THE GREATEST OF ALL TIME

The following Wednesday, Zachary and co faced off with a tricky St. Johnstone side at Lerkendal Stadium in the second round of the Europa League qualifiers.

The Troll Kids were in high gear since they'd just defeated Strømsgodset with a score of 3:1 over the weekend. They were at the top of their game from the very first minute. However, they couldn't make their dominance count and missed a hatful of chances during the first half. The score remained 0:0 as the players headed into the dressing room for halftime.

The game was more open after the break, with Zachary first testing St. Johnstone Football Club's keeper with a low drive in the 49th minute. However, the number-1 was alert and managed to make a fingertip save to push the ball away from its intended course.

The St. Johnstone players gradually started growing into the game. They began mounting a series of attacks on Rosenborg's goal — with ever-increasing intensity by relying on their phenomenal wing play. They came close to scoring in the 60th and 65th minutes of gameplay. But, on both occasions, Daniel Örlund, the Rosenborg keeper, was alert and managed to save the day and keep matters level at Lerkendal Stadion.

Rosenborg then took the lead abruptly in the 70th minute through a sensational counterattack. It was all started by Daniel Örlund, the keeper, quickly bowling the ball out to John Chibuike, the left-winger, after claiming a St. Johnstone cross. The Troll Kids flew forward like a pack of wolves on the hunt, leaving the opponents in the dust. Possession soon fell to Zachary, who curled home a superb effort from the edge of the box to score Rosenborg's opening goal with only twenty minutes to the ninety-minute mark.

Steven MacLean, the St. Johnstone center-forward, got a golden opportunity and came close to scoring an equalizer five minutes later. But he somehow failed to seal the deal and instead kicked the ball over the crossbar when he was one-on-one with the keeper.

Despite that, the St. Johnstone players didn't let up the pressure. They continued launching attack after attack on the Rosenborg backline for the next ten minutes. They seemed pretty intent on equalizing and getting the vital away goal in the first leg of the Europa League qualifiers. However, by committing more men forward, they left themselves open at the back. As a result, they gifted Nicki Nielsen a chance to score Rosenborg's second goal in the 86th minute of the game.

After that, the Rosenborg players continued playing defensively and managed to thwart all St. Johnstone's efforts to score. They practically resorted to the park-the-bus tactic and kept the score 2:0 until the final whistle. They were halfway to qualifying for the third round of the Europa League qualifiers.

The Troll Kids rested for two days before welcoming Vålerenga Fotball at Lerkendal on a rainy Saturday evening. For that game, Coach Johansen decided to bench some of his star players since they had to play the return leg against St. Johnstone Football Club the following Wednesday. Zachary, Nicki Nielsen, Mikael Dorsin, and Tore Reginiussen were all on the bench for that fixture. However, Rosenborg still managed to beat Vålerenga Fotball club 1:0. Alexander Söderlund, the substitute center-forward, scored the sole goal, ensuring Rosenborg maintained its 9-point lead at the top of the table.

After resting for three days, the Rosenborg players traveled to the city of Perth in Scotland. In front of ten thousand hostile Scottish spectators, they faced off against St. Johnstone in a heated second-round Europa League qualifiers.

The game was hard-fought, with the club from Perth mounting pressure on Rosenborg from the very first minute amid the passionate cheering from their fans. However, the Troll Kids still put up an incredible performance and kept St. Johnstone at bay. They played a defensive-minded game, keeping the score 0:0 until the referee blew the final whistle. That way, they eliminated the team from Scotland with an aggregate score of 2:0 to qualify for the third round of the Europa League qualifiers.

After the win, the players headed into the next fixture three days later with boundless motivation. They managed to thrash Vålerenga 3:1 in the quarter-finals of the Norwegian Football Cup. Alexander Söderlund, Mikael Dorsin, and Nicki Nielsen scored the three goals for the Troll Kids, sending them into the semi-finals of the Cupen. Zachary was phenomenal as usual and provided two assists in that game.

****    ****

The day after the Vålerenga game, Zachary woke up early as usual. Without wasting any time, he immersed himself in his post-match recovery routine for the next hour. He then washed up before taking a heavy breakfast to sate his hunger.

After that, he settled on his sofa and started training in the G.O.A.T Skills Simulator to relax. In the virtual world created by the system, he trained tirelessly, refining his set-piece and dribbling techniques by practicing them hundreds of times. He only withdrew his mind from the system simulator a few hours later when it was time for lunch.

Without any dilly-dallying, he feasted on a light lunch before getting into his R8 GT and cruizing to Lerkendal for that day's official team training. Since Rosenborg had a tight schedule that month, the coach had already encroached on the relaxation time of the players. They had only been allowed half a day of rest after playing in each official game since the start of August. However, none of them raised a complaint about the hectic schedule. They all understood that it was necessary to give their all to win trophies that season.

"Can I have your attention, guys," Coach Johansen yelled at the top of his voice as soon as all the Rosenborg players had assembled on the training ground. "Come over here. I have an announcement to make."

All the players, including Zachary, immediately put a halt to their training routines. Without wasting any time, they started jogging across the green — towards the center circle.

Zachary couldn't help but do a double-take as he approached the coach's position. Standing beside the coach were three famous players from his previous life. They were all dressed in Rosenborg training kits, observing the rest of the players making their way to the center circle.

'How did Coach Johansen manage to sign all three of them?' Zachary wondered as he joined the rest of his teammates in the center circle. He was surprised since he'd initially assumed the coach would only manage to acquire the services of one of the defenders on his list.

"Okay, guys, pipe down," Coach Johansen intoned, raising his hand in a gesture to request silence. His tone was sharp and commanding, and the players immediately quietened down.

"Good afternoon to you all," the coach began with a greeting. A soft smile outlined his face.

"Good afternoon, coach," the players replied in chorus.

"I've gathered you all to introduce three new players who have joined Rosenborg during this transfer window," the coach said after a moment. "Standing on my right are two defenders: Erik Bailly and William Troost-Ekong. On my left is the defensive midfielder: Thomas Partey. The three of them have already finished all the necessary transfer procedures. They'll start training with the main squad today. Please join me in welcoming them to the team."

All the players forming a semi-circle around the coach started clapping, more or less in unison, to welcome their three new teammates.

"Moving on," the coach said after signaling for the three new players to join the rest of the squad. "We'll be playing FK Minsk on Thursday in the third round of the Europa League qualifiers. I'm sure this will be a tough fixture since we'll be away in Belarus. But we have to give our all and make sure that we emerge as victors after the two legs."

"If we lose, our journey in this season's Europa League will come to an end. But should we win, we'll have qualified for the group stages of the Europa League. And I believe that I don't need to tell you about the benefits of participating in the Europa League for you players. Are we on the same page, guys?"

"Yes, coach."

"Good," Coach Johansen said, nodding. "Since everyone is on the same page, let's get right to business. Today, we'll start with a light dynamic session, focusing on recovering from yesterday's match fatigue as quickly as possible. We'll then work with the ball by playing some Rondos before officially starting our positioning training for our Thursday match against FK Minsk. I expect you all to remain focused throughout the session since we have less than two days left to the game."

"Any questions?" The coach asked, sweeping his gaze across all the players in the semi-circle.

Mikael Dorsin, the assistant captain, raised his hand right away.

"Yes, Mikael." Coach Johansen pointed at him.

"Thank you, coach," Mikael said with a smile. "When are we departing for Minsk? Will it be on Wednesday or Thursday morning?"

"Wednesday in the afternoon," Coach Johansen replied right away. "The flights from Trondheim to Minsk usually last more than nine hours. That's why we need to travel the day before, to give ourselves enough time to rest before the game. Anyone else with a question?"

All the players remained silent that time around.

"Since there are no more questions," Coach Johansen said, sweeping his gaze across the players, "Let's get down to business. Head back to the other end of the pitch so that you can start on your dynamic warm-up session with Coach Rolf Aas." He added, shooing away the players with a wave of his arm.

****    ****