Chapter 78 - Game Start
"Yeah, you can be the greatest, you can be the best
You can be the King Kong bangin' on your chest
You can beat the world
You can win the war
You can talk to God, go bangin' on his door..."
Zachary hummed the Script's 'Hall of Fame' yet to be released lyrics as he sat on the bus heading to Skonto Hall with the rest of his teammates.
It was the afternoon NF Academy would face VfB Stuttgart in the Riga Cup finals.
The previous night, he had thought he would only grow more nervous as the match approached. Even in his past life, he had always felt agitated and tense right before games.
But surprisingly, he'd woken up that morning in a very tranquil state, at peace, and in harmony with the world. A good night's sleep had calmed his nerves. He had never felt more ready to perform.
"That's a good song you're singing," Paul Otterson commented. He was seated beside him on the furthest seat at the back of the bus. "Who's the artist?"
"The Script and Will.i.am," Zachary replied without thinking.
"Eh!" Paul inclined his head, giving him an arch look. "Are you messing with me? I'm Will.i.am's biggest fan, yet I've never heard that song in any of his albums!"
"Oh!" Zachary was perplexed. He was about to argue but stopped suddenly—as understanding dawned on him. The song had not yet been released or even composed.
"Oh, that was a mistake on my part," he lied, a sheepish smile outlining his face. "I mixed up the artists. Maybe, I heard it on one of the TV shows that I'm watching. I think it might have been a soundtrack. I really can't recall." Words came out of his mouth at the pace of a machine gun as he tried to rectify his mistake. He didn't want Paul to begin thinking he was a freak after the song came out months later.
He had liked the song in his previous life because listening to it gave him a feeling of accomplishment even when he'd failed to succeed in his sports career. It inspired him to dream he could achieve the impossible even after he had reached the lowest point in his previous life. In his new life, just before the cup final, the song seemed fitting. He had started humming the tune by reflex.
"Maybe, we could try Shazaming it," Paul intoned, taking out his phone. "I would really like to download it and add it to my collection." The Swede seemed quite intent on finding out the name of the new song.
Zachary cursed himself inwardly for being careless with his knowledge of the future. Nonetheless, he fixed Paul with his meanest stern look before saying: "Do you really want to search for music when the match is only an hour away?"
"Oh! Sorry captain," he replied in a meek tone, pushing his phone back into his pocket. "I wasn't thinking straight. I'll keep focused on the match. I won't let anything distract me."
Zachary nodded, finally relaxing. He made a mental note to mind his words in the future to avoid leaking any information that wasn't supposed to be available in that period.
He spent the rest of the fifteen-minute bus ride in silence, his eyes closed, his mind solely focused on the match. His mind achieved a state of tranquility that translated into a soft smile on his lips. He couldn't know, for sure, whether they would win the final, but he was very optimistic and ready to play. He wanted to emerge from the match without any regrets.
A few minutes later, the bus pulled into the parking lot of the Skonto Hall. Zachary picked up his bag, alighted from the bus, and followed the rest of his teammates and technical staff into the indoor stadium.
**** ****
"Hurry up and change into your warm-up kits," Coach Johansen intoned once they arrived in the dressing room. "We only have forty-five minutes left. So, be quick."
Twenty minutes later, the NF Academy players had concluded their warm-up and had returned to the dressing room. After another fifteen minutes, they had finished donning their dark blue jerseys, shin guards, and boots and were listening to his last-minute instructions.
Since he had already laid out the game plan and all the tactics the previous day, he only gave a brief pep talk. He reminded the starting players about their positioning in the new formation—and warned them about remaining focused throughout the entire game before sending them out of the dressing room. He had done his best to prepare the players for the final. The rest would be up to them.
**** ****
In the stands, Emily Anderson winced at the abrupt noise. The loudspeakers of the stadium boomed, and the live English commentary began.
"Good afternoon, everyone!" The commentator drawled in heavily accented English. "Today, we're here to bring you the minute-by-minute commentary of the Riga Cup final between NF Academy from Norway and the VfB Stuttgart Youth team from Germany. I'm Ricardo Andres, working for the sports magazine, Mundial. I'm here with my colleague, Mr. Vincent McManaman."
"Good afternoon, everyone!" Vincent, the other commentator, intoned in an accent that Emily couldn't place.
"On one side, we have one of the best youth sides in Germany. While NF Academy, a team that has never made it to the Riga Cup finals, is on the other." Ricardo, the first commentator, recited. "Mr. Vincent, what's your take on the two teams?"
"Well, we all know that VfB Stuttgart is quite a tough team. They demolished all the teams in their group and went on to defeat Sturm Graz and Tottenham in the knock-out stages. They're the stronger side on paper since they have Timo Werner, the top scorer, Joshua Kimmich, the best performing midfielder, and lots of other skilled players in their starting line-up. My money is on them."
"The NF Academy, on the other hand, has Zachary Bemba. I have to admit that he may be the best player in this tournament. But, as we have come to see, he's mostly carrying the team on his own. If the VfB Stuttgart players can manage to keep him in check, then they'll surely win the game."
Ricardo Andres, the other commentator, laughed. "So, the main question in this game remains: Can VfB Stuttgart keep Zachary in check?"
Emily continued listening to the pre-match analysis by the two commentators until the cheers exploded in the stadium. The players and the three match-officials were finally entering the pitch. The Riga Cup Final would commence in a few minutes.
**** ****
*FWEEEEEEE*
The referee blew the whistle, signaling for the kick-off. ?rjan did not dawdle in the center-circle. He raised his leg and immediately kicked the ball towards Zachary in the midfield.
In a flash, Zachary gauged the situation on the pitch with his A+ spatial awareness as he controlled the ball. In that instant, he noticed three VfB Stuttgart players, dressed in white, quickly closing in on him. They were fast and would catch up to him in seconds.
However, he did not panic. In his peripheral vision, he had noticed both Kasongo and Paul making runs in their respective wings, spearing into VfB Stuttgart's half.
He raised his foot and unleashed a raking pass towards Kasongo's path on the left-wing. And, without bothering to check whether Kasongo had controlled the ball, he started sprinting towards the VfB Stuttgart's box.
The unexpected long-range pass had caught the VfB Stuttgart players unawares. It seemed they had presumed Zachary would dribble instead of passing the ball. Moreover, it was still the first minute of the game. All the players were still napping and suffering from delayed reaction times. So, the pass made its way to NF Academy's right-winger, unobstructed.
Kasongo controlled the ball beautifully with his chest and immediately cut inside the pitch, like the wind. Phillipp Mwene, VfB Stuttgart's left-back, came to close him down right away.
However, Kasongo didn't try to dribble past him—but instead unleashed a grounded cut-back pass, finding Zachary in the middle of the pitch.
Zachary controlled the ball without halting his sprint. He then dribbled past a defender, who'd sprung up in front of him, making a yard of space for himself. He then continued towards VfB Stuttgart's box.
It was a lightning-fast attack in the 1st minute of the Riga Cup finals.
The VfB Stuttgart players seemed to be well aware of the danger paused by Zachary. They compressed their formation, trying to deny him any running space through the middle.
However, in so doing, they had left a gap on the left flank. Simon Wilske, the VfB Stuttgart right-back, had already moved into the middle to help defend against Zachary, leaving Paul Otterson unmarked.
Nonetheless, Zachary didn't release the ball right away. He continued running at the defenders, drawing their attention away from Paul, on the left-wing. And when they all thought they had cornered him, he dug his left boot beneath the ball and flicked it above their heads, into the box.
He had timed his pass perfectly. It took all the defenders by surprise, leaving Paul Otterson unmarked with the ball in the box.
Paul showed his mettle. He latched on to the brilliant pass and calmly rifled a first-time shot into the bottom right corner.
1:0.
In the 1st minute, NF Academy, the underdog, had managed to get the first laugh, even before the fans could warm up to the match. The stadium erupted into a thunderous roar.