped to celebrate as she also believed Nicki could not miss. But the following commentator's words stopped him.

"Geez! An incredible rescue by Gudmund Kongshavn," he heard the commentator say, his voice rising and becoming more excited. "It was a great run from Nicki before trying to chip the ball past the goalkeeper. But—, however, Gudmund managed to point his fingertips at the ball and push it away from his goal. The referee points to the flag for a corner kick. ."

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