THE GREATEST OF ALL TIME
Defeating Themselves
Zachary immediately opened himself up to receive the ball when he heard Coach Johansen's shout. Mike Jensen, one of Rosenborg's defensive midfielders, saw it and passed it to him immediately.
Zachary fought back against growing frustration as he controlled the ball near the centre circle. He was well aware that only about five minutes were left until the end of the game. So, he knows he has to do his best to create goalscoring opportunities as soon as possible. Otherwise, Rosenborg would have failed to end the night by bagging three points and trailing further behind Stromsgodset, the team that leads the Tippeligaen standings.
While glancing across the field, he instantly realized that Borek Dockal, the right winger of Rosenborg, had just moved away from his guard on the right wing. With the help of Juju Mental Zinedine-Pirlo, he instantly judged that Borek was the best choice to receive his pass back then.
So, without lingering, he flicked the ball left and away from the tackle of Morten Berre, Valerenga's left midfielder. He then kicked the ball hard with the outside of his shoe to release a sweeping pass towards the right wing. However, he did not stop there, but pushed forward— towards the Valerenga box, even before his bait could reach the desired target.
Borek Dockal made use of his incredible pace to get past Jan Lecjaks, left-back Valerenga, and connect with Zachary's breakthrough pass. He controlled the ball in the middle of the sprint with a deft first touch before proceeding with a stab to the Valerenga penalty box through the right wing.
"Borch!" Coach Johansen shouted from the visiting team's technical area. "Quick do a cross into the box. Don't hold the ball too long..."
The right winger Rosenborg quickly followed his coach's instructions. He floated a teasing cross towards Valerenga's box just as he stepped into the final third.
Nicki Nielsen, the number 9 Rosenborg who was always present in the opponent's box at the right time, immediately reacted. He escaped his target and jumped high to link up with a cross that went into— and then made a header towards the goal from around the penalty spot. However, his effort towards the inside of the right post was comfortably pushed aside by the goalkeeper.
Before Nicki could react and pounce on the rebound once more, Simon Larsen, Vlerenga's centre-back, cleared it further from the box. He kicked it hard and high towards the middle circle which received a standing ovation from the home fans.
Mike Jensen, Rosenborg's defensive midfielder, jumped high and headed a long ball into Stefan Strandberg, centre-back. Stefan accepted and kicked him to Ole Selnaes, the defensive midfielder of Rosenborg, who came on as a substitute.
Ole had the ball beautifully near the border of a third of Rosenborg's defence before passing it quickly to Zachary.
Zachary received a pass close to the halfway line on the left wing and passed a sliding tackle with a deft second touch. Without a pause, he darted towards Valerenga's box before any of the opponents could react.
Morten Berre, Valerenga's left midfielder, immediately attacked him with a sliding challenge. But, Zachary just flicked the ball to the left before jumping over the tackle and continuing into the opponent's goal through the middle.
As his long stride gnawed at the empty space in the middle third, he looked ahead, intending to look for his teammate as an outlet for the ball. But then he heard Coach Johansen shouting from the sidelines.
"Try shooting from a distance, Zachary," shouted the coach from the sidelines.
Of course, Zachary agrees with the coach to try his luck from outside the box. He had already noticed that the last third was crowded with many players in blue. It was clearly a zone of focus, intense rival pressure resulting from Vlerenga's 'bus package' tactics during the last minutes.
With his high game intelligence, he judged that it was a small possibility Rosenborg could destroy such a defence—and went ahead and managed to score in the remaining few minutes. So, according to him the best way to test the goalkeeper Valerenga at that time was to utilize a long-range effort or a cross into the box.
After coming to that conclusion, Zachary immediately decided to take immediate action and fired a long-range shot at goal.
But as he lifted his foot to smash the ball towards the goal, he felt a slight tug on his shirt. Without any consideration, he descended to the ground and started crying 'ref' soon after.
The referee immediately blew his whistle and gave Rosenborg a free kick in a position about thirty-five yards from Valerenga's box.
"BOOOO! BOOOO! BOOOO..."
Zachary could hear the jeers from the Valerenga fans that peaked as he rose from the ground. But he didn't mind them one bit.
He is in a good mood because he has just improved his team's chances of scoring by winning a free kick in the final third of the pitch. He smiled inside and did not pay the slightest attention to the fans. Instead, all he had in mind was how to make the most of free kicks.
"Zachary," said Mikael Dorsin, acting captain, after walking towards him. "You took a free kick?" She asked.
"Of course" Zachary replied, picking up the ball.
"Good," Mikael replied while nodding. "But the position of the dead ball seems a bit far away. Don't you think we should probably try to float the ball into the box for someone else to head it?"
"I don't mind the distance," Zachary replied with a small smile and observed the situation in Valerenga's box. He noticed that the referee had already started to set the wall in preparation for the set piece. "As long as it's in the final third, I can always find a target. So, don't worry." He added, confident tone.
"Thank you" replied Zakaria. "But I'm gonna need you and Borek to stand with me on the ball. That way, we'll be able to keep the guard guessing until I take the free kick."
"We can do better" Tobias Mikkelsen, Rosenborg's left winger, added after the walk to their position. "Because there's a distance to the goal, why don't we try one of the routines we've previously trained for dead balls?"
"Let's not get ahead of ourselves here" said Mikael, acting captain. "Because Zachary took the free-kick, he had to decide his strategy. The rest of you just distract him with your suggestions."
"Yes, captain," Tobias replied with a smile.
"So, Zachary," said Mikael, looking at him. "Do you want to incorporate some simple routines before a free kick, or will you do it in person?"
"I don't mind" said Zachary. "Let's do it."
"Good," Mikael said with a smile. "Let's show Valerenga's guards the strength of the team's work during set pieces."
The four of them discussed some of the routines used for free kicks. Both Tobias and Borek have a lot of advice. However, Zachary ended up rejecting most of them for being too complicated. He ended up picking a fairly simple one, which involved only three players, just when the referee finished setting the situation inside the box.
*FREEEE*
The referee finally blew the whistle and gestured the Rosenborg players for a free kick in the 87th minute.
Just then, Zachary took a few steps back from the ball.
Meanwhile, Borek also retreated slightly before starting to run towards the ball soon after. His expression was extremely solemn as he raised his foot and swung it down like he intended to take the set-piece himself. He even managed to trick the players on the wall into jumping and trying to block his efforts.
But instead of doing a smash, Borek slightly flicked it to the left, where Tobias Mikkelsen was already waiting. Tobias doesn't do much—but just controls it, setting it perfectly on Zachary's path.
Zachary immediately greeted the mid-roll ball and unleashed a superb left-footed kick from about thirty-five yards from goal. He was in a hyper-focused state because he had just activated the Juju Dead Ball Specialist before starting his run towards the ball. His risk analysis and spatial awareness stats momentarily rocketed to S class, making him feel like he had everything under control at the time. So, it was easy for him to find a gap in the form of the opponent's defense and utilize it. What's more, the skill has helped him to quell all the scorn from the Valerenga fans. He was at his best when he fired a missile at the opponent's goal.
**** ****
"Oh, Zachary took the free kick," Kristin heard the commentator say. “Yeah! Sensationalize! Why am I not surprised the ball is behind the goal. In the 88th minute, Zachary Bemba scored and helped Rosenborg reclaim the lead from a set piece. The score is 2:3 in favor of Rosenborg. How surprising! It was a hattrick for the number-33 young Rosenborg. What a great night for him..."
Kristin jumped out of her chair to celebrate. He skipped around in the living room muttering the sentence: 'we will win' over and over— over and over again. She's like the little girl who just saw Santa on Christmas Eve.
"Will you calm down" Monica, her flatmate, said to him. "Repview is coming. Most likely you'll miss it if you don't sit back."
"Return it," Kristin murmured, her eyes widening with anticipation. He sat back on the sofa, next to Monica, to continue the game. To his relief, the replay of the goal appeared a few seconds later. He watched Zachary unleash a stunning long-range effort and beat the goalkeeper from thirty-five yards. A gentle smile had graced her face since watching the spotlight in slow motion made her much more attractive.
"I think we'll be champions this season" Kristin announced after watching the replay. "With the way the team plays, it shouldn't be difficult at all."
"With the way Zachary plays," Monica corrected with a small smile. "It was a hat trick for him today, and he has managed to save the team from an unfortunate situation the next time. If I were him, I would have asked for a raise. But did you consider that Rosenborg might not be able to do it? keeping him at the end of the season?"
Kristin sighed, shaking her head. "Don't think about it, now," he said before returning his attention to the on-screen match.
Zachary's stunning goal was not the final highlight for the match. In the 91st minute, Valerenga centre-back Giancarlo Gonzalez made a terrible misjudgment and passed the ball straight to Rosenborg centre-forward Nicki Nielsen.
The in-form forward wasted no time putting the ball into the net to make it 2:4 with just two minutes of extra time remaining in the hour. The Rosenborg players then went on to maintain their two-goal lead and ended the night with three points in the bag.
**** ****