THE GREATEST OF ALL TIME

Zachary followed the rest of his teammates to the dressing room when the referee blew the whistle for half-time. He could still feel the excitement of competing with pro players in a match even after leaving the field.

"Well done, Zachary," Coach Johansen said, patting his back as they walked through the corridor back to the visitor's dressing room. "Keep doing what you've been doing through the second half, and you'll be fine." He smiled, matching his step.

"Thank you, coach," Zachary replied, smiling lightly. He continued to trail after his teammates while chugging down some water. He intended to use every minute of half time to regain his stamina.

When he entered the dressing room, some of his teammates, like Mikael Dorsin, stood up and said a few words of congratulations on his remarkable performance. Others gave him light pats on the back as he made his way to a seat.

They looked very sincere and made him feel more at home. The mood in the dressing room was a lighthearted one. The players chatted like they were taking a break from a daily training session rather than the second round of the Norwegian Football Cup. They joked amongst themselves and laughed about some of the awkward moments of the first half.

Zachary's 'overzealous' celebration also became a topic of discussion and a butt of many jokes. His teammates mimicked the celebration amid waves of laughter in the dressing room. To avoid any trouble, Zachary had to pretend not to be hearing anything and busy himself with sipping on his water.

"Okay, guys," Coach Johansen said, his gaze sweeping over the entire dressing room. "Let's focus and discuss the main points of our game plan in the second half. Please take your seats."

When all the players took their seats, Coach Johansen started giving his half-time pep talk. He didn't make any marked changes in the tactics or the overall game plan for the second half. He only insisted that the players remain focused and make sure they didn't concede throughout the remainder of the game.

Additionally, he outlined what he needed from each field player, especially the defenders and midfielders, before sending them back to the pitch for the second half.

**** ****

The mood in the home team's dressing room was entirely different from that of Rosenborg's. All the players and coaching staff of Strindheim had dejected looks about them.

Some were frowning, others smiling ruefully, while the rest had their heads held between their hands like they'd suffered personal tragedies. They seemed to have given up on the game after conceding the three goals against Rosenborg during the first half.

Coach Finn Morten Moe frowned slightly on seeing the condition of his players. "Okay, guys," he said, starting to move around the dressing room. "Let's forget the first half."

"Let's begin the second half like we're 'just' starting the game afresh. Forget that we're 3:0 down. Let's begin anew and play at our best during the remainder of the game. Are you with me, guys?" He yelled at the top of his voice.

"Yes, coach," the players replied, more or less in unison.

The coach nodded on seeing some of his players regain some vigor. "We'll continue playing a 4-5-1 formation for the second half. The five midfielders will have to try their level best to close down all the spaces in the midfield. They'll also have to help in defending. We don't want to concede any other goal. That's our first objective."

"Let's start the second half by taking the Rosenborg midfielders out of the equation. I agree that they are talented players. However, they still lack the necessary experience to adapt to shifts in the game situation quickly. So, use your brain to keep them on their toes. Vary your playing style from one moment to the next. When they expect short passes, play it high. When they think we're about to penetrate through the middle, play it through the wing."

"Emil, Sindre, and Preben," the coach continued, letting his gaze settle momentarily upon the three players. "You're our midfielders. Your job is to stop their midfielders from playing freely and limiting their impact on the game. But you haven't fulfilled your roles so far. In the second half, try to play like men. Rough those young midfielders a bit and don't allow them an inch of space."

"Preben, take note of that tall African. You allowed him to play at his own pace in the first half. That can't happen again in the second half. Make sure you mark him tightly. Annoy him if you want to. But you can't let him keep in control of the midfield. Are we together?"

"Yes, coach," Preben replied solemnly.

"Okay, guys," Coach Finn Morten Moe said, smiling slightly. "Let's go out there and play at our best. Let's not leave any regrets on the pitch. Are you with me?"

"Yes, coach," the players replied, more or less in unison.

**** ****

When the second half started, Zachary instantly discerned that Strindheim had tightened their midfield. The Strindheim players were—still arrayed in the 4-5-1 formation. However, they were more compact and more aggressive than they'd been in the first half. They would run at any player about to receive the ball, giving them no chance to control it without pressure. They reacted like hungry scavengers catching the scent of food for the first time in weeks. They were able to halt Rosenborg's dominancy in the middle of the field at the beginning of the half.

But all that didn't faze Zachary in the slightest since he understood there were peaks and lows of team play for any football game. So, he remained patient, continuing to play at his own pace while doing his best to receive and pass the ball as quickly as possible.

He remained as stable as he'd been in the first half, except for not playing the ball forward as frequently as he would have liked. Strindheim's second-half defensive shape limited his options to a greater extent. All the Rosenborg forwards were tightly marked by Strindheim defenders every single minute. Nicki Nielsen had it especially tough with two center backs shadowing him like bodyguards wherever he went on the field. Zachary couldn't release any defense splitting passes to him.

He and the other Rosenborg midfielders barely had it easier since they had to deal with five Strindheim players in the middle of the field. The only players that had space to play the ball at their own pace without any pressure were the defenders since Strindheim was using only one striker in the second half.

So, Zachary moved back to the defensive midfield in the 60th minute, forming a line with Ole Seln?s right in front of Rosenborg's defense. He then started playing short and precise passes with Ole and the defenders in the backfield, enabling Rosenborg to have a spell of possession.

However, that didn't last for long. In the 70th minute, the Strindheim players altered their shape anew, allowing two of their midfielders to move forward and apply more pressure on Rosenborg. Preben Hammersland, Strindheim's attacking midfielder, specifically targeted Zachary even when he didn't have the ball. The midfielder followed him around the pitch, sometimes fouling him and pulling on his shirt to disrupt his control of the midfield.

Zachary was a little annoyed by his antics, especially when the referee failed to call out his fouls. However, he stayed calm and focused on his game.

He was surprised to find out it wasn't too hard to control his emotions while on the field. All he had to do was recall the moment he had scored the goal for all the negativity to fade out of his mind. Although the game had become tougher for Rosenborg, he continued to enjoy his football.

**** ****

Kristin frowned slightly after glancing at her watch. It was already the eightieth minute, yet Rosenborg had not yet scored another goal. During the first half, she had thought her team would go on to bag at least six goals by the end of the game. However, Strindheim had come out of the dressing room tougher than they had been in the first half.

Since the break, they'd been playing textbook defensive football of isolating the forwards and limiting the mobility of Rosenborg's midfield. They had managed to contain Rosenborg and avoid conceding another goal.

"Oh, my," Kristin heard Anne Rimmen, the commentator, yell. "It's another tackle on Zachary Bemba close to the center of the field. I guess this is it. The referee has finally shown a yellow card to Preben Hammersland, the Strindheim number-8. Harald, what do you think about the fouls the Strindheim players are committing?"

"Well," said Mr. Harald Brattbakk, the other commentator and live pundit for that game. "I wouldn't blame Strindheim for committing a few fouls here and there in the midfield. They're only doing their best to stop Rosenborg from dominating the game and scoring another goal. If they hadn't toughened up and played a man's game in the second half, they would have already conceded three more goals."

"Don't you feel like they're specifically targeting Zachary Bemba with their fouls?" Anne Rimmen inquired.

"That seems to be the case," Mr. Harald Brattbakk replied. "He was the best performing player in the midfield during the first half. He was involved in all of Rosenborg's three goals. If I were the opposing team's coach, I would have also gone after him to destabilize his game. So, we can't blame Strindheim for roughing up Zachary a few times. You can tell that they aren't doing anything malicious—but just trying to limit his time on the ball."

"Well, what do you think the Rosenborg coach should do in such a situation?"

"If I were the Rosenborg coach," said Mr. Harald Brattbakk, "My priority would be protecting Zachary at all costs. We have all seen that he's quite the talented player. You wouldn't want to lose such an asset on his debut game due to some injury. Since less than eight minutes are remaining on the clock, I'm guessing that there will be a substitution pretty soon. And Zachary will probably be the player leaving the field of play."

"Well, thank you, Mr. Harald," Anne Rimmen said. "Let's get back to the game, which has just restarted after that foul on Zachary Bemba. And as Mr. Harald has predicted, Mix Diskerud, Rosenborg's often-starting midfielder, has started warming up along the touchline. Maybe, we'll see Zachary, the young but talented central midfielder, off the pitch within the next few minutes."

Kristin sighed and returned her attention to the pitch.

**** ****

On the pitch, Zachary noticed that Mix Diskerud had started warming up. At that instant, he knew that the coach would be taking him off the field in a few minutes.

However, he remained calm and composed and continued to play at his own pace. He understood that coaches hated jumpy players who tried out risky plays so late in the game.

Rosenborg had already won the game, and that was all that mattered. Zachary could feel that his teammates were simply managing the game to prevent Strindheim from scoring any goals. There was no reason for him to be so hung up about finishing the entire duration of the match since he'd already earned his appearance bonus for that day.

Moreover, he already knew that he'd put on a good performance for that game since he had been involved in all Rosenborg's three goals. That seemed sufficient to get him into the squad of the next match. As long as he continued getting playing time, he was sure he would be able to seal a spot on the starting line-up. So, he continued playing calmly until the referee blew the whistle, calling for his substitution.