THE GREATEST OF ALL TIME
First Match in Europe V
Cheers erupted like a hearing volcano at Lerkendal Stadium.
Everything was silent one second and then deafening after Mushaga scored.
Mushaga did not celebrate alone but ran towards Zachary, pulled him into the bear's arms, and said: "It was an incredible sprint. Thank you." Thank you."
Before Zachary could reply, the other Rosenborg players came jumping at them and hugging them to celebrate the goal.
Zachary's lips curved into a smile as he tried to suppress his still overflowing emotions. Everything came back to him at that moment. His crazy run through midfield has produced an equaliser. He wasn't even sure how he could dribble past four Viking players.
"Campaign, Ole. Come here." Come here." Zachary heard Coach Johansen shouting from the sidelines.
Zachary was not worried the coach would ask him because he had previously left his position. Scoring goals and winning the most important games for the coach. They will support players who can see the gaps between opposing formations and take advantage of them. Zachary has done just that.
And indeed, coaches have called them to receive more instruction on how to win the game. He did not even think of his goal but began to give them new instructions.
"The two of you will form a triangle with Asen in midfield. In the remaining seven minutes, I want you to press them hard and get another goal. Understood?"
"Yes, coach," the two boys answered.
"And Zachary. Don't try to dribble through midfield once more. The Viking players will take care of you strictly for the rest of the game. Use short passes instead."
Zachary nodded to show his agreement. He drank some water before returning to the field.
The Rosenborg U-19 team was on fire after the game restarted.
Zachary followed Coach Johansen's instructions and only used short passes instead of dribbling.
Together with Ole and Asen, they form a triangular midfield that dominates possession. Zachary was much more involved in passing and attacking than in the first half.
His only task was to receive a pass from Ole, the defensive midfielder, and send it to one striker and two wingers. The Viking midfielder could not hold it.
Zachary managed to give some good passes to three attackers, but still failed to score.
**** ****
"As you said, the boy was good at reading," Coach Eggen said.
"Yes, right," replied Mr. Stein with a smile. "Do you think we can put him in the U-19 squad at the moment?" She asked.
"How old is he?"
"The 16th year's date is December 3."
"Martins." Mr. Eggen frowned. "He's too young. We haven't been able to take him to the club."
"But..."
"Martin, no buts." Coach Eggen interrupts the scouts.
"When you are absent, FIFA introduces new rules. The regulation prohibits international transfers involving underage players starting this year."
"Do FIFA rules really matter? Clubs like Barcelona and Atletico Madrid in Spain have recruited young talent from all over the world this year."
"This time, they're seriously enforcing the rules. If we do not comply and sign a minor, who is a foreigner, we will risk a transfer ban that could last several seasons."
"Seriously it?"
"Yes." Yeah." Coach Eggen nodded. "We received the first notice of that regulation last year. You were still in the hospital at the time."
"Then, how do we handle the kid? As you can see, he is very talented. We can't lose him."
"We will send him to an affiliated academy until he is eighteen years old. NF Academy is a good choice. FIFA will have no reason to question us, as long as he is exclusively an amateur player. He'll get a scholarship, study at one of the high schools here in Trondheim."
Coach Eggen smiled and added: "Basically we won't be in contact with him until he grows up. We were able to put him on our list when he was 18. It's just one more season."
Mr. Stein sighed. "This regulation will disrupt the opportunities of many talents from developing countries. They would most likely be wasted without proper training."
"You should already know about previous cases of unscrupulous agencies and organizations exploiting young talent from developing countries. FIFA intends to reduce the number of children sent by their families at the risk of being abandoned in Europe by such ignorant people."
"I've promised him that he will join the U-19 team if he performs well in the game."
"I hope so." Mr. Stein sighed before returning to focus on the match.
**** ****
The match was still deadlocked, with two minutes, minus the extra time, remaining.
Rosenborg always attacked, suppressing the U-19 Vikings in their half field.
Jonas Svensson just sent a tricky cross into the box. However, it was removed from the game by one of the Viking centre-backs.
It was another goal-scoring opportunity from a corner for U-19 side Rosenborg.
Most of Zachary's teammates head to the Viking box to attack the ball from a corner. Immediately, more than 16 players were entangled in the box as they waited anxiously for a corner kick to be taken. Most are pushing and pulling their opponents' shirts.
The referee only managed to hold them off by giving a yellow card to two Viking players.
Zachary stays behind—just a few meters out of the box. He did not join the fray. He wanted to try his arrow shot from the edge of the box.
But then he heard Coach Johansen shouting from the sidelines: "Zachary, get into the box and attack the corner. Why are you sleeping outside the box?"
Zachary hesitated, wanting to stay in his position. He could easily have fired a shot on goal from there.
"Are your ears full of fiber? Get in the box right now" Coach Johansen yelled at him, visibly angry.
Zachary sighed and headed to the box after a few seconds of consideration. He would rather lose than antagonize a coach early in his European career.
Zachary will remain in his position if he is confident of scoring from the edge of the box.
However, Zinedine-Visual-Juju is not 100% perfect. This involves guessing and deducing the path of the ball based on juju-shadow observation and game intelligence. If Zachary does not obey the coach and fails to score, he will be in big trouble.
When he entered the box, a tall Viking player was instantly on top of him, shadowing his every move. Zachary ignored him and concentrated on Jonas, the winger, who took a corner kick at the time.
Because he is already in the box, he wants to try his best to score goals.
However, a cross from Jonas Svensson was nothing special. The ball comes high and goes straight to the outstretched arm of the jumping goalkeeper.
The opportunity seemed to be missing— and the players from both sides started to relax.
But Zachary wasn't among them.
He had just noticed that the hands of the Viking goalkeeper were in a strange position. The goalie aims to capture the contour, where his hand can hold the ball, with his thumb and index finger forming a "W" behind him. However, the gap between his wrists was slightly wider than the diameter of the ball.
Other players will miss the small details, but not Zachary. Using his Zinedine-Visual-Juju, he had already concluded that the goalkeeper would drop the ball.
So he moved to kill.
He ran away from his marker— towards the Viking goalkeeper.
And his vision did not disappoint him.
The goalkeeper eventually mishandled the ball, letting Zachary take the round prize before slotting it into the back of the net to make it 2:1. TARGET!
Fatal mistakes made by goalkeepers tipped goals.
**** ****
Kasongo watched his friend score his first goal in Europe.
He cheered along with the enthusiastic fans in the back stands of the Rosenborg goal. They clenched their fists into the air as they surged to a new level of emotion.
Zachary's goal surprised him as it appeared suddenly, from an opportunity that seemed to be missing.
His achievement made Kasongo want to take to the field, practice. If Zachary can do it, he can too. Maybe not at first. But with his relentless training and determination, he will succeed.
Kasongo wants to come back and train. However, he wanted to see if his friend could do any more miracles in the game.
He continued to watch the game until it ended with a score of 2:1 for Rosenborg advantage.
**** ****