THE GREATEST OF ALL TIME

"Where are you taking the bag?" Nicki quickly stopped Zachary's actions as soon as the coach had stepped out of the room. "Dinner will continue as soon as you finish talking to the coach. Don't tell me that you're going to trek home at this time. Are you?" He probed, raising a brow.

"I was thinking of calling a taxi cab," Zachary replied. "My one hour that I should be spending on the dinner is almost done. So, I'm thinking of leaving soon."

"You can't leave," three or four voices of his teammates echoed together when they heard his declaration.

"Have you forgotten you didn't get the chance to be properly initiated in the Troll Kid family?" Mikael whispered after moving closer to him. "Tonight is the night. You can't miss it. It'll be fun."

"Oh, okay," Zachary finally agreed, giving in to the peer pressure. He couldn't just brush away all the invites from his teammates. That might sour their impression of him to some extent. So, he decided to brace himself, attend their initiation, whatever that may be, for about an hour, before heading back home—to his apartment.

"Great," Nicki said, patting his shoulder. "First go and hear out the coach. We shall be waiting for you here."

"Okay," Zachary said, placing his bag down—beside his seat. "I'll be back in a moment," he added. He then stepped away from his teammates and walked towards the balcony.

"You took your time," Coach Johansen commented as soon as he arrived. "Are you having fun?"

"Yes," Zachary replied, sighing. "I got held up by the others for a few moments."

"Oh," Coach Johansen said, inclining his head to observe Zachary. "Is anything wrong? Do you need some help?"

"No," Zachary said, shaking his head. "What did you want to talk about?"

Coach Johansen took a step closer towards the rails of the balcony and started observing the streets below. Zachary followed his gaze and noticed that they were nearly empty, with very sparse traffic, since it was already eleven in the night.

"You're heading back to your home country, DR Congo?" Coach Johansen broke the silence after a while.

"Yes," Zachary replied, his gaze still on the streets below.

"When?"

"Most likely, the day after tomorrow."

Coach Johansen turned to his side to observe him once again. "I was looking at the FIFA international timetable this week and noticed that your country is scheduled to play some World Cup qualification matches this month. Do you plan to participate? That's if you get called for international duty, which I'm sure you will."

"If I get called, I'll play, of course," Zachary replied. "But I highly doubt the coaches have already noticed me since the Tippeligaen is not that popular in Africa."

"They must have," Coach Johansen said, smiling a bit. "Otherwise, they are very incompetent at their jobs. Would you like to hear some advice from me before you go and join the international matches?"

"Sure, go ahead," Zachary replied, nodding. Of course, he wouldn't refuse to listen to his coach's advice.

"You know that you have just experienced that growth spurt of yours," Coach Johansen began. "You may think that you've already acclimatized to your new physique because you have played well for over a month at the professional level. But thinking like that would be a mistake on your part."

Coach Johansen started caressing his red beard as he continued. "You must understand that the more competitive matches you play over a short period, the more your muscles wear and tear. This damage to muscles or even bones will accumulate if they don't rest over long periods. And that will lead to certain parts of your body, especially your joints, getting weaker over time. That's what leads to chronic injuries that end careers."

"I guess you must have heard stories of the great player Marco van Basten ending his career at only twenty-eight—because of recurring injuries.  If he had taken some time to rest when he was still at the height of his career, maybe he could have avoided it. Are we together, Zachary?"

"Yes, coach," Zachary replied, smiling wryly. Of course, he already knew where the coach was going with his advice.

"So, Zachary," the coach continued, patting his shoulder. "You're only eighteen years old. You're at a stage where you're likely to experience the most growth throughout the entire duration of your career. So, my belief is that you should take this time to train your skills properly and elevate them as much as possible through personalized training. You can first relax on the international duty until you're twenty, or better, twenty-two. By then, you should have already turned into a machine that can handle both international and club duties in a single season. That is if we're going by your current rate of growth. Are we together, Zachary?"

"Yes, coach," Zachary replied. "But what do I say when my country's coach comes knocking on my door?"

"The answer is simple, Zachary," Coach Johansen said, half-smiling. "You've just experienced a growth spurt, and you're at a very high risk of easily getting injured. The club physician has recommended that you keep taking rests of one to two weeks after partaking in highly intensive matches continuously for about a month. You won't be able to participate in the qualifiers. That's the truth and also a good reason to keep you away from international duty for some time."

Zachary could only smile wryly once again on hearing that. He wasn't so patriotic to the point that he wanted to play for his country at all costs. Patriotism was almost extinct in countries like DR Congo. It was just that he enjoyed playing football so much and wanted to play as many competitive games as possible. The very thought of pitting his skills against new opponents made his blood boil and excited him. In the deepest confines of his mind, he had been hoping to play some matches when he returned home.

"You seem down after hearing my advice," Coach Johansen probed after noticing Zachary's reaction. "Do you really wish to partake in qualifiers? Remember: when you return to Trondheim after the break, there'll be the Tippeligaen, the Norwegian Cup, and then the Europa League qualifiers. Think about this carefully. Do you believe that you can play all these matches without breaking down?"

"Well, I guess I can," Zachary replied in sotto voce. "But, maybe, my efficiency on the field of play would go down."

"Then, let me tell you this," Coach Johansen chimed in, fast. "If you played all those matches, you'll most likely break down before the end of the season. And we don't want that. I don't want that. So, please, consider my advice. Okay?"

"Yes, coach," Zachary replied, nodding. "I'll try to consider it."

"Then, good," the coach said, grinning. "You can go back to the rest of your teammates. If you can, try and relax with them for today. It's a good way to wind down after a hectic month. But remember, no alcohol. It would be best if you avoided it."

"Yes, coach."

"Okay, off you go," he said, shooing him away with a hand gesture. "I wish you a safe journey back home."

"Thanks, coach," Zachary said, smiling.