THE GREATEST OF ALL TIME
Penalty Kick

"I got the ball... I got the ball," Christoffer Aasbak groaned, got up from the ground and ran towards the referee.

"You didn't get the ball" said the referee, a large tall bald man, smiling softly. He took out a red card from one of his shirt pockets and showed it to defender Rosenborg.

"Ref, that's not fair" Christopher said, but his voice was somehow calm. "He must have dived." He shook his head.

"I'm right behind you. So, I'm pretty sure my decision was right." Referee stressed. "You should have thought of the consequences before committing the last person's offense." He pointed towards the bench.

Zachary ignores the quarrel of the referee and defender. He picked up the ball and moved towards the penalty spot.rjan Boermark, the only NF academy striker, came up to him and asked to take a penalty. However, Zachary refused and held the ball firmly. He will not trust anyone else with the penalty kick that he has worked so hard to get. If the NF academy did not get a goal from his effort, Zachary would surely face the wrath of Coach Johansen.

"Go, young buddy," Zachary heard the referee give instructions to Christopher. "We have a game to play. You have to leave the field."

"You're all out of the box" the referee shouted. "Guard, get back to your destination." He booked.

Within seconds, the referee had finished setting all the players outside Rosenborg's 18-yard box.

The only people left in the box are Zachary, standing with the ball, at the penalty spot— and Even Barli, the Rosenborg goalkeeper, between the goal posts.

Zachary shuts down all outside distractions.

He moved his hand through the grass to get rid of any lumps. He then places the ball on the penalty marker, positioning it as high as possible on the grass to give himself a good chance of hitting it clean. He wanted to make sure that no other environmental factors affected his shot.

Zachary took a few steps back after realizing the referee was in his position and about to blow the whistle. He kept silencing everything and just focused on the penalty kick.

Meanwhile, he did not forget to stare at the goalkeeper jumping up and down, waving, and acting confident in his line. Zachary grinned—just a small pout on the lips, squinting, and tilting the head. He is as calm as a star well and is not intimidated by goalkeepers in any way.

*FREEEE*

The referee blew the whistle, gesturing for Zachary to take the penalty.

Zachary ran slowly towards the ball before jumping high and putting his left foot next to the ball. Meanwhile, his gaze remained fixed on the ball without looking towards the goalkeeper. He then kicked the ball under — with the inside of his right foot, just a small push with moderate force, for elevation.

Zachary showed his unique vision and gently flicked the ball to the opposite side where the goalkeeper had swooped. In the 22nd minute, the NF academy managed to score the first goal in the match. 1:0. Unexpectedly, Rosenborg's second team was left behind.

Expectations blossomed inside Zachary as he celebrated goals alongside his other team-mates. With Rosenborg a man down, he could finally see the possibility of the NF academy winning the game.

"High pressure .. high pressure formation for the rest of the half," Zachary heard coach Johansen shouting from the sidelines.

The NF academy players structured themselves in a 3-4-3 formation after hearing the instructions of Coaches Johansen.yvind Alseth and Martin Lundal, right and left back, moving up the pitch, towards midfield. Kasongo and Kim, the winger, advance further into the opposing box to support rjan in attack. That was the only way they could suppress the opponent's defense on the other side of the field.

Zachary was not surprised by Coach Johansen's change in tactics. The NF academy can take advantage of their numerical advantage and constantly threaten the Rosenborg goal if they become brave enough to attack more often. They had to act before coach Rosenborg reacted to Christopher's red card and rearranged their formation.

Over the next few minutes, Zachary stepped up his game. He didn't do the long-range running anymore but started passing passes to his team-mates to dominate the game.

He conquered the midfield and became the link between defence and attack. He was always in a position to receive and pass the ball before midfielder Rosenborg could react to his play. With two more forwards in front of him, Zachary has more options when it comes to possession. Sometimes, he would send deadly balls to three attackers.

In the 38th minute, Zachary gouged the ball past Rosenborg's defence after making a yard for himself in midfield. Kasongo took a pass on the right flank and sent the ball into the penalty area.rjan Boermark jumped high to welcome the resulting cross and made a header from inside the box. However, the striker's effort hit the right post. The second team Rosenborg just survived the second goal.

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"Zachary is getting better by the day" commented Coach Bjorn Peters. "Now I understand why Rosenborg officials attach such great importance to her."

Coach Johansen paused for a moment, then nodded. "He is talented. But his habit of deviating from the game plan will cause him trouble one day."

"But he scored." Coach Bjorn smiled. "Nobody else could make the most of the gap in the wings as well as him. His dribbling speed and skills have improved over the past year."

"That's the only reason he got away. If he loses the ball halfway through, the gap he leaves in midfield will cause us a lot of problems." Coach Johansen sounds relaxed.

Both coaches stood on the sidelines watching the game. The NF Academy dictates the speed of the match by their numerical advantage.

Zachary just got the rebound, from the corner ball, on the edge of the box. He smashed towards the right side of the net, beat Even Barli, and scored the second goal. It wasn't the second half, but Rosenborg was surprisingly 2:0 down. The academy coaches were not under pressure and spoke casually.

"Don't you think it's a waste to leave Zachary for the Riga Cup?" Coach Bjorn asked, his tone dubious. "With him, we have a real chance of winning for the first time. It could attract more talented students to the academy."

"I know that." Coach Johansen nodded. "I've seen his free-kicks during training. If he perfects his dead ball, we could threaten the academy giants during the Riga Cup. However, I need to convince the old man before Rosenborg officials allow us to take advantage of him at a competition." Coach Johansen sighed, pulling his red beard.

"Why is that?"

"Sporting director Rosenborg doesn't want Zachary playing abroad for a while" replied Coach Johansen. "They were afraid that other clubs in Europe would hunt him down even before he played for Rosenborg. Only Mr. Stein can allow him to play in trophies because he oversees all of Zachary's affairs here in Norway."

Coach Bjorn frowned. "That's a challenge. It seems you are no match for Mr. Stein. Will he allow it?"

Coach Johansen remained silent. He was focused on the game at the time. Zachary had just sent a breakthrough pass into the Rosenborg box, catching their centre-back subconsciously. Kim Riksvold collected the ball on the edge of the penalty box— and fired a superb shot towards the bottom right corner of the net. However, the Rosenborg goalkeeper anticipated the effort and made a brilliant save.

"Don't worry" Coach Johansen said after watching the action. "I'll find a way for him to join us. Just register him as part of the team that takes part in the Riga Cup. Leave the rest to me."

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