THE GREATEST OF ALL TIME
Game Progress

"GODAAAAL..."

Zachary sighed and covered his face as he saw Paul Otterson howling like a hungry wolf after scoring.

Otterson stretched his hand as he passed his team-mates like a rugby player and ran towards the corner flag to celebrate his goal. He didn't stop there. He added some flamboyant backflips to good measure before settling in to celebrate with his other team-mates.

Zachary did not participate in the celebration. He instead reminded his team-mates to return to their positions. They need to stay focused on the game because only two minutes have passed. NF Academy still has a long way to go to defeat VfB Stuttgart.

He knows one of the most likely moments to concede in a football match is right after scoring. Players tend to be complacent after getting a clue. They will then end up making mistakes that could result in goals.

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In the stands, Emily Anderson felt the excitement in her after Paul Otterson scored. The match had just begun, but NF Academy had already taken the lead. He wondered what the commentators who put their money on VfB Stuttgart's win would say after seeing Zachary's assist.

"Ladies—and gentlemen," he heard Ricardo Andres, a commentator who spoke with a thick Spanish accent, blabbering after the cheers subsided. "NF Academy has done it. Geez! How about that? NF Academy took the lead in the second minute, no, the first minute. Vincent, what do you think of that goal?"

Emily heard Vincent McManaman, the second commentator, cleared her throat before replying. “As I said a few minutes ago, VfB Stuttgart will have to look after Zachary if they want to win the final. This goal represents his quick thinking and brilliance in the middle of the pitch. It only took a few minutes.seconds for him to take advantage of Kasongo's movement on the left wing. And fortunately, Kasongo did not disappoint. He gave Zachary the right cut-back pass. Number 8 did their best. He ran towards the defenders, diverted their attention from his team-mates, and sent a small, intricate ball past the defence. That kid is a genius. NF Academy is leading, thanks to him."

"I have to say that Kasongo Paul and Paul Otterson were instrumental in building this goal" said Ricardo Andres, the first commentator. "Even Rjan Boermark, the centre-forward, should be given credit. Don't you think so, Mr Vincent?"

"Of course" replied Vincent McManaman firmly. "Zachary wouldn't hold the ball that long if his team-mates hadn't run across the VfB Stuttgart defensive line. They gave Zachary Bemba plenty of options to choose from as he gave his final pass. And by doing that, they confused the defense further, winning time for Zachary to create chances. And special praise should be given to Paul Otterson, the left winger. He set his running time perfectly, avoiding the offside trap with the width of the hair. He was no less calm and punished VfB Stuttgart."

"Well, let's stop there" said Ricardo Andres. "Gameplay has restarted, and it looks like VfB Stuttgart are trying their best to score an equaliser soon. Mr Vincent, do you think this will be a game with a lot of goals?"

"I really don't know right now" replied Vincent McManaman. "If NF Academy can score again, we might see a multi-goal thriller in the final. However, if they focus on defending— as I thought, we might have to go for a long game and draw.Last game—like their quarter-final against Zenit."

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*FREEEE*

The referee blows the whistle, gives a throw in. Magnus, one of the two NF Academy defensive midfielders, had just slid a tackle, snatched Sinan Gumus and pushed the ball out of the game.

Phillipp Mwene, the left-back of VfB Stuttgart, threw in, quickly letting go of Timo Werner on the left wing. Timo used his incredible pace, passing yvind Alseth, the NF Academy right-back, and sending a cross into the box.

Adrian Grbic, VfB Stuttgart centre-forward, skipped the NF Academy centre-back to chase the ball. He planted a powerful header towards the goal from around the edge of the box. However, his effort soared high above the crossbar.

The referee signals for the goal kick.

Zachary sighed and turned around to return to the middle circle. His team survived another attack from the tireless VfB Stuttgart attacker.

The NF academy was under tremendous pressure during the first ten minutes of the match. The players of VfB Stuttgart come towards them like predators chasing prey, starting from the moment they concede. They attacked relentlessly using long and short passes, looking for opportunities to break through the NF Academy box.

Zachary was surprised as the match progressed to the 15th minute. He noticed that only Philipp Forster, number 8 VfB Stuttgart, marked it. The other midfielder thought of other aspects of the game without bothering to track his movements. For the first time, Zachary felt as free as a bird on the field of play. It has been a long time since he enjoyed the freedom afforded by being marked by one player.

However, he did not get many touches on the ball. The VfB Stuttgart players have improved their style of play to a higher level after conceding. They set themselves up in a 4-3-3 triangle formation and pass the ball through their midfield quickly, looking for weaknesses.

Zachary noted that Joshua Kimmich is a defensive central midfielder, placed in front of the back four. He played behind two attacking midfielders— who in turn played behind three attackers.

Adrian Grbic is a centre-forward. Timo Werner and Felix Lohkemper play on the left and right wing respectively. The latter, two, ran on the wings, forming a passing triangle with Sinan Gumus and Joshua Kimmich— a midfielder who did not keep Zachary.

Joshua Kimmich was outstanding as the control tower of the entire VfB Stuttgart formation. Zachary noticed that he played almost like a German team maverick that day. He has no defined role in midfield and is unpredictable on the ball.

Sometimes, Kimmich would slide the ball from right to left, releasing his fullback on the wing or looking for strong runner Timo Werner on the left wing. Other times, he will play quietly by passing the ball slowly to his teammates, both in defense and midfield. And when the NF Academy players least expected it, he could run through the middle.

He managed to cause NF Academy some problems with his incredible passing ability. In the 18th minute, he made room for himself by passing Simen Giver, one of the NF Academy's defensive midfielders. He immediately unleashed a sweeping pass that soared over the defense and fell right in Timo Werner's lane.

Timo, number 11 VfB Stuttgart, collected a sweet pass on the edge of the penalty box—and in one fell swoop, fired towards the goal. However, Lars Togstad, the number 4 NF Academy, slid in to block the ball and deflect it away from its intended path.

Daniel Kvande, his partner in central defence, pounced on the resulting ball and cleared it from the box— towards the centre of the pitch.

Magnus, a high NF Academy defensive midfielder, outscored his target and headed the ball towards Zachary in left midfield.

Zachary controlled him like a professional, taking him to the ground in one fell swoop. And without a pause, he spun with the ball hooked to his left foot, passing Philipp Froster, his marker, before taking off like a racehorse towards the Stuttgart VfB parrot.

Joshua Kimmich, number 6 VfB Stuttgart, immediately approached him, trying to block his run. However, Zachary did not try to dribble past him. He lifted his foot and released a grounded pass into the left wing, where Paul Otterson waited.

The NF Academy winger appeared to be at the top of his game that day and did not disappoint. He controlled the ball like a professional, spun, and ran along the edge line of the field, darting into half of VfB Stuttgart like the wind. Meanwhile, Zachary continues to run in sync with him through midfield.

Simon Wilske, the right-back of VfB Stuttgart, came in to intercept Paul Otterson once he was about a dozen yards into the opposing half of the field. However, Paul maintained his composure and unleashed a groundbreaking pass towards rjan Boermark, the NF Academy's centre-forward. rjan had just escaped his marker and made a yard's distance to himself on the edge of the box.

The centre-forward controlled the ball beautifully and tried to get past centre-back VfB Stuttgart to get into their box. But the defenders held on and didn't give him a chance to run with the ball.

"Orjan," cried Zachary as he ran towards the box of VfB Stuttgart. "Get in here."

The centre-forward did not linger after hearing him shout.rjan flicked the ball to his right and unleashed a timely cut-back pass towards Zachary.

Zachary didn't even bother to control the ball. He only whipped it with his left foot on first contact, firing a missile at the goal.

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