THE GREATEST OF ALL TIME

The next moment, Zachary's heart throbbed with excitement as he felt his boot connect with the ball before sweeping it away from the defensive midfielder's feet. Without bothering to look at the fallen opponent, he picked himself up from the ground and pounced toward the ball, intending to launch an attack immediately.

*FWEEEEEEE*

But just then, the referee blew the whistle for a foul, causing Zachary to halt his actions. His eyes narrowed as he turned around to face the approaching referee. "I got the ball first," he said, spreading out his arms. "How can you judge that as a foul?"

"You're mistaken," the Turkish referee countered. "You got the leg instead of the ball. But since this is your first offense, I'll let you off with just a verbal warning. However, if you commit any other dangerous fouls, I'll be forced to show you a card. Be careful from now on."

"Are you for real?" Zachary was exasperated. "Just look at him." He pointed at Rúben Amorim, who had already stopped acting and picked himself from the ground. "Does the player seem like someone who has just endured a dangerous foul?"

"Enough," the referee said. "Stop complaining. My decision is final. You fouled an opponent, and I have awarded the opposing team a free-kick. Step away and let the opponents take their set-piece. If not, I'll show you a yellow card right now."

"Zachary," Mikael called out after rushing to the scene. "Ignore everything and cool down, man. A single free kick won't change anything. Relax and play as usual. You'll soon get a chance to pay them back."

"Yes, a single set-piece won't change anything," Nicki Nielsen echoed, pulling him away from the referee. "Don't risk a yellow card for nothing."

Zachary nodded and took a deep breath to calm himself down. The built-up frustration brought about by his team conceding a goal early in the first half had almost caused him to lose his temper. But after his teammates reminded him about what was important, he immediately recovered his calm state of mind and continued walking away from the scene of the free kick.

But just as he was about to take up a defensive position in preparation to guard against the set-piece, Rúben approached him with a smile. "Zachary," the defensive midfielder said in a soft voice. "I just wanted to let you know that you were right complaining to the referee. You obviously got the ball first, but I dived and won the free-kick. I'm really sorry about the injustice."

Zachary raised a brow as he met the defensive midfielder's gaze. "What's your purpose in telling me this?" He also asked in English. "Do you expect your statement to annoy me? Do you expect me to punch you and incur the referee's wrath after telling me this?"

A lopsided grin outlined the midfielder's face. "As a player, I know that losing in football can be painful. You must be hurting on the inside since you guys are already one goal down. That's why I decided to apologize so that I can alleviate your pain slightly." The guy then nodded and stepped away from Zachary's position.

"Crazy idiot," Zachary mumbled as he watched the defensive midfielder scuttling away. His mood wasn't the least bit agitated by the simple mind games. He discarded the incident from his mind and returned his focus to the game.

*FWEEEEEEE*

The referee blew the whistle a few seconds later and signaled for team Benfica to take their free-kick. Enzo Pérez, one of the three Benfica midfielders, immediately took the free-kick long and unleashed a lofted pass towards the area behind Rosenborg's defensive line.

Luisão, the Benfica center-back who was also the captain, broke out from the defensive line of players. He timed his run perfectly and headed the ball onwards—towards the left side of the box to find Óscar Cardozo, the Benfica center forward.

Óscar Cardozo brought the ball to the ground with an outstretched boot. He then expertly circumvented the approaching keeper with a few touches before burying the ball into the back of the net. He'd finally managed to double Benfica's lead in the 24th minute.

Zachary felt his heart sink into the abyss of desperation as he watched the Benfica players celebrating the goal. He couldn't comprehend how the opponents were already two goals ahead even though they had played sub-par football. They lacked creativity and individual brilliance, yet they were winning. The whole progress of the match was really baffling and depressing, as far as Zachary was concerned.

"Sorry, man," the familiar voice of Rúben Amorim made its way into his ears as he was still watching the celebrating players and brooding over conceding the goal. "I know it must be painful since we've scored again. But hang in there. Even if you lose, you can still feel proud as you have already helped your team reach the semi-finals of the Europa League. That's quite a big achievement for a small team from Norway."

Zachary whirled around and gave the defensive midfielder a deep look. He met his gaze for a few seconds before shaking his head and quietly walking away—towards the center circle. His team was already two goals down. So, he had no time to waste bickering with an opponent. He had to restart the game as soon as possible and pull out all the weapons in his arsenal if he wished to fight for the slim chance of bringing the proceedings on the pitch back to level terms.

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Rúben Amorim glanced at Zachary's receding back and frowned. Before kick-off, the coach had given him the task of throwing the young playmaker off his game. So, he had been throwing out a few disguised verbal jabs, hoping to annoy the young playmaker. But all his efforts were futile as Zachary had chosen to ignore him.

"You're doing great work for the team," Luisão, the Benfica captain, said after approaching his position. A grin still outlined his face as he'd just finished celebrating the goal with the other Benfica players. "Zachary hasn't managed to threaten our goal during today's game. I'm guessing that he's off his game rhythm due to your handiwork."

"You're wrong about that," Rúben replied and started making his way towards the other end of the pitch. "I don't think I've made any progress with Zachary since he has been ignoring all my attempts to annoy him. He should still be as composed and as dangerous as ever. He merely hasn't gotten the opportunity to create any chances. So, we need to continue harassing him. Otherwise, if he picks up his usual rhythm, we'll be in danger even if we're already two goals ahead."

Luisão narrowed his eyes, seemingly in contemplation, as he matched Rúben's steps towards Benfica's half. They walked quickly, especially since the referee had already notified all the players to hurry back to their positions for the restart.

"Continue trying your best to annoy him and break his rhythm every few minutes after the restart," Luisão finally said as they crossed the center-line and stepped into Benfica's half. "I'll also tell the rest of the guys in defense and midfield to remain wary of him. I believe that we'll be able to contain him if we work together as a team."

"Hopefully, we can contain him," Rúben said as he finally took up his position within Benfica's middle third. "Otherwise, if we allow him to score a single goal, his confidence will surge, and then the task of stopping him will become harder. So, make sure that all the guys understand their roles for the rest of the game."

"Don't worry," Luisão said. "I'm sure the rest of the guys know what to do since they'd had all watched Zachary's past match videos. I believe that they won't relax even if we're already two goals ahead. But to be safe, I'll continue reminding them about the task at hand throughout the entire game."

"That would be for the best." Rúben smiled, glancing around. "Better head to your position as the referee is about to restart the game. Don't let the opponents catch you off guard in defense."

"Don't worry,"  Luisão said, grinning. "I'm heading back now. And good luck to you." The center back didn't wait for a response but just turned around and jogged towards his starting position within Benfica's defensive third.

Rúben breathed in deeply and turned his gaze to the other side of the pitch. His eyes focused on Zachary as he thought about what he would have to do to contain the young midfielder. The other party seemed to feel his stare and glanced at him, and the two of them locked eyes for a moment.

"You won't score against us. You definitely won't score." Rúben silently mouthed the words at a slow pace to ensure that the other party understood what he meant.

But in response, Zachary smiled and shook his head before turning his gaze away. The young midfielder still seemed to be immune to his verbal jabs.

Rúben wasn't discouraged, though. He understood that he couldn't rush the process of throwing a talented playmaker off his game. He only needed to continue doing things to interrupt the guy's rhythm now and then, and he would be able to limit his performance during the game. And as long as the young playmaker didn't perform, Benfica would have a very high possibility of winning the two semi-final legs with their two-goal cushion.

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