THE GREATEST OF ALL TIME

Zachary forgot everything else and plunged himself back into his training with a single-hearted devotion after acquiring his vehicle. He was dedicated to sustaining and improving his fitness in order to cement his place on Coach Johansen's starting line-up. He had no intention of missing Rosenborg's next fixtures with H?nefoss BK and Sarpsborg FF only because he had relaxed and fallen out of shape.

So, whether it was dynamic warm-ups, passing drills, or agilities training, he soldiered through diligently with single-minded devotion, day in, day out, without any complaints.

In that way, four days passed by in a flash, and it was soon Sunday evening. The time for Coach Johansen to announce his squad for the next Tippeligaen game had arrived once more.

However, Zachary didn't feel any pressure since he knew that he'd been doing well in training. He was looking forward to the pre-match tactical session as he was almost certain he would make the squad once again.

Nevertheless, he put one more hour into refining his set-piece technique on the training ground after the team training session ended that evening. He managed to take more than fifty free-kicks before rounding up his practice. By then, the evening had started to cast its dusky gown, giving way to the darkness of the night.

When Zachary looked around and noticed that he was the only one remaining on the training ground, he quickly gathered the training balls and then started to make his way towards the locker room. He wanted to take a quick shower before heading to the tactics room for Coach Johansen's pre-match tactical briefing. But just as he was leaving the pitch, he ran into Coach Johansen, himself, along the way.

"There you are, Zach," the coach said, smiling at him. "Were you still working on your set-pieces?"

"Yes," Zachary replied, wiping the sweat off his face using the back of his hand. "I have to practice on a daily basis to perfect my shooting posture. As you know, practice always precedes perfection, and the best form of practice is repetition."

Coach Johansen smiled, nodding. "I'm glad you still remember what we taught you in the academy. You're turning into quite the player because of your dedication and hard work. I'm proud of you, and I hope you manage to stay focused on your game. If you can do that, you'll surely reach great heights in the near future."

"Thank you, coach," Zachary replied, smiling. "I'll continue doing my best. I only hope I can continue getting more playing time on the team. I'll be able to improve faster that way."

Coach Johansen half-smiled. "Let's talk in my office briefly," he said. "There are a few things I wish to discuss with you before the pre-match tactical briefing."

"Oh, okay," Zachary concurred. He was curious about why the coach needed to meet him. "But can you allow me to place my gym bag in my locker and also wash my face first?"

"Yes, of course," Coach Johansen gave his agreement. "Go and clean up first. You can come to my office right after."

"Okay, then," Zachary said. "Thank you. I'll be there shortly."

Five minutes later, Zachary arrived at Coach Johansen's office as promised. He pushed the door open after a couple of knocks and found him intently watching a football game on his laptop.

"Have a seat, Zachary," Coach Johansen said, glancing up from his laptop. "Let's talk for a bit."

Zachary nodded before settling down in a seat opposite that of Coach Johansen.

"How are you finding the team's atmosphere?" Coach Johansen probed, folding his laptop. "It has been slightly over a week since you made your debut. Are you enjoying yourself?"

"Yes, of course," Zachary replied, a smile softening his features. "The past week has been good for me. So, I'm really enjoying myself."

"That's good," Coach Johansen said, nodding. "You've already netted five goals in three matches. That makes you one of our top scorers. I'm glad to have you on the team."

"Thank you," Zachary replied.

"Have you looked at Rosenborg's upcoming fixtures for the rest of the season?" Coach Johansen asked, leaning back in his chair.

"Yes," Zachary replied, nodding.

"How do you find the schedule?"

"Fine, I guess," Zachary said. "We've got at least three days between each of the fixtures. There'll also be three weeks of rest between May 30th and June 19th. So, I've got no problem with the schedule."

Coach Johansen smiled. "But you do understand that we still have quite the busy schedule this season," he said, holding Zachary's gaze. "Think about it. We've got to play a lot of matches in the Tippeligaen, the Norwegian Cup, and then the Europa League qualifiers. And all that is before September. Don't you think that's quite a tight schedule?"

"Yes, I can see that," Zachary responded, still in doubt about where the coach was taking the conversation. Even if Rosenborg had a tight schedule, there was no need for the Coach to mention it to him.

"Then, you should understand that with tight schedules, we've got to rotate the squad if we wish to continue winning games," the coach said, taking a moment to caress his red-bearded chin. "Isn't that right?"

"Yes, coach," Zachary replied, nodding and finally understanding the coach's purpose.

"Zachary," Coach Johansen intoned, leaning forward and locking eyes with him. "I would like you to know that you're now a key player in my squad. You've got great spatial awareness in midfield, and you can even make assists and score. You're the kind of match-winning player that every team desires in their starting line-up."

"But," the coach continued. "You can't play matches every three days without taking a rest. So, we shall rotate you out of the starting eleven for the games against H?nefoss on Monday and Sarpsborg 08 on Thursday. If there's a need, you'll only be able to come on as a substitute for those two games."

"Oh!" Zachary said, nodding. Although he understood the coach's viewpoint, he was still a bit disappointed by the coach's decision not to play him in the away game against H?nefoss the following day. He was competitive at his very core. Being on the pitch and competing against opponents made him feel whole. He didn't want to miss even a single fixture throughout the entire season.

"I can see that you are disappointed," Coach Johansen said. "But don't worry. Keep focusing on your training. We'll be facing Molde in 8 days—on May 20th and V?lerenga on May 25th. If we win those two, we'll most likely seal our position at the top of the league table. So, I need your legs fresh and well-rested for those two fixtures. Understood?"

"Yes, coach," Zachary replied, his tone solemn.

"Then, I'm glad," Coach Johansen said. "I promise you that by the end of the season, you'll be thanking me for rotating you out of the squad a few times. You, yourself, will reach the extent of requesting a vacation so that you can relax and recover from the fatigue accumulated from playing games throughout the whole season."

"Oh," Zachary said, feeling at a loss of what to say to the coach. He felt like putting in a complaint requesting that the coach consider him for the starting eleven the following day. But at the same time, he couldn't follow through with the thought since he felt a bit guilty.

The coach had played a psychological game on him by calling him in for a private chat to explain exactly why he couldn't be part of the starting eleven. He'd given Zachary special treatment, usually reserved for the key players on the team. But in actual sense, he'd called in Zachary and informed him that he was benching him for the next two games. Zachary was feeling conflicted on the inside.

"That aside," Coach Johansen continued, his voice turning solemn. "The team physician informed me that you didn't go for your routine medical after the game against Troms?. You should really go after the next game. Believe me; it's for your own good since you've just experienced that growth spurt of yours. We don't want to get any problems with your fitness when we're having such a busy schedule."

"Okay, I'll do that after coming back from the game tomorrow," Zachary concurred, nodding. "I think if there's nothing else, I'll go take a shower now and prepare for the pre-match tactical briefing."

"Just one more thing before you go," Coach Johansen said, sighing. "In case you manage to score any more goals in any of the upcoming matches, please control yourself. The publicity and marketing guys are already complaining about you giving away those jerseys. Moreover, you've picked up two yellow cards from those celebrations. So, please do take note. Okay?"

"It won't happen again, coach," Zachary replied solemnly.

"Then, I'm glad," Coach Johansen said, grinning. "And before I forget, congratulations upon getting that new car of yours. It's really a good machine. But please don't go racing or speeding anywhere in Norway. Always put safety above everything else when on the road. Are we together, Zach?"

"Yes, coach," Zachary replied, smiling wryly. "Not a single time have I gone faster than 60 km/hr. So, you don't have to worry."

"Then, I'll sleep a little better today," Coach Johansen said in a joking manner. "You know it's hard for an old man like me to find any sleep knowing that one of his players might be speeding on one of the mountain passes somewhere." He sighed.

"Okay, you can go back and prepare," he said after a moment. "See you in about 30 minutes in the tactics room then," he added, waving his arm in a dismissive gesture.