THE GREATEST OF ALL TIME
Counterattack

FC Riga kicked off the first half strongly, passing the ball around the pitch from end to end. Their players structured themselves in a 4-4-2 attacking formation. Latvian fans cheered them hard, boosting their morale as the skewed scales benefited Riga's team.

The NF academy players followed Coach Johansen's instructions on the letter. Ten men remained behind the ball and left the Riga boys to pass the ball as much as they wanted. Their goal was to lure Riga's team into a false sense of security before killing them with a counterattack. They played a style similar to that applied to Greece in the Euro 2004 Cup. They focus on defending first and scoring later if there is a chance.

Riga's team pushed Zachary and his teammates back to half-court without giving them plenty of chances to reclaim the ball. During the first 12 minutes, they controlled most of the ball, almost 75% percent according to Zachary's estimates.

They played a short, down-to-earth pass casually, advancing deeper towards the NF academy box. None of their players held the ball more than four touches before passing it. It was like they were fighting for possession rather than the chance to break through the NF academy box.

Their four midfielders often set themselves up in diamond formations to receive and distribute passes effectively. Their number 6 is the diamond defense point. He made sure that the attacking midfielder Riga always had a free back by positioning himself in front of the defenders.

Their wings fill two positions on the left and right of their diamonds. The winger helped in the middle, reducing the insignificant pressure exerted by Zachary and his team-mates to their number 6. Although Riga's pass was a bit rough on the edge, it was still a smooth—at least at the level of the academy team under 18 years old.

Their short blonde captain completes the diamond as an attacking midfielder. He caused Zachary and his team-mates some problems. He has a good eye for the ball and— is technically strong, sometimes releasing tempting passes that beat the NF Academy defenders.

In the 12th minute, he released a high pass from the middle circle. One of Riga's forwards locked him on the edge of the box after leaving Magnus in the dust. Riga number-9, a tall black-haired man, controlled the ball easily and fired a right-footed shot that hit the crossbar.

Riga number-9 is cursed in a foreign language at the NF academy good luck. Zachary and his team-mates, however, were not the least bit bothered by the missed chances from Riga. They had faced a similar situation in their friendly against Rosenborg's side a few months earlier.

Robin Jatta, the NF academy centre-back, timed the resulting ball perfectly and cleared it out of the box with a bicycle kick. Zachary chased after him, following his trajectory in mid-air. His four teammates who had defended against Riga's relentless barrage of attacks also followed suit in quick succession. The boy in blue clothes ran like a pack of wolves with the intention of attacking immediately after reclaiming the ball.

Zachary had already predicted where the ball would land using his Zinedine-Visual-Juju. With his long strides, moving like a racing bike wheel, he gets the ball faster than all the other players in the defensive midfield.

He then spun around and went to the other side of the field without pause. He did not want to waste a single second as Coach Johansen had instructed him to make the most of every counter-attack opportunity to put Riga's team off guard. He will follow the coach's instructions to the letter and score the winning goal as quickly as possible.

As he looked ahead, he realized that rjan Boermark, the academy's lone attacker, had broken away from his target and ran to the right wing.

Zachary did not hesitate to kick the ball towards him without stopping his running. The two played one-two, passing two Riga midfielders, and immediately stepped into the opposing round. Their passes were smooth, utilizing the space on the wings, leading to Riga's goal.

Shortly thereafter, Zachary decided to solo his career because rjan could not match his pace. After collecting a short pass from the striker, he bolted into Riga's 18-yard box like his life depended on it. He was much faster than a few months before, thanks to his grueling winter training and consumption of D-level agility potions.

A defender stuck out his long legs to steal the ball at his feet. However, Zachary flicked the ball to his left foot, out of the defender's reach, and continued his run into Riga's goal. He drove past the four defenders at a formidable alternating speed, like a cloud drifting in the wind.

Zachary saw nothing but two obstacles; the defenders blocked his way into Riga's goal.

He doesn't stop to dribble, but spins past them, cuts into the field, towards the box. He was sure they could not match his speed. In his mind, he had already imagined how he would beat the goalkeeper and score the first goal of the NF academy.

However, as he passed the last second defender before entering Riga's box, he felt a tug on his shirt. Zachary cursed inwardly as the defender's foul play messed up his dribbling rhythm, slowing it down. Worst of all, the centre-back escaped without a red card because he was not the last man. The NF academy counter would then end up in vain unless they scored from the resulting free-kick.

He doesn't want to bet on his Bend-it like Beckham Juju because he hasn't perfected it. He focused his mind, looking for a way to break away from the defender. However, the grip on his shirt tightened, pulling him backwards and almost making him fall to the ground. Zachary's mood is degenerating. He began planning to dramatise his fall, hopefully influencing the referee to take out the player holding him.

However, in the corner of his eyes, he saw a dark shadow flashed—ke into the box. Zinedine-Visual-Juju is back at work.