THE GREATEST OF ALL TIME

Zachary's daily workload lightened considerably after Rosenborg's end-of-year banquet. It was the off-season in Norway, and there were no compulsory team training sessions or matches for him to attend. So, he spent most of his time training alone, hoping to make further improvements before the commencement of the following season.

He didn't rush to consume the A-graded vitality-enhancing elixir, stored in the system inventory, but only focused on elevating his physical condition to its peak. He was trying his best to achieve his best state possible so as to gain maximum benefits when he finally consumed the elixir.

For the following few days, he would wake up early in the morning to jog and then head to the gym after breakfast. In the afternoon, he would attend a fitness session guided by Coach Bj?rn Peters, his fitness trainer, before ending his daily training with a one-hour yoga session late in the evening. In that manner, the days flashed by quickly, and soon, it was Tuesday, the day for the Europa League's knock-out stage draw.

Zachary ended his training early and hurriedly returned home to watch the draw live on television. It featured thirty-two teams, with several big names like Juventus, Ajax, Tottenham, and Sevilla. For sure, there would be some very thrilling encounters in the next stage of the tournament.

"Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen," the host of the draw said with a smile right after the clock hand had pointed to the twelve o'clock mark. "Welcome to this year's Europa League round of thirty-two and round of sixteen draws..."

After a round of introductions and greetings, the host quickly started explaining the nature of the draw. The rules were quite detailed and clear to Zachary.

In the draw for the round of thirty-two, the twelve Europa League group winners and the four third-placed teams from the Champions League group stage with the better group records would be the seeded clubs. On the other hand, the twelve group runners-up and the other four third-placed teams from the Champions League group stage would be the unseeded opponents. The seeded teams would then be drawn against the unseeded teams, with the seeded teams hosting the second leg. However, teams that were previously from the same group or those from the same association could not be drawn against each other.

For the round of sixteen and onwards, there would be no seedings. The teams that were previously from the same group or even those from the same association could clash if the draw pitted them against each other. For instance, an English Premier League club might face an opponent from the same league. Or they might even have to play an opponent they formerly faced in the group stages of the Europa League.

The host spoke in a steady and confident tone, and in a matter of a few minutes, he finished explaining the rules of the draw. He then invited three gentlemen onto the stage, and the proceedings moved on to the actual drawing of the teams.

Zachary was tense as he waited for Rosenborg's next opponents in the round of thirty-two of the Europa League. And finally, after having waited for more than 10 minutes, Rosenborg's name was picked from the pot of unseeded teams and soon drawn against Fiorentina, the Italian side. It was the last drawing for the night, and the event ended soon after.

Zachary could not help but crease his brows as he sunk into a moment of contemplation. His team, Rosenborg, would have to defeat Fiorentina if they wanted to qualify for the round of sixteen of the Europa League. And if they did qualify, they would have to face either Juventus, the infamous Italian giants, or Trabzonspor, the team from Turkey, before qualifying for the quarter-finals of the Europa League.

Both fixtures were not easy.

"Maybe, we can win!"

Zachary inwardly tried to encourage himself. But deep down, he understood that Rosenborg's chances of besting teams like Fiorentina or Juventus when playing two legs were minimal.

Both Italian clubs had enough depth in their squads to render Rosenborg helpless on the field of play. Not even the most ingenious football tactics could overcome such an obvious gap in player and squad ability, as long as all the other factors remained constant.

Thus, unless the goddess of luck favored Rosenborg during the following two stages of the Europa League, Zachary and his teammates would find themselves hard-pressed to achieve any results from those fixtures. It was a simple truth.

"Maybe, I should encourage coach Johansen to sign a few of those not-yet-famous forwards and wingers from my previous life," Zachary mused. "As long as we strengthen the attacking force, then Rosenborg will have a fair chance of competing against those big names like Fiorentina and Juventus."

Zachary wasn't inclined to leave the outcome of the crucial round of thirty-two fixture to luck. That was because he still had a potential system penalty of 120,000 Juju points hanging over his head. Should his team fail to beat Fiorentina and qualify for the round of sixteen, then he would be in deep shit.

So, instead of placing his hopes on something as uncertain as luck, why not strengthen his team before the fixture by encouraging his coach to sign more phenomenal talents? Zachary was sure that as long as he made any suggestions concerning the issue, Coach Johansen would take them seriously, considering their relationship and history together. It was worth a try, for sure.

Zachary got to work immediately after making the resolution. He opened his laptop and soon started browsing the internet to search for information on some famous names in football from his previous life.

First, he eliminated all the footballers already playing in the top seven European leagues and the Brazilian Serie A. Such players would most likely not be interested in joining a third-tier league team like Rosenborg since they were already contented where they were. So, there was no point in including them on the list of players that could strengthen Rosenborg's squad in the near future.

Zachary only needed players that Rosenborg could afford at that moment. So, he spent more than two hours browsing the web and filtering out names. But soon, he realized that it was a more difficult task to discover talented strikers when compared to defenders.

That was because all the famous forwards he could recall were already playing for big clubs at that time. Phenomenal players, like Harry Kane, Riyad Mahrez, Sadio Mane, Duván Zapata, Mo Salah, Kylian Mbappé, and many others, were already connected to clubs with a financial muscle much bigger than Rosenborg. So, unless he went for those young teenagers, like Dele Ali, Alex Iwobi, or Erling Haaland, he wouldn't be able to find any available and affordable striker for Rosenborg.

But would signing such youngsters help Rosenborg overpower Fiorentina or Juventus the following year? Zachary hurriedly discarded the thought before it could take root in his mind.

Those youngsters, of course, possessed immense potential. They would mature into very dangerous attackers, maybe, three to five years from then. However, they might not even make the squad for Rosenborg's match against Fiorentina in February simply because of their young age and inexperience at the moment.

"Damn!"

Zachary was really frustrated as he continued going over the list of strikers in his mind without results. But, he didn't give up until he landed on a few inconspicuous names that could add some depth to Rosenborg's squad. They were not Zachary's first choice, but he could only compromise since he understood Rosenborg's financial situation.

After compiling the list, Zachary settled on one of the sofas in his living room before dialing Coach Johansen's phone number. "Good evening, coach," he said right after the call had connected. "How's your afternoon?"

"My afternoon is fine, Zachary?" Coach Johansen replied from the other end of the line. "What about you? How's your vacation? Did you go home, or are you still here in Trondheim?"

"I'm still here in Trondheim," Zachary replied. "But the vacation is going on well. Coach! Did you watch today's Europa League draw?"

"Of course, I did. I wouldn't have missed it for anything in the world. We're facing Fiorentina in February. What are your thoughts?"

"Well," Zachary said, taking a moment to organize his thoughts. "They're tough opponents, especially since they're now fourth on the Italian League table. We'll face a hard time against them for sure. But football is football. We can still win if we give our all during the match."

"Oh!" Coach Johansen said. "From your tone, I guess you're not that confident. But don't you worry. We have plenty of time without competitive football to prepare for the match. As long as we prepare well, we can win against any opponents."

"Oh, okay, I guess you're right," Zachary said, obviously not convinced. "Coach! I just called to alert you about a few players with potential that I've just chanced upon when watching football matches on the internet."

"Players filled with potential!" Coach Johansen exclaimed, his voice rising a pitch higher. "Go on. I'm listening."

"Do you have a pen and paper with you, coach?"

"Yes, I do."

"Okay, I will mention the names of the players now. The first one is Japanese forward named Takumi Minamino. At the moment, he's playing for a club in Japan named Cerezo Osaka. If you play your cards right, you might acquire his services at a small fee."

"The second player is also from Japan. He goes by the name of Yuya Osako and is now playing for a club based in Tokyo called Kashima Antlers. He's a forward who's dangerous both inside and outside the box."

"And finally, the third player is Karl Toko Ekambi, a forward currently playing for Paris FC. He's a power forward who can play on both wings or even as a number-10. If Rosenborg could manage to purchase him, you would have some more options when organizing tactics against those big names in the Europa League."

"I have given you all the names now," Zachary continued. "It's up to you to see if they have got what it takes to join Rosenborg."

"Okay, Zachary," Coach Johansen said from the other end of the line. "I've noted down all the names. I will get some of our free scouts to assess them as soon as possible. If they're as good as you say, then I'll do my best to try and sign them."

"Thanks, coach," Zachary said.

"No, I should be the one thanking you, Zachary," the coach hurriedly said. "I'm glad that you're still thinking about the future of the club. But there is one thing I need to ask. Did you happen to find out about those players when watching matches online? Or have you hired a scout that is helping you unearth all those players?"

"I watch a lot of football during my free time," Zachary replied in a poised tone. "And when I happen to spot a good player during a match, I'll always take note of him. That's how I found out about those three players."

"Okay, then," the coach said. "Thanks for the info. But since it's vacation time, endeavor to take some rest. Okay?"

"Yes, coach."

"Good. If there's nothing else, I'll have to say goodbye for now. Is there anything else?"

"No," Zachary replied. "That's all."

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