THE GREATEST OF ALL TIME

"You shouldn't have done that, my friend," Mikael Dorsin, the Rosenborg acting captain, said to Zachary as soon as they'd finished celebrating the goal.

"Done what?" Zachary queried, trying to understand what the veteran defender was getting at.

"Taken off your shirt," Mikael replied, pointing at Zachary's bare chest shaped like a tank. "You've earned yourself a pointless yellow card for that. Congratulations!" He added, shaking his head.

"Oh, crap," Zachary couldn't help but curse out loud on hearing Mikael's inference. He inclined his head and looked back towards the middle of the pitch. He noticed that the referee was dutifully waiting for him with a yellow card in hand. "It was just in the heat of the moment. I totally forgot about the damn FIFA law about not removing one's shirt for a goal celebration." He tried his best to explain to the acting captain.

The rest of the Rosenborg players around him whistled and laughed at that. They were still in a jolly mood after achieving the perfect comeback with only a minute to the final whistle.

"Oh, well, I understand as I would have done the same if I was in your shoes," Mikael said, grinning and patting his back. "I'm sure the coaches will too. However, you'll get a problem with the sporting director and the publicity guys. That was a match-winning jersey you just gave away without consulting the club. They'll be on your case since they would have preferred to use it in one of the promotional events."

"Oh!" Zachary frowned, stealing a glance at the stands, where one of the fans—an obviously teenage boy had just grabbed his shirt. He was already folding it like a prized possession and seemed ready to stow it away. "Should I request him to return it?" He asked the acting captain.

"Oh, no, you can't do that," Mikael said, his voice rising a little. "Once a jersey goes into the fans, then it's no longer ours—but theirs. That's an unwritten rule everyone follows. So, forget about it and pick another jersey from the bench. You better hurry coz the ref seems quite impatient."

"Okay, then," Zachary concurred before making his way out of his teammates and jogging towards Rosenborg's technical area. Without wasting any time, he picked up a new number-33 black Rosenborg jersey from a grinning Trond Henriksen, who said a few congratulatory words to him. In only a few seconds, he returned to his position in the middle third of the pitch and was ready for the match restart.

*FWEEEEEEE*

However, no sooner had he settled into his position than the referee blew his whistle and ran up to him. Zachary could only smile wryly as the stern-looking referee presented him with the first yellow card in his professional career. He couldn't believe he'd gotten his first booking from a goal celebration. Nonetheless, the card didn't dampen his mood in the slightest. He still felt drunk in happiness after scoring the goal.

The match restarted a few seconds after Zachary had received the yellow card. The Rosenborg players didn't allow Aalesunds any opportunity to dictate the game. They fought hard to get back possession immediately after the restart. When the ball returned to them, they slowed down the game's tempo by exchanging a combination of one-touch or two-touch passes in the defensive and middle thirds of the playing field. That way, they managed to keep the opposition at bay and held on to their one-goal lead.

When the referee blew the final whistle, every Rosenborg player on the pitch went mad with excitement. Some of them ran around the field like a bunch of kids who'd seen Santa on Christmas Eve. Others came up to Zachary and gave him bear hugs to celebrate the victory.

Zachary felt like he'd integrated further into his team after playing the match. He had grown to love the few Rosenborg fans that had traveled so far to give the team their support and felt at home among his teammates.

It was a feeling unlike before, where he had been only playing as hired labor without having the team at heart. At that moment, he saw how the fans were waving at him excitedly as he went around the stadium. Zachary realized that he'd started regarding the team as a new home.

The celebrations ended after few minutes. The Rosenborg players began leaving the pitch after shaking hands with the referees and opponents. Zachary trailed after a few of them, intending to return to the dressing room, take a shower as quickly as possible, and cool down his sore muscles. However, Coach Johansen intercepted him at the entrance to the tunnel.

"Nice game," the coach said, giving Zachary a bear hug. He seemed much happier than ever before. "That was some incredible performance. You're the man of the match for this game. How do you feel?"

"Terrific, of course," Zachary replied, grinning. "However, more than anything, I would like to quickly take a shower and then swallow down some water and energy bars."

Coach Johansen laughed at that. "That'll have to wait as duty calls. You're with me for the post-match interviews and press conference. Come along. The press guys are already waiting for us." He said, leading the way.

Zachary trailed after him, frowning. "Do I really have to go? Can't someone else, like the captain, for instance, go?" He asked after he'd fallen into step with the coach.

"Of course not," Coach Johansen replied without stopping. "The press will want to interview the new star of Rosenborg—the person that helped us stage a comeback after coming on as a substitute. That person is you and, there's no way around this. You can be absent for the press conference, but you have to take the post-match interview since you were the man of the match."

"Oh," Zachary said, continuing to match Coach Johansen's step.

Coach Johansen seemed to realize that he wasn't that excited about meeting the press and stopped for a moment. "Why do you seem down when you are going for your first interview?" He asked, inclining his head slightly to observe Zachary's face.

"It's not that I dread the press or anything like that," Zachary replied. "It's just that I'm not excited by a press meeting after a game. What's even the point? The fans and pundits already saw everything on the field of play! Why ask the player about it again right after the match? Moreover, I have seen a few journalists ask annoying questions during press conferences and interviews. I wouldn't want to be on the other end of those."

Coach Johansen laughed at that, patting his back. "Be honest. Are you sure that you're not just scared by the thought of being in front of a camera? That was a hell of a lot of words for a simple question!"

"Not at all," Zachary replied, making sure his voice remained firm. "Let's just go for the damn press conference." Of course, he wouldn't admit that he was a 'little' scared of standing in front of the camera. It was his first time getting called to a post-match interview in both his lives. So, he was at a loss of how to approach it.

"Okay, then," Coach Johansen said, smiling. "Don't worry about anything unnecessary. Just be yourself, and reply with brief answers. I'm sure you'll do okay." He then led the way to the area designated for the press.

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