THE GREATEST OF ALL TIME
Annual Reviews
"Listen, young friends," Coach Johansen said, his voice was very calm and filled with foreboding. "I'm sure most of you think that this game is just an unimportant friendly match. And, as long as you perform well, you will not be released by the Academy. You will pass the exam. Right? ?" He grinned, letting his gaze explore the sixteen players seated forming a semicircle in front of him.
The academy players in front of him remained silent, waiting for their coach to continue.
Zachary and his team-mates just finished warming up. They were in the dressing room, attending a pre-match tactical briefing for the match against second-team Rosenborg. Their opponents are a combination of under-19 players and Rosenborg team reserves.
"Let me tell you this. You cannot lose this game" continued Coach Johansen. "I understand that those people are a few years older than you. They may have more experience than you. But you still have to win. I hate to lose — and you should too. Go out there and play like your life depended on Otherwise, I'll get most of you off the team during the review." He took a few steps closer to the players. "Are we on the same page?" He asked in a serious tone.
"Yes, Coach," replied all the players, including Zachary, more or less in unison.
Coach Johansen nodded at the players before opening a piece of paper. “Starting line up today is as follows:
Goalkeeper; Kendrick Otterson
Centre-back; Robin Jatta, Lars Togstad, Daniel Kvande
Left-back; Martin Lundal, Right-back; yvind Alseth
Middle line; Magnus Blakstad, Zachary Bemba
Right Wing; Paul Kasongo, Left Wing; Kim Riksvold
Go ahead; rjan Bormark."
Zachary turned to look at Paul, his flatmate in Sweden, after hearing the names on the squad. Coach Johansen has left him out of the starting line-up.
Boy's eyebrows were—wrinkled into wrinkles. He seemed to be hit with the coach's decision. Zachary makes a mental note to cheer him up later and return his attention to the coach's instructions.
“I want to emphasize one point once again. You play against a stronger team. That's for sure. That's why we used a 5-4-1 formation. All of you, except rjan, have to defend and keep all their defenses. Middle defender! You must maintain a high level of concentration throughout the game. You mustn't let them run behind you."
The coach turned his head towards Zachary and looked at him for a moment. "Zach boy," he said in a soft tone. "I need a quick transition, from defending to attacking, when you win the ball. You are in midfield—and with your pace, you should be able to give a breakthrough pass to the winger and the attacker for the counter-attack. Right?"
"Yes, coach," Zachary replied. He fully understands the strategy since Coach Johansen has been talking about it in training all week. The coach intends for them to play a purely defensive game and catch the opponent with a counter-attack.
"Kasongo and Kim" said Coach Johansen, turning away from Zachary. "You will run a lot during this game. You both have to support the attacking rjan, and also retreat quickly every time we lose possession."
"Especially you, Kim," the coach stressed, pointing to one of the players. "Please make sure you support Martin on the left wing whenever we defend against their attacks. Is that clear?"
"Yes, coach," Kim Riksvold, an early left winger, replied in earnest.
"good. Let's fight well." Coach Johansen smiled. "Bjorn, give me the sweatshirt," he ordered, turning towards his assistant beside him.
Zachary and his team-mates came out of the dressing room after they all wore their dark blue jerseys. On his way out of the dressing room, Zachary approached Paul Otterson and asked: "Are you okay?"
"Why don't I?" The Swede gave him a smile. "I'm sure I'll get a chance to play later in the game." She said.
Paul's smile faded, and he lowered his voice, his expression solemn. "I suggest you take this game more seriously."
"Of course, I'll do it" Zachary replied, also in a whisper. "I always take every game seriously."
"You don't understand." Paul scowled at Zachary. "There are talks to make Coach Johansen the permanent coach of the Rosenborg II team."
"Hasn't he already been confirmed as the head of the NF academy, not Rosenborg U-19?"
"Ya." Paulus mengangguk. "Tapi itu semua sejarah kuno. Dewan Direksi Rosenborg ingin menunjuknya sebagai pelatih tim kedua. Pertandingan ini mungkin menjadi ujian baginya oleh pejabat klub. Itu artinya jika kami kalah, dia mungkin akan memotong sebagian besar pemain. dari tim akademi. Saya yakin Anda tidak akan terpengaruh karena bakat luar biasa Anda." Dia tersenyum miris. "Namun, kita semua akan berada dalam masalah besar."
Zakaria frowned. "Are the other players aware of this?"
"No. I just heard this from my agency." Paul took a breath. "They warned me to do my best today because of that."
"I'll do my best." Zakaria smile. "Let's hope luck is on our side today. By considering our team, we have a real chance of winning. We just need to find a way to score."
Zachary has realized that the NF academy has had a relatively strong U-18 team over the past year. The defense is almost on par with the Rosenborg U-19'. The only challenge they face is the lack of a striker. The only attackers on that list are Kim Riksvold and Paul Otterson. Johansen's only option was to use a 5-4-1 formation to cover up the shortfall.
"Just do your best, Zach," Paul pleaded as they walked out of the tunnel into the field. "The continuation of our happy life in the academy depends on this game. This is even more important than against senior Rosenborg." He patted Zachary on the shoulder and rushed towards the technical area.
Zachary sighed as he glanced behind his departing flatmate. He even forgot that he was in the annual review—testing the performance of the players. If their performances do not meet the required standards during the review week, the academy will release them and politely advise them to try their talents elsewhere. Zachary is not worried because he was already convinced of his position at Rosenborg when he was 18. As long as he wasn't involved in a terrible scandal or accident, the academy wouldn't release him. Mr. Stein had already convinced him of that.
"Zach," A heavy voice rang out from behind him as he was still in contemplation. He turned only to find Magnus Blakstad, the other central midfielder selected for the game that day, standing behind him. The number six is very high, the clear head is higher than most people who are considered tall by Zachary.
"What's that?" Zachary asked. He has never been close to the midfielder since they went to different schools.
"I will cover the whole defensive midfield" Magnus said with a smile. "Just concentrate on attacking. We have to win this game."
Zakaria nodded. "I'm sure we should be able to win. But be careful with Ole's operand. Otherwise, we won't have a chance to come out victorious."
"That's right," Magnus agreed. "We can't win this game unless we handle Ole's pass. But they also have to deal with you if they want to win this game. Just look around and see how the Rosenborg players are stealing glances at you." He grinned, pointing towards the other half of the field.
Zachary turned around and noticed that his old acquaintances, in their Rosenborg black and white jerseys, were staring intently at him with a burning desire to compete. The likes of Mushaga, Ole, Jonas, Asen, Christopher, Fredrick, and some other players that Zachary does not recognize are already standing in their shoes. They had structured themselves into a 3-5-2 formation, showing their intention to play an attacking game against the NF academy.
*FREEEE!*
The referee blew his whistle, gesturing for all players to take their positions. The match between Rosenborg II and the NF academy finally began.
Zachary's mood lifted. It has been a full year since he last took part in a serious football match. He was eager to test his skills against second-team Rosenborg.
"It finally begins" Magnus grinned. "Let's play nice" He clenched a fist with Zachary before running back into his position.