THE GREATEST OF ALL TIME

Zachary sighed, shaking his head on seeing Tore Reginiussen hand over the captain's armband to Mikael Dorsin before quietly marching out of the pitch. He didn't blame the defender for making that tackle since he would have done the same if he'd been the one in that situation. Nonetheless, he was still depressed by the progress of the match.

All the Rosenborg players had played great passing football from the first minute of the game, yet they were on the verge of losing. No matter how much they'd tried attacking Molde, they just hadn't managed to break their spell of bad luck and had kept on missing opportunities. On the other hand, their opponents had gotten much fewer opportunities and a small portion of the possession. Yet they'd managed to score two goals within the first 20 minutes of the second half and had just then won a penalty. Zachary couldn't help but wonder whether it was inevitable for Rosenborg to lose that match. But a moment later, he shook his head to clear his mind and rejected the thought right away.

He would never give up on a match before hearing the final whistle. He'd watched teams like Liverpool, Barcelona, and Manchester United make incredible comebacks even when they were three or four goals down during his previous life. So, he intended to continue giving his all even when his team was already a man down. As long as he didn't give up, anything could happen at any moment of the game—and just maybe, his team would walk away with the three points at the end of the night. So, with a soft smile framing his face, he started to make his way towards the edge of Rosenborg's box to prepare for the penalty kick.

"Now that's Molde for you," Zachary heard a voice behind him just as he'd moved a couple of yards and stepped into Rosenborg's defensive third. "Did I hear someone say that Molde can't compare to Rosenborg during some interview? Let's see if that someone can say the same thing after this match..." The voice continued humorously.

Zachary immediately turned around and noticed that Jo Inge, his bodyguard for the day, was behind him. The Molde midfielder had fallen into step with him at some point and was busy throwing out verbal jabs to annoy him.

Zachary just gave him a once-over and shook his head without bothering to make any comment. He turned around and increased his pace, leaving the midfielder behind as he continued towards Rosenborg's box. The match was yet to end, and he didn't want to exchange needless words with an opponent.

During his previous life, he'd watched great players like Zinedine Zidane and Mario Balotelli get themselves into trouble just from conversing with an opponent during the tense moments of the game. Zachary didn't want to become like them since he knew that he wasn't the best at controlling his temper. So, he'd already made it a point to avoid talking to opponents, especially at the professional stage where players could do almost anything to win.

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In the stands, Kristin covered her eyes with a manicured hand after seeing Mattias Mostr?m step into Rosenborg's box to take the penalty. The tension of the game had long twisted her heart to the point that it'd started beating erratically. She didn't even have the guts to continue watching the proceedings on the pitch, especially when Molde had a great chance to score and take the lead from a penalty kick.

The score was 2:2 in the 70th minute. If Molde managed to score, her team, Rosenborg, would find it hard to equalize when they were a man down due to the red card. So, she hoped that Lund Hansen, the Rosenborg goalkeeper, would pull a miracle and keep the score level for the moment. That was the only chance Rosenborg would have at walking away with any points from that game.

"Huge moment," she heard Kjell Roar, the commentator, intone after a few seconds. "Mattias Mostr?m, the Molde number-9, steps up to take the penalty. He is against Lund Hansen, the Rosenborg keeper, during this decisive moment. Oh, my! And he saves it. Oh, my! Crucial, crucial, crucial save. What a brilliant save by Lund Hansen..."

Kristin moved her hand away from her eyes as a wave of cheering washed across Lerkendal, drowning out the mellifluous voice of the commentator. But she sighed with regret as she'd already missed the best part, which was the save by Lund Hansen. She could only wait to watch it on the flashbacks on the big screen as the match progressed. Nonetheless, her hopes had soared since Rosenborg still had a chance of walking away with at least a draw from the fixture.

**** ****

On the pitch, Zachary's spirits were on cloud nine. His face was all smiles as he congratulated Lund Hansen upon saving the penalty, together with the rest of his teammates within Rosenborg's box. He couldn't believe that his team had managed to come out of the tense situation unscathed. He felt like running towards Jo Inge and gloating but stopped himself after a bit of deliberation. At that moment, he only needed to concentrate solely on the game and keep away from all the factors that could potentially harm his concentration.

"Guys," Mikael Dorsin, the acting Rosenborg captain, yelled at the top of his voice, clapping his hands. "We still have about twenty minutes to go. Let's focus and defend. We don't want to waste Lund's incredible save. So, focus, focus, and focus. I believe that if we give it our all, Molde will never threaten our goal again. But first, let's begin by defending against this corner."

On hearing the acting captain's animated roar, all the Rosenborg players returned their full attention to the game as they prepared to receive the corner.

Zachary's spirits brightened on noticing his teammates regain their fighting spirit even when they were at a numerical disadvantage due to the red card. As long as his teammates didn't give up, he was sure that Rosenborg could walk away with at least a point out of the game. So, he, too, focused on marking an opponent within the box with renewed vigor.

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