THE GREATEST OF ALL TIME

The referee blew the whistle at exactly 6:00 PM to the digit that evening. On the center spot, Nicki Nielsen, the Rosenborg number-9, didn't dilly-dally in the slightest. He immediately flicked the ball to Zachary before sprinting off towards Viking Stavanger's half like a whirlwind.

The much-anticipated second last game of that Tippeligaen season was finally underway. The Rosenborg fans started cheering and singing Rosenborg's victory chants at the top of their voices. It was as if they were sure they would win the league that very day.

Zachary felt his heart starting to race with excitement as he received Nicki Nielsen's pass in the center circle. He couldn't help but immerse himself in the passionate cheers of the home fans as he brought the ball under control.

The feeling of playing in front of the home crowd once again was truly fulfilling and pleasant beyond measure.

It had been slightly more than two months since he'd last played professional competitive football. After toiling day in and day out through recovery, he was finally back on the starting line-up — in a game that could sum up Rosenborg's entire Tippeligaen season.

The Troll Kids had a chance to win the league that very evening. Either a draw or a win against Viking Stavanger would cement their position as the 2013 Norwegian champions.

Zachary yearned to do his best and put up an incredible display to mark his return to the starting line-up. However, he also understood that he had to remain patient, especially when with the ball. He had to let himself grow slowly but steadily into the game before trying out any daring plays against the opponents.

His motto for that game was limited face-offs against the opponents to maximize efficiency while lowering the risk of reinjury to the bare minimum. That was his plan to regain his confidence and put the injury behind him without taking any unnecessary risks.

Thus, after receiving the ball from Nicki, he immediately relinquished it to Thomas Partey in the defensive midfield before running into space to await a return pass.

Thomas Partey didn't even take a few moments to bring Zachary's grounded pass under control. He flicked it to Mike Jensen, the other defensive midfielder in Rosenborg's 4-2-3-1 formation, without a moment of delay. Mike Jensen did the same and relinquished the ball to Mikael Dorsin before the opponents could close him down.

Rosenborg was already off to a commanding start.

For the first six minutes of the game, the Rosenborg players managed to dictate possession by exchanging short but precise passes within the backfield. They utilized their superiority on paper and grass to deny the Viking Stavanger players any chance of touching the ball in those few minutes.

Be that as it may, the Viking Stavanger players remained defensive and didn't use any high pressing tactics to win possession from Rosenborg. The visitors just sat back and defended in front of their final third, leaving only two players upfront to do all the pressing. They were playing a 4-4-2 defensive formation, with eight men always behind the ball at every moment of the game.

Zachary couldn't help but sigh inwardly after grasping Viking Stavanger's game plan. The Viking Coach had utilized the pure 4-4-2 defensive formation to neutralize Rosenborg's fast-flowing counterattacking football. It was a simple yet effective strategy that managed to freeze the entire attacking force of Rosenborg.

However, Zachary wasn't the least bit discouraged by Viking Stavanger's tenacity. He remained true to his game and utilized his high game intelligence, coupled with the Zinedine-Pirlo-Mental-Juju, to play simple one-touch or two-touch football.

Even as the clock approached the 30th minute of the game, he didn't push himself into making any unnecessary risky plays. He remained patient as a hunter watching his prey while exchanging passes with his teammates like a true Maestro.

His football was simple and nothing spectacular. As a result, he blended into the rest of the Rosenborg players — without any marked visible impact on the playing field. Even the opponents soon started ignoring him since his performance seemed to be just barely average.

****    ****

Olav Brusveen, the TV2 Sporten correspondent, was seated in the area designated for the press — just beside the tunnel exit, watching the match intently. He was one of the many people in Lerkendal at that moment that had wished for Zachary to put up a phenomenal display to mark his return after his recovery.

However, after watching the first forty-five minutes of the game, Olav couldn't help but sigh and shake his head with unmasked disappointment.

'The injury really did a number on him,' the reporter thought, sighing and shaking his head for the umpteenth time that evening. 'There goes my headline for tomorrow. What a pity!'

The young-number-33 hadn't managed to have any marked impact on the pitch throughout the entire first half. Aside from relinquishing and receiving passes in the middle of the field, he hadn't accomplished any other feat that was newsworthy.

Zachary was too casual on the pitch and hadn't tried a single time to gain distance with the ball, even when Rosenborg was on the attack. He was clearly not the Zachary of two months ago. He was no longer the player that could always keep the opponents on tenterhooks just by being on the playing field.

"I already mentioned this before the game," Olav heard Kjell Roar, the commentator for the day, intone. "It was simply a mistake for Coach Johansen to place a player as young and inexperienced as Zachary on Rosenborg's starting eleven immediately after his recovery."

"Just by looking at the way he's playing, you can easily tell that he lacks the confidence to take on any opposing players," the commentator continued without a pause. His mellifluous voice was loud and clear over the wild cheering in Lerkendal through the stadium's loudspeakers. "That should be a result of some psychological trauma brought about by the injury."

"Zachary has only put up a below-par performance throughout the first half, without creativity in the final third. Look at him passing the ball around—in the middle of the field. His passing lacks any intent. It lacks that phenomenal brilliance of the Zachary from two months ago. That's why I still insist that the coach should have started Zachary on the bench in today's game."

"I have to disagree with you on that point, Kjell," Harald Brattbakk, the pundit, chimed in. "Zachary's performance has been okay during the first half. He's always solid whenever he's on the ball and hasn't made any mistakes so far. And let's not mention his passing and work rate since those aspects of his game have been truly incredible from the very first minute. For me, the Zachary in this game has played as a true central midfielder. Rosenborg is dominating possession by seventy percent as we head into the halftime break because of his solid command of the midfield."

"Thus, I'm in full support of Coach Johansen's decision to play Zachary in today's game," the pundit continued. "With such a solid performance during the first half, he truly deserves to be on Rosenborg's starting line-up."

"However, I also have to admit that Zachary lacks that touch of brilliance he possessed two months ago. He lacks the boldness of taking chances and unleashing defense-splitting passes that we've come to love about him. But what do you people expect? He has just recovered from an injury, for God's sake. And off course, his form has taken a slight dip due to the injury."

"So, let's give this young man a break to recover and regain his confidence," Harald continued with a somber tone. "I'm confident that he will regain peak form very soon if he continues playing competitive football. And that's another reason why I support Coach Johansen playing Zachary in today's game. I am delighted by the coach's decision to let him go out there — onto the playing field to rediscover his football. In my book, that's the best way to help Zachary regain his form at this moment."

"I understand where you're coming from," Kjell Roar said with an audible sigh. "And I can relate to Coach Johansen's decision to play Zachary in today's match. However, let's hope that that decision won't cost Rosenborg the chance to win the league today. For now, let's take you back to the live-action where Rosenborg is still dominating possession in the added minutes of the first half. However, the score remains deadlocked at 0:0, and it seems it'll stay that way until half time."

"The good news is that Rosenborg will win the league if the score remains 0:0," Harald reminded with a chuckle.

"But that would be anticlimactic," Kjell Roar said. "Wouldn't it?"

"As long as we're champions, the rest doesn't matter. It's only the results that matter, not how you achieve the results."

"If you say so."

****    ****

Coach Johansen didn't panic in the slightest when his players ended the first half without scoring even a single goal. He'd already braced himself for a tough battle against Viking Stavanger. The 0:0 first-half draw hadn't touched his bottom line in the slightest. He was very relaxed and carefree as he headed towards the dressing room to address his players during the halftime break.

On entering the dressing room, he immediately swept his gaze slowly but steadily across all the players. He could see that they were all doing their best to recover from the first-half exhaustion by gulping down some water and munching on energy bars. From the glint in most of their eyes and the solemn atmosphere in the dressing room, Coach Johansen could tell that they were in a good state of mind. It seemed that the failure to score in the first half hadn't affected their confidence in any way. They appeared more than ready to return to the playing field — to do their best in the second half. At that moment, they possessed the mindset of champions and still believed that they could win no matter what.

"Zachary," Coach Johansen said after taking in the situation of the dressing room.

"Yes, coach," Zachary replied almost immediately, placing down his water bottle.

"In the second half, I would like you to move further upfront so that you can offer better support to Nicki when we're on the attack," Coach Johansen said with a smile. "I prefer that you become bolder in your playing style. Try creating some opportunities in the final third and testing their keeper with longshots whenever you get a chance. I'm sure that you can do it if you try. I have confidence in you. Are we together, Zachary?"

"Yes, coach," Zachary replied solemnly. "I understand."

"Good," Coach Johansen said, nodding and looking around. He truly wished for Zachary to return to the top of his game as quickly as possible. That way, he could utilize the boy prodigy in the Europa League match against Red Bull Salzburg the following Thursday.

"Okay, guys," Coach Johansen said a minute later, taking his place in front of the tactics board. "Let's use the remaining few minutes of the break to refine some of our tactics so that we can fare better in the second half. We need to win this game and become champions today. Are you guys with me?"

"Yes, coach," the players yelled, more or less in unison. "We're with you."

"That's the spirit of Rosenborg," the coach said, nodding. Without any more dilly-dallying, he started giving his halftime pep talk with the intent to bolster the players' confidence and energy levels.

As words flew out of his mouth at the pace of a machine gun, he emphasized a few crucial points of the game plan and then assigned new roles to a few players in a matter of minutes. He concluded his address with a loud Rosenborg cheer before sending the players back to the playing field for the second half.

He'd already done his best to prepare the players for the game. The rest was up to them. Whether they could win the league that day solely depended on their efforts.

****    ****