THE GREATEST OF ALL TIME

There were a few seconds of silence in the hospital room after Camilla stepped out of the room. Then Emily turned her gaze from the tightly shut door before eyeing Zachary. "Your girlfriend is a true beauty," she said.

"Yes, she is quite gorgeous," Zachary agreed with a smile. "Thanks for organizing treatment for me yesterday, by the way. My condition might have worsened if you hadn't sent Kristin to check on me."

"Don't mention it," Emily said with a smile as she settled on one of the seats by his bedside. "Taking care of my client is my duty. Otherwise, how would I be able to make money when you're sick?"

Zachary chuckled while turning slightly to make himself more comfortable on the pillow. "I have been meaning to ask: How far with the process to acquire a Schengen visa for my grandma? Have you managed to make any progress?"

"I have already started the application process," she said. "If all goes as planned, your grandma should have a Norwegian residence card within a month. The card will allow her to gain permission to enter all European countries, except the UK, of course."

Zachary smiled. "Thanks a lot," he said. "The doctors also said they would discharge her from the rehabilitation center in about a month's time. If we have already obtained the residence card by that time, we can quickly transfer her to Norway."

"Don't worry," Emily said. "I'll do my best to ensure that she gets the residence card within the fastest time possible. As for you, you should only focus on getting well at the moment. Don't strain yourself thinking about other issues during the next few days."

"I think I'm already getting better," Zachary said, shifting slightly on the bed. "I'll probably be able to leave the hospital tomorrow morning."

"That isn't a good idea," Emily said with a sigh. "You should rest for the next five to seven days and ensure that you've totally recovered before returning to your usual routine. I have already discussed this with Coach Johansen, and he totally agrees with me on this point. He's the one who even insisted that you take a week off from football. So, you don't need to worry that he will fault you for missing training over the next seven days."

"A week away from football!" Zachary raised a brow. "Isn't that too much and totally unnecessary?"

"Not according to the doctors," Emily said. "The medics are the ones who advised the coach to let you take seven days off football. They insisted that the time is needed for your body to go through a complete recovery."

"A whole seven days!" Zachary mumbled dejectedly. "That's quite a long time away from football."

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Due to the insistence of his coaches and agent, Zachary ended up spending two more days in the hospital. He even watched Rosenborg's Tippeligaen game against Odds BK on a computer within his hospital room. Fortunately, his absence seemed not to have impacted the team, and Rosenborg managed to defeat the opponents by a score of 2:0, curtsey of goals from Karl Toko Ekambi and Nicki Nielsen.

After watching the game against Odds BK, Zachary's legs and feet felt itchy. An intense hunger to play competitive football blossomed within his mind, and he put his foot down and insisted that he wished to return to training as soon as possible.

Due to his unwavering attitude, the doctors, coaches, and Emily all compromised and permitted him to leave the hospital the following day. But they also made him promise to take it easy over the next few days by following a light training regimen.

Zachary, of course, agreed and left the hospital the following morning. He was finally free again, and so he recommenced his training immediately. He could not afford to waste any time since he was a man with lofty goals.

Zachary followed the doctors' instructions over the next few days and didn't perform strenuous exercises. He kept his training simple and went through only yoga routines and light conditioning drills with the sole and primary aim of maintaining his match fitness.

The days flashed by fast as he trained alone, and the remnant adverse effects of his illness soon vanished from his body. He was as strong as a wild ox and as fit as a fiddle again. So, he started going through intensive workouts in preparation for Rosenborg's next domestic match against FK Bodø/Glimt. He even took part in the last two team training sessions conducted by his coaches on Thursday and Friday.

But even after exerting all his efforts to attain match fitness, Coach Johansen still left Zachary out of the squad heading to Bodø Municipality for the Saturday game. The coach summoned him after the training on Friday and explained that he needed to reserve all his energy for the Europa League semi-final against Benfica the following Thursday. As for the match against FK Bodø/Glimt, the coach mentioned that he didn't need to care about it as Rosenborg would be able to win with only a few first-team players.

Zachary didn't complain since he understood the coach's intentions. The only issue that made him uncomfortable was losing out on match bonuses that could amount to a few million Norwegian Kroners. But for the big picture — for the team's good, he still hardened himself and snuffed out the slight feeling of discontent that was threatening to blossom within him.

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The next evening.

"A man has got to sacrifice for the greater picture," Zachary thought as he settled down to watch Rosenborg's Saturday game against FK Bodø/Glimt with Camilla in his living room. He would be lying if he said that he didn't desire to be on the pitch with his teammates in the Aspmyra Stadion located in Bodø.

He yearned to participate in the game, to feel the intense thrill of taking on opponents with all his heart. But at the same time, he also understood that he needed to reserve his energy for the Europa League semi-final. So, he breathed out deeply to relax before putting his arm around Camilla's and starting to follow the game on the screen.

The game proceeded as expected. Even at an away ground, the Rosenborg team, comprising players like Yerry Mina, Takumi Minamino, and Thomas Partey, dominated FK Bodø/Glimt from the first minute. The Troll Kids arrayed themselves in a 4-3-3 formation and utilized a mixture of wing play, counter-pressing, and counterattacking tactics to dictate the tempo.

Eventually, the floodgates opened, and Ole Selnæs unleashed a missile of a shot from outside the 18-yard box to score Rosenborg's first goal during the 34th minute. Ten minutes later, during the 44th minute, Rosenborg found the back of the net once again after John Chibuike perfectly connected with a cross from Karl Toko Ekambi.

And finally, in the 84th minute, during the late stages of the second half, Paul Kasongo got to the end of a through-pass from Takumi Minamino to score Rosenborg's third goal for the evening. After that, there were no more goals in the game, and Rosenborg BK managed to defeat FK Bodø/Glimt by three goals to nil, even while playing away from home and without Zachary.

The win had taken Rosenborg to the top of the Tippeligaen table with four wins equating to twelve points from four matches. On the other hand, Strømsgodset, the second team on the table, had only ten points, while Molde, the third team, had only nine points from the same number of games.

It was a dream start of the season for team Rosenborg — a feat that caused Zachary's heart to go on a wild caper within his chest. He really enjoyed and prided himself in being part of a team on a winning streak. He was already swelling with the team spirit, and the sentiment prompted him to desire to give his best when he faced Benfica in Lisbon, Portugal, the following Thursday.