THE GREATEST OF ALL TIME
To Riga, Latvia

Saturday, 11 February 2012.

Zachary, his teammates, and the academy coaches woke up early before 5:00 that morning. They boarded a Scandinavian Airlines flight from Trondheim-Vaernes Airport via Oslo and headed to Riga, Latvia. They are on their way to participate in the Riga Winter Cup, which starts the next day.

"Captain," said Paul Otterson, turning to face Zachary. The Swede chose a window seat positioned in the row right in front of Zachary. "Do you know which big teams will participate?" She asked.

"I told you not to keep calling me captain." Zachary scowled at his flatmate. "Just use my real name" he said, smiling wryly.

Coach Johansen has named him captain of the NF academy during the tournament in Riga. Paul and Kasongo had changed the way they called him to the captain immediately, upsetting him to no end.

"Well, you better get used to it. Because you're the captain from now on." Paul smiled. "Do you know which big teams will participate? Did the coach reveal anything about his schedule?" He asked once again.

Zakaria shook her head. "He said that all schedules and participating teams will be revealed during the pre-tournament meeting tonight. But, I heard him say something about VfB Stuttgart, Zenit, Tottenham and Genoa academy."

"That's some good teams" Kasongo interrupted. He sat next to Zachary. "I hope we get an easy group. I don't want us to meet a tough opponent in the group stages." She added.

"Don't bring bad luck to us" Paul said in a dramatic tone. "Telling it out loud could cause us to fall into the death group."

Similar chats are taking place throughout the economic part of the small plane. The players showed their passion to perform in the upcoming tournament. The journey passed quickly, and the plane landed at Riga Airport at about half-eleven in the morning.

An electric bus, arranged by Riga Cup organisers picked up Zachary and his teammates from the airport. They take a bus through the urban landscape on their way to their hotel in the city center.

Zachary was surprised to see many snow-covered trees towering like white fairytale creatures in the winter environment along the airport highway. He expected to see many tall buildings lined the streets of Riga. However, the bus ride lasted for over fifteen minutes before they found the tall architectural structure packed in a proper grid pattern along the way. If it wasn't winter, Zachary was sure he would see plenty of green space.

Minutes later, the bus stopped in the parking lot of a grand hotel, about five stories high, according to Zachary's estimates. Her name—Hotel Monica Centrum. Their guide enthusiastically told them that it was one of the most luxurious in all of Riga.

"I didn't expect Riga to be this cold" Kasongo lamented as they exited the bus. Fifteen players huddled around the bus and waited for further instructions from their coach. "I wonder how we're gonna play with all this snow! Will they continue to clear it from the fields during the game?" He added, folding his thick jacket tighter to his body.

"Indoor stadium, man," Paul replied with a smile. "There should be a lot of them around this town. I know there must be a large indoor stadium at Skonto Arena that hosts many games during the winter."

"Have you been here before?" Zachary asked, surprised by his flatmate's intimate knowledge of Riga. Meanwhile, she tightens the blue scarf around her neck to protect herself from the deadly cold of the skin.

"Well, what's up?" ask Kasongo. "Have you been to Riga before or not?" He looked at the man with whom he shared his first name suspiciously.

"I don't mind telling you about our previous experience in this Riga," Paul said as he shook his head. "We are part of an academy team that joined the Riga Cup three years ago as a player under 14. But we lost all our games by a margin of 3 goals or more. At the end of the group stage, we had zero points and one point. The academy players present at the time chose not to talk about experience."

Goal difference of 15 negative goals in just three games! Kasongo muttered without hiding the shock in his voice. Zachary was also confused but remained silent. Such goal difference means U-14 teams concede at least six goals in a few games.

"Don't look at me like that." Paul scowled at Kasongo. “The matches here are very competitive and are played consecutively without a break in less than ten days. The giant academy has a big team and can change squads for every game. Our team only had sixteen players back then. We cannot match other teams. "

"But still 15 goals..." Kasongo shook his head and let his voice disappear.

"So, let me get it straight," Zachary interjected. "There are also other age categories in the tournament here?" He has not managed to extract much information from Coach Johansen before their departure. He was still unsure about the entire setting of the Riga Tournament.

"There's a group of us who fall into the category of under 18 years old" Paul replied. "If I remember correctly, there is also competition for U-12 and then U-14. But, the U-18 game is the main attraction. They involve players who are almost professional. So, expect a lot of. fans, especially during the game with the Latvian team."

They continued to discuss the tournament until Coach Johansen returned. He immediately instructed them to settle down in their room after handing them an electronic key. The organizers of the event had allocated double rooms for all fifteen NF academy players and staff. Zachary is delighted he will be sharing a room with Kasongo after the allocation.

Their rooms are huge and contain luxuries like a thirty-six inch TV with videos and DVDs as well as two spacious leather sofas. In the center there are two large beds, decorated with clean white cotton sheets that can tempt every soul to sleep during the day. The heating system inside allows good temperature control, keeping the winter cold. One side of the room is dominated by floor-to-ceiling windows with clear views of the streets below.

"They definitely gave us a nice hotel," Kasongo commented after taking a look.

Zakaria nodded in agreement. He was also satisfied with the accommodation. He could only maintain his peak condition with enough rest in a comfortable environment.

"I slept for a while" he told Kasongo as he unpacked his luggage. "I slept quite late last night due to preparations for today's trip." What he doesn't add up to is the fact that he has been practicing Bend-it like Beckham Juju in the simulator until well past midnight.

"As captain, aren't you required to attend a pre-tournament meeting?" Kasongo asked, looking at Zachary with a frown.

"The coach told me that the meeting was at three in the afternoon. Just wake me up when you're going to lunch. That'll give me enough time to prepare for the meeting."