THE GREATEST OF ALL TIME
The JFC Riga
Next day.
Coach Johnsen invited the players to take a survey at the Skonto Arena in the morning. It was an indoor stadium where they would face Riga's academy in their opening match.
"I advise you to take a walk and familiarize yourself with every nook and cranny of the pitch" the Coach said as he led a procession of NF academy players through the stadium gates.
The interior design of the arena mimics a greenhouse with a dome-shaped roof that holds back snow. Zachary's mood was powered by well-preserved synthetic grass under his feet. He was relieved that the pitch would not limit his performance against Riga the next day.
After they completed the survey, they played a short warm-up game on the grass before returning to their hotel. The organizers only allocated one hour of training time in the stadium. Several other teams were supposed to use the stadium after they left.
"Have a good rest today" Coach Johansen said as they entered the hotel lobby. "Eat well, drink well, and make sure you stay away from anything that could interfere with your performance tomorrow. And stay away from alcohol." He warned solemnly, turning to face the players. "Are we clear?"
"Yes, coach," replied Zachary and his team-mates, more or less in unison. They attracted some curious gazes from the hotel occupants and uniformed waitresses in the lobby.
"I hope you stay committed to our goals here. Our goal is to win. No less." He glared at the players grimly before adding: "We'll meet at 20:00, right after dinner for a pre-match tactical session. See you soon." He concluded and turned around as he moved away from the players.
Zachary spends most of his time in the system simulator, except for the short time he eats or goes to the restroom. He practices Bend-it like Beckham Juju all the time. Since he was going to face a strong and foreign opponent, he wanted to have an edge, something that could win the game. If his team-mates defend well, the dead ball will work.
After training in the evening, he dined lavishly at the hotel restaurant with his teammates before heading to one of the boardrooms to attend Coach Johansen's tactical meeting.
Zachary and his team-mates found the coach in a somber mood as they entered the meeting place. He always frowned, his expression similar to Mike Tyson before dropping his opponent.
"Hurry and calm down" he said. "We've only got a little time for this. Remember our game will start at 8:00 am tomorrow. I want you all to sleep in your bed before 10 p.m"
The players hurriedly sat in their seats and waited for their coach to continue.
"We play against Riga tomorrow" the Coach began. “As we have been training for the last few weeks, we will use a 5:4:1 formation in this game. Hope you stay focused throughout the game. Especially the defenders. Remember to close all spaces quickly, use a high defensive line to create an offside trap, and most importantly. We don't want to give chances on the silver platter to our opponents..."
Coach Johansen spoke at length to the players about the tactics they would employ in the game the next day. He then gave a spirited speech to move them to win the game. When he was done, he went on to the pre-match routine by mentioning the starting line-up.
"The first rider was Kendrick Otterson with the number 1 on his back" he read from a piece of paper.
"We used three centre-backs: No.3 Robin Jatta, No.4 Lars Togstad, and No.5 Daniel Kvande."
"Second left: No.11 Martin Lundal, Right back: No.2 yvind Alseth."
"The middle line stands: No.6 Magnus Blakstad." He stopped, glancing towards the tall midfielder. "Don't forget you'll be sitting in front of full-time defenders. Keep those balls of air out of our box." He emphasized once again.
"Yes, coach," replied Magnus politely.
"Continue" continued Coach Johansen. Attack line: No.8 Zachary Bemba. Always be ready to switch to the wing when needed.
Zachary nodded to show that he understood his point.
"Right Wing: No.7 Kasongo Paul, Left Wing: No.15 Paul Otterson. Remember to back off and defend every time we don't have the ball."
"Powered: No.10 rjan Boermark..."
**** ****
In another sports hall at Riga Academy, a similar meeting also took place.
"The NF Academy is the weakest team in the tournament" said the short-bodied and slightly potbellied coach. He spoke to the players under 18 who will face the NF academy the next day.
"We have to win by a big margin in the first game against Norway. That will increase our chances of qualifying for the semifinals..."
**** ****
After the meeting, Zachary returned to his room with Kasongo. He took a shower and got into bed before 22:00 However, out of habit, he opened the system interface to check if there were any new notifications.
He felt a sudden excitement when he realized that a mission had appeared under the GOAT mission menu once again. System missions mean rewards or Juju points that can help him improve his skills to the next level.
****
GOat MISSION
NEW MISSION: Riga Cup Serial Challenge
->System has detected that users are taking part in international academy tournaments. The system has designed a related mission for the event.
->Users must receive the mission in advance to get a chance to win a prize after completing the below achievements.
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*History 1: Help your team qualify for the knockout rounds of the tournament.
*History 3: Help your teammates win finals and become tournament champions.
*History 4: Being the top scorer in the tournament.
*Reach 5: Become tournament MVP.
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* Gift:
-> Achievement prize 1:250 points Juju
-> Achievement prize 2:500 points Juju
-> Achievement prize 3:1000 points Juju
-> Achievement prize 4 achievements: 250 points Juju
-> Milestone completion gift 5: Elixir Improvement Agility Class-B
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-> Users can choose not to accept missions.
Accept the refusal
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*Punishment if no achievement is achieved after the specified time (If the user accepts).
->Minus 3000 Juju-points
*Users must complete at least one achievement before the tournament ends to avoid penalties.
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*Specification: Potential GOATS always achieve what standard players achieve on rare occasions.
****
Zachary's spirit brightens after perusing through the mission of the new system. He has a chance to win 2,000 Juju points and an agility-enhancing potion if he completes all milestones successfully.
He did not hesitate to click the accept button on the system interface. He had long wanted to obtain a high-grade elixir to increase his agility to the next level. Furthermore, he would get a chance to upgrade the system if he won 2000 Juju — points and still have 1000 points left to buy more items from the system store.
**** ****
Zachary and his team-mates arrived at Skonto Arena on an allocated team bus at exactly 07:15 the next day. They quickly warmed up and returned to the dressing room to replace their fixtures for the match. They wore their dark blue T-shirts, with an urgent feeling, while listening to the final instructions of Coach Johansen.
At exactly 07:50, they followed the referee and marched to the field to start the first match of the tournament.
Cheers, mixed with the occasional laugh, rose into the air as the two teams marched onto the field. The voices enveloped Zachary, capturing his brain, nearly numbing his senses. He soon realized there was a noise problem associated with playing in the enclosed dome. He just hopes his team-mates are quick to adapt to the changes in their playing environment.
Teams go through the formalities of exchanging handshakes with their opponents before parting to the opposite part of the field.
*FREEEE!*
The referee blew the whistle, gesturing for the captain to enter the middle circle—for a coin toss. Zachary adjusted his armband before running towards the referee in the middle of the pitch.
"OK, you know the training" said the referee. Zachary and the captain of the opposing team had just entered the center circle. "You two will select the side of the coin first—head or tail. I will then proceed with the coin toss. If you win the coin toss, you will decide which goal to attack in the first round or whether to take the kick-off." He stopped and looked back and forth at the short blonde captains Zachary and Riga, wearing black jerseys. "OKay?"
Captain Zachary and Riga both nodded.
Riga wins the coin toss and decides to kick the ball. Zachary was not the least bit discouraged by his bad luck. He shook hands with captain Riga— and the referees before returning to the pitch.
He observed the opponent in a black jersey and noticed that they had arranged themselves in a possible 4-4-2 formation. He is not yet sure about their exact position as their winger is also on the halfway line waiting for the game to start.
Meanwhile, striker Riga stepped towards the ball in the centre circle, sending fans into a frenzy as they cheered for their home side.
*FREEEE!*
A clear whistle sounded amidst the cheers. The first match in the Riga Cup tournament between the JFC Riga and the NF international began at the Skonto Indoor Stadium.