THE GREATEST OF ALL TIME

Chapter 459: Evolving II

Zachary positioned himself strategically close to the center circle while waiting for the opposing keeper to take the goal kick. Even in the rain, his breathing was steady as he hadn't made a lot of runs during the opening fifteen minutes.

Obviously, he'd followed Coach Trombetta's advice and remained quiet and almost inconspicuous on the field of play. He had chosen to conserve energy while assessing and studying the opponents in a bid to uncover their weaknesses. He was also busy strategizing how to break them when an opportune moment presented itself. He was just like an assassin, waiting in the dark for the perfect opportunity to unleash his burst of skills and destroy the enemy.

A few seconds passed, and the Malm? goalkeeper took the goal kick. He smashed the ball, sending it far away, towards Juventus' half. He was obviously hoping to find one of his forwards or attacking midfielders to initiate a rare wave of attack for Malm?. But his efforts were rendered fruitless by Arturo Vidal, Juventus' aggressive and highly gifted defensive-minded midfielder.

Vidal outmuscled an opposing midfielder and pushed off the ground to intercept the ball with his head. He won the aerial duel and directed the ball towards the right flank, where Stephan Lichtsteiner, the wing-back dubbed the Swiss Express, was lurking.

Whoosh!

Zachary immediately ran into an unmarked pocket of space close to the centerline on the right flank as Stephan Lichtsteiner connected with the ball from Vidal. His almost-instantaneous run allowed him to escape from the opposing midfielders marking him, and he used his body language to reveal that he wanted the ball. He didn't call out his teammate's name but just made himself available, hoping for a quick pass from Stephan Lichtsteiner.

Stephan Lichtsteiner's vision and technical abilities were as impressive as ever. He skipped past an opponent with his first touch on the ball before threading the ball through the gaps in-between the opponents to find Zachary.

Zachary, on his part, had already resolved that it was the perfect moment to attack when he connected with the ball from Stephan. He had finished his analysis and was ready to unleash his skills and beat the opponents.

He spun around with the ball glued to his left boot and raced towards the other side of the pitch. In the meantime, his impressive spatial awareness worked wonders, and his sharp mind mapped out the positions of nearby teammates as he dribbled the ball forward.

A series of observations and assessments were initiated and completed in a flash within Zachary's enhanced mind. He noted that Carlos Tévez was running ahead on his right, whereas Fernando Llorente, the other striker, had opened himself up by sprinting into a pocket of space toward the left side of Malm?'s box. Zachary's eyes continued darting around, and he also spotted the two wing-backs - Patrice Evra and Stephan Lichtsteiner, dashing along the touchline, heading deeper into Malm?'s half.

It was surprising to Zachary when he realized that most of his teammates had come alive when he was on the ball. All their runs were well-timed — and if one happened to observe the field from above, one would notice that all the attacking players for Juventus had already reacted to Zachary moving the ball forward. But the realization didn't stop Zachary from focusing on the task at hand. He skipped past another opponent with swift and tricky side steps and continued bearing down on Malm? box like a predator on the hunt.

He was waiting for the right moment to pass to his teammates and release them towards the goal. He was holding on to the ball, hoping to draw the defenders out of their position so that he could free up space upfront and make it easy for the strikers to score.

But surprisingly, the opposing center backs held their positions and kept an eye on Fernando Llorente and Carlos Tévez. As for the two Malm? defensive wing-backs — they also stood their ground within their defensive shape to guard against Patrice Evra and Stephan Lichtsteiner, the two Juventus men sprinting towards the box from the sidelines.

It was as if all the Malm? players had forgotten that Zachary was a good dribbler. They only delegated Emil Forsberg, one of their defensive midfielders, to check his run through the middle.

"Here goes nothing."

Zachary smiled after assessing the situation ahead of him. He slowed down slightly while approaching the box to draw in the opponent. Then, he stepped over the ball once and leaned towards one side, seemingly as if he was about to break past Emil Forsberg on the right. But just suddenly, Zachary altered his center of gravity and exploded with speed on the left. He inched past the helpless defensive midfielder with his instantaneous acceleration and afforded himself a few yards of space to work with the ball.

He remained composed and prodded the ball forward with the tip of his boot while assessing the situation in the box. And when he judged that the angle was right, he pulled the trigger. The missile launcher juju worked its magic, and he blasted the ball from the edge of the 18-yard arc, sending it on a curling trajectory around the defenders and towards the goal. His powerful and well-placed shot found the top right corner and easily allowed him to beat the keeper and score Juventus' 1st goal for the night during the 17th minute.

"GOAL!" Zachary yelled at the top of his voice when he saw the ball nestle into the back of the net. He had done it. He had delivered and scored during his first Champions League appearance for Juventus.

It was as if he'd just unloaded a heavy weight off his shoulders, and he couldn't help but feel that the loud cheering of the Juventus fans was like music to his ears. He immediately tore through the rain, heading towards the touchline before sliding on his knees for a few yards to express his bubbly feelings. He was almost on cloud nine as he had not disappointed his teammates and coaches when it mattered the most.

-----

"Oh my goodness me!" The commentator's mellifluous voice boomed around the stadium as Zachary celebrated his goal with his teammates close to the corner flag. "What have I just witnessed? Zachary is back. He's back in the flesh and has just cut through Malm?'s entire midfield and defense to score an outside-of-the-eighteen stunner for Juventus. What class! What composure! The goal is surely one for the record books."

"Indeed, that was one hell of a goal," the co-commentator remarked, trying his best to make himself heard over the din in the stadium. "The keeper couldn't do anything to save the situation due to the power and impressive curl on Zachary's shot. He could only watch on helplessly as the ball flashed by him and homed into the back of the net."

_{𝑓r𝘦𝘦𝘄eb𝒏𝙤vel.c𝙤𝙢}fr𝑒e𝚠𝚎𝚋𝑛𝚘ѵ𝐞𝚕.𝑐om

"I was also impressed by Juventus' teamwork during the attack leading to the goal," the co-commentator continued. "Both Fernando Llorente and Carlos Tévez, the two strikers, timed their runs well to draw most of the opposing defenders away from Zachary. They utilized their off-ball runs perfectly to confuse the defense and create space for Zachary to shoot."

"And don't forget Patrice Evra and Stephan Lichtsteiner," the principal commentator reminded. "The two wing backs were also rushing in from the flanks. Their runs also confused the defenders and created more time for Zachary on the ball. All in all, this was Juventus' attacking football at its best."

"Indeed," the co-commentator agreed. "But let's not forget to give credit where it's due. Zachary's skills were quite impressive during the attack. He easily dribbled past three opponents before smashing the ball into the back of the net to score Juventus' 1st goal for the night. That takes world-class ability and a spark of genius that nine out of ten professional players in the world today can't ignite. And I'm sure the Juventus executives must be grinning while watching this game. They didn't waste the 80 million they splashed out to acquire Zachary from Rosenborg."

"This goal changes the entire debate about Zachary," the principal commentator observed. "If he can score a few more like this one, we should start discussing whether he can make it into the list of top players in the world this year instead of wondering whether he'll be a flop at Juventus."

"Only that guy from ESPN thought that Zachary would become a flop," the co-commentator remarked. "What was his name again?"

"Charles Adams," the principal commentator replied with a chuckle. "Mark my words, Zachary will become a flop at Juventus. People won't stop laughing whenever they recall what he said. What was he thinking?"

"Who knows?"

The two commentators chuckled at that before returning their focus to the game. They were ready to provide commentary for the proceedings on the field of play after the restart of the game.

-----