THE GREATEST OF ALL TIME

Kristin was immensely relieved when Zachary scored the equalizer to tie the score at 1:1. She hadn't been able to travel to the Ullevaal Stadion in Oslo to watch the match live since she was busy preparing for her trip to Bergen with Zachary the following day. Instead, she had watched the game on TV—back in the comfort of her living room.

When Vålerenga had scored the first goal, she'd thought that Rosenborg was in for a tough 90 minutes. So, she'd felt anxious. But when Zachary scored the equalizer only four minutes later, she cast her concerns aside.

She'd started believing that as long as Zachary was on form, Rosenborg would find it very hard to lose even if they wanted to. As long as he was present on the pitch, he could create and bag goals at any moment to destroy their opponent. So, there was no use for needless worry.

"He's getting better and better with every match," Monica Rønning, Kristin's flatmate, said, her eyes never leaving the screen. She was seated on the same sofa as Kristin, also following the progress of the game. On the table before them lay various snacks and drinks to enhance their experience of viewing the match.

"On screen, he looks a lot different from how he usually does," Kristin commented.

Her mind went back to the night they had had dinner with him a few days prior. "He's almost like an entirely different person."

"How so?" Monica asked, leaning forward and picking a few snacks from the table before her. "I don't see the difference."

"Maybe, it's because you've only seen him a few times," Kristin observed. "But the difference is there for sure. On the pitch, he appears to be a confident, no-nonsense person. But outside the field, he loses all his assurance and acts shy. Don't you remember he barely spoke during the first few minutes of our dinner last Tuesday?"

"Oh," Monica said, smiling a bit and cocking her head to observe Kristin. "Aside from being a little too quiet, I don't see much difference. Unless he only acts that way when he's alone with you. And you know what that means. Don't you?"

"Are you trying to tease me again?"

"Nah," Monica said, shaking her head. "I'm not kidding. If he's acting that way around you, then he might really be interested in you. Try to gain his attention the next time you see him if you want to test that theory."

"Didn't you say you'd be going with him to Bergen tomorrow?" Monica asked when her friend stayed quiet. "That will be the perfect opportunity to test out my theory."

"Can you stop with the jokes, please?"

"I'm dead serious here," Monica said, sighing. "I'm your friend. So, I'm just giving you a little bit of advice. Remember: with how fast his fame is rising, you've got to act fast. Otherwise, some other hottie will grab him quicker than you can snap your fingers. But that is—only if you have feelings for him. If not, pretend I didn't say anything."

"Let's watch the match," Kristin said, hoping to change the topic. Even though she liked Zachary, she didn't want to come off like a stereotypical fangirl by throwing herself at him. That was a big no for her.

Moreover, she wasn't entirely sure whether the favorable impression he'd left on her was due to him being a Rosenborg player. She wasn't confident she was genuinely interested in him on a personal level. So, she had no intention of following her friend's advice.

"But, tell me one thing," Monica continued, her eyes crinkling at the corners. There was mischief in her eyes when she gave her friend a sideways glance. "Was he as good as he is now back when you first saw him? I find him impressive. I would grab him for myself if I'd been you back then."

"What do you mean?" Kristin was quick to reply. She inclined her head slightly to observe her friend, her gaze probing. "Are you referring to skill with the ball?"

"What else would I be talking about?" Monica answered and chuckled. "Of course, it's about his skills as a footballer."

"Oh!" Kristin said, nodding and returning her gaze to the TV screen. "Seriously, I'm also amazed by his rate of progress. When I first saw him in DR Congo about two years ago, he was good, yes. But he wasn't this freakishly good. His improvement over the past two years has been truly incredible. I really don't know how he trains to..." She stopped mid-sentence and abruptly raised the TV volume with the remote. Since Rosenborg was on the attack once more, she forgot everything else around her—and concentrated on following the match progress.

"It's Zachary on the ball now," she heard the commentator speaking, the voice coming clearly to her from her home theater system. "He skips past Christian Grindheim, the Vålerenga captain, before feeding the ball to Borek Dockal, Rosenborg's right forward."

"Borek on the ball. He twists and turns and plays the ball back into midfield—to Jonas Svensson. Jonas quickly passes the ball to Zachary once more."

"Zachary on the ball. He wriggles past Kristofer Hæstad, Vålerenga's defensive midfielder, before passing the ball into the right-wing with a diagonal ball over the midfield. Oh! What a beautiful switch of play. Rosenborg continues to build momentum on the attack! The Troll Kids are on fire. Even the booing of the Vålerenga fans can't stop their drive to attack..."

Kristin's attention was entirely on the screen. She watched Rosenborg grow more dominant in the game and start dictating the tempo.

All the Rosenborg players had begun playing fantastic one-touch or two-touch football after the goal. They were tearing the Vålerenga formation apart with extreme technicality while moving the ball fluidly around the pitch. Their playing style was a feast for the eyes as they continued mounting more pressure on Vålerenga's goal.

Kristin enjoyed watching the new Rosenborg. She enjoyed watching the games with Zachary on the lineup. He helped the side play a lot better with his creativity on the field of play.

The minutes passed quickly. Soon it was the 44th, only moments away from the end of the first half. But Rosenborg had still failed to score a second despite continuing to launch waves of attacks at their opponent's box. Both Nicki Nielsen and Borek Dockal had even missed clear chances at goal. So, Kristin thought the match would go into half-time without any more drama, with the score still deadlocked at 1:1.

She was finding the ending of the first half a bit anticlimactic. She was about to reduce the TV volume—to return to her conversation with Monica. But then, she saw Zachary make a sliding tackle and win back possession for Rosenborg—just close to the center circle.

Her heart began beating hard with anticipation as she placed the TV remote back on the table. She remembered both Zachary and Nicki were most dangerous during the final minutes of either half. There was no way she would miss out on the final moments of the first half.

After winning back possession with a successful tackle, Zachary immediately picked himself from the ground before passing to Jonas, the other attacking midfielder, who was already running in sync with him.

Jonas controlled the ball mid-sprint in the right midfield. With a deft touch, he fed it between the legs of Morten Berre, Vålerenga's left midfielder, and circumvented him. He continued dashing towards Vålerenga's box like the wind amid rising cheers from the few Rosenborg fans present in the Ullevaal Stadion.

Giancarlo González, the Vålerenga center-back, came up next to close down Jonas. But Jonas didn't try to push past him. Instead, he flicked the ball to his right—to Zachary, who'd already matched his run, bearing down on Vålerenga's goal like a wolf chasing prey.

Zachary didn't even pause to control the ball. He immediately passed it on to Nicki, who'd already escaped his marker within the final third. Nicki received it perfectly with a deft touch and spun around to face Vålerenga's goal.

Kristin felt it was another goal-scoring opportunity created by the perfect teamplay of Zachary, Jonas, and Nicki. The three of them had worked together well to penetrate Vålerenga's defensive shape with seamless passes.

She felt a wave of excitement wash through her as she saw Nicki dash past Simon Larsen, the other Vålerenga center back. He then continued bolting towards the box, like a bullet train on the rails, with the ball staying close to his feet.

"That's surely another goal," Monica commented from beside her. She was slowly munching on potato chips as she watched the match. "The Vålerenga defenders have allowed Nicki to rush past them! He won't miss, not with the form he's on."

"Shhhh," Kristin instantly sashed her flatmate. She didn't want to miss the moment Nicki unleashed a shot at goal.

She kept her eyes fixed on the screen as Nicki ran like mad and stepped into the box. The number-9 then tried to chip the ball over the keeper, and Kristin almost jumped up to celebrate since she, too, believed Nicki couldn't miss. But the following few words of the commentator stopped her in her tracks.

"Oh, my! What a superb save by Gudmund Kongshavn," she heard the commentator say, his voice rising and becoming more animated. "What an incredible run that was from Nicki before trying to chip the ball over the goalkeeper. But—however, Gudmund managed to get his fingertips on the ball and push it away from his goal. The referee points to the flag for a corner kick."

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