THE GREATEST OF ALL TIME

"In the 87th minute, Rosenborg has gained a one-man advantage over Tromsø due to a red card," Kristin heard Kjell roar say. "Can Rosenborg capitalize on this advantage and punish Tromsø within the remaining three minutes plus injury time? Or will Coach Agnar Christensen and his boys from the North keep Rosenborg at bay for the remainder of the game? Harald! What say you?" The voice of the commentator boomed over the loud chattering and cheering through the stadium's loudspeakers.

"My money is still on Rosenborg," Harald, the pundit for that day's game, replied. "The Rosenborg players have been exceptional when moving forward ever since the start of the game. They have dominated possession and have over twenty shots on goal. Nicki, Zachary, and Tarik have all hit the crossbar or goal post at one point in the game. I feel like they have been truly unlucky for the score to remain deadlocked at 0:0."

"But we can't take away anything from team Tromsø's performance," the pundit continued. "The boys from the North have remained true to their tactics and very disciplined when under pressure. I really commend them for their efforts. But since their captain has received a red card, it will be quite a challenge to continue keeping the Troll Kids at bay. Tromsø is not the same without Miika Koppinen, their center back and captain."

"Thank you, Harald," Kjell Roar said. "Let's take you back to the action. The referee has almost finished organizing the wall and the players in the box. But quite a few Rosenborg players are still in a huddle, discussing how to take the free-kick, which is in a very tight angle, by the way. Will it be Zachary once again on the set piece? Or will Rosenborg go with Mike Jensen or probably Tarik?"

Kristin Stein returned her full attention to the field of play. In the left-wing, close to the box, she could see Zachary, Tarik Elyounoussi, Mike Jensen, Tore the captain, and Mikael Dorsin huddled together over the ball. They seemed to be deep in discussion, strategizing on how to convert the free-kick. As the pundit had said, the set-piece position was in a very tight angle, only a few meters away from the goal line. It was also close to Tromsø's box, only three to five meters, by her estimation. But Kristin was still in doubt whether any player could manage to convert it from such an angle.

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Contrary to what the commentators had said, Zachary and co were not discussing the strategy for the set-piece. Instead, they were still debating on who would take it.

"Zachary," Tarik, the left forward, said, smiling slightly. "I think you should leave this one to me. After all, you've already taken one during the first half."

'...and failed to score', Zachary thought inwardly, a wry smile outlining his face. Unlike in the first half, all the players had not unanimously agreed to let him take the set-piece. Both Tarik Elyounoussi and Mike Jensen wanted a go at it since they also had proven track records of converting free-kicks.

"Let's do it like this," Mikael Dorsin chipped in. "Let's leave this one to Zachary. Tarik, you can take the next one while Mike will take the one after that. We shall continue the rotation in the next match. Let's not continue the debate since we need to concentrate on successfully converting the set-piece. After all, the referee has almost finished organizing the wall."

"I second that," Tore Reginiussen, the Rosenborg captain, said. He then turned to Zachary. "This free-kick position needs a good right leg. But I've noticed that you mostly use your left when shooting. How confident are you?" He asked, raising a brow.

"My right is as good as my left," Zachary replied, voice filled with confidence. "So, I have a pretty high chance of successfully converting the set-piece if the keeper doesn't perform abnormally like in the first half."

"Okay, then," the captain said, nodding. "You'll be the man to take the set-piece. Do your best and try to convert successfully." He patted Zachary's back.

"Thanks a lot," Zachary replied. "I'll try my best."

"Well, then," Mikael chipped in, smiling. "Since we have already decided on who will be taking the set-piece, should we move on to the strategy?"

"No need," Zachary said, starting to position the ball on the green. "I'll be going directly for the goal. Just try making runs towards the goalposts, just in case there's a rebound."

"Okay then, let's leave you to your preparations," Mikael said, wiping the sweat off his forehead with the back of his hand. "The referee has finished organizing the wall. If you can, go for a hard one close to the far post. Trust me: you'll surely beat the keeper that way. We wish you good luck." He added before turning around and starting to head into Tromsø's box.

"Thank you for your advice," Zachary said, smiling. "I'll try my best."

"Good luck..."

"Good luck..."

The rest also said a few encouraging words before following Mikael into Tromsø's box. Both Mike and Tarik didn't seem the least bit displeased by the captain's decision on who was taking the set-piece. Nevertheless, Zachary was sure that should his attempt fail to meet their expectations, they wouldn't compromise with him that easily when there was another set-piece situation in the near future.

So, he took a deep breath and calmed his mind, making sure to do away with any redundant thoughts that could cloud his thought process and affect his delivery. He needed to be in a highly focused state if he wanted to convert the set-piece successfully.

When he was sure his mind had achieved a proper tranquil state, he started scrutinizing the positioning of the wall and the players in Tromsø's box. In the meantime, his mind worked like a supercomputer, trying to deduce the best way to take the free-kick.

Since it was the 88th minute, tensions were high among the players in the box. They were either pushing or pulling at each other, trying their best to outmaneuver their opponents and connect with the incoming free-kick.

Even the Tromsø players making up the wall were no different. They tried on multiple times to shorten the distance between themselves and the set-piece position. For a minute, disorder and confusion were all there was inside Tromsø's box. The referee had to give plenty of verbal warnings and confer three yellow cards to players from both teams to calm the situation.

Zachary took all that in with a relaxed and detached gaze as he waited for the whistle to take the set-piece. His lips bore the semblance of a smile—just enough to show that he was enjoying his thoughts.

He had become as calm as the sea before a storm because of his well-earned self-confidence born from practicing the Bend-it-like-Beckham Juju thousands of times. He was a player unburdened and free from any tension at that moment.

*FWEEEEEEE*

The referee finally blew the whistle after organizing the situation in the box.

Zachary didn't dilly-dally since he'd already finished his preparations. He took a few steps back from the ball and angled his body in such a way that he was facing in the direction of Rosenborg's goal.

He then took a peek at the corner flag and noticed that it was very still. At that moment, he could safely conclude that there was no wind to affect his shot.

For a slight moment, the corners of his mouth stretched further into a brief suppressed grin as he realized he didn't need to factor in the breeze into his set-piece technique. The absence of a breeze would make his job less demanding. So, he began his short run-up to the ball without any needless worries.

With his eyes locked on the ball, he angled his body and connected with the ball with his instep while having his ankle locked. He hit the ball slightly on the side, just below the center, with the inside of his right boot to make it spin as it flew through the air. Zachary felt like he had executed the Bend-it-like-Beckham Juju with the greatest of perfection at that instant.

****  ****

Coach Johansen felt his heartbeat quicken as he watched Zachary take the free-kick after making an angled run towards the ball. The African boy unleashed a beautiful yet simple inside of the boot curveball that soared past the wall—into the air, seemingly targeted towards the crowd of players in Tromsø's box.

For a moment, Coach Johansen thought that Zachary had decided to cross the ball into the box for his teammates to make the finish. But an instant later, he noticed the curveball dipping slightly once again before curling further to find its way into the top right corner, beyond the reach of the keeper.

1:0.

Zachary had managed to put Rosenborg ahead with his flawlessly executed curveball from an impossibly tight angle in the 88th minute.

Coach Johansen raised his arms in the air and ran around the technical area like he'd gone mad. He could hardly contain his happiness. He'd been waiting for his team to score for an entire eighty-eight minutes. But his team had failed on multiple occasions to put the ball in the back of the net even after having long spells of dominating possession.

Coach Johansen had been frustrated and thought the game would end up as a draw. But then, with Zachary's goal, he could finally let go and relax. So, he pumped his fists in the air a few times before returning his full attention to the corner flag where his players were celebrating the goal.

But to his dismay, Zachary had removed his shirt once again and thrown it into the stands. At that moment, a few Rosenborg fans were busy struggling to get their hands on the number-33 jersey. Coach Johansen's previously beaming face morphed into a scary frown. A player taking off his shirt translated into a pointless yellow, which would affect his squad as the season progressed.

"Didn't any of you inform him not to take off his shirt once again?" He questioned Trond Henriksen, his assistant.

"We did," Trond Henriksen replied, still grinning after celebrating the goal. "But I guess he couldn't keep himself in check since he was too happy after scoring."

Coach Johansen sighed. "Those are two yellows in two matches now. We need to make sure this doesn't happen again. Otherwise, Zachary will be facing suspension soon due to accumulating yellow cards."

"Sure," Coach Henriksen replied. "I'll have a serious talk with him before the next match."

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