THE GREATEST OF ALL TIME

Zachary returned to his apartment in Stjørdalsveien after leaving Camilla's place. He wasn't in the best of moods as he changed into a fresh set of training clothes and settled into his morning yoga routine.

He couldn't seem to focus as thoughts of his conversation with Camilla continued revolving within his mind. He even mistimed the execution of his yoga poses a couple of times due to his recurring episodes of absentmindedness.

While driving back from Camilla's place, he had done some introspection and realized that he'd handled the whole conversation with her in an amateurish way. He did not ask her about her work with Audi or if she liked the prospect of living in Italy. He just went ahead and dived in to invite her to move to Turin with him. Moreover, that was after not informing her beforehand about his decision to join Juventus. What the hell was up with that?

Zachary felt—like banging his head on the nearby table as he carefully thought things through. Was she supposed to drop everything and follow after him, the certain someone who was only offering her an uncertain future? Who was he to her? She was not even his official wife. How sure could she be that he wouldn't leave her for some bimbo after a few months? Zachary slowly came to see her side of things as he calmed down. He sighed and continued going through his yoga practice, albeit with more intensity.

"Bzzt Bzzzt! Bzzt Bzzzt!"

Suddenly, his phone started vibrating from a nearby table. He paused his yoga practice and stepped forward to pick it up. On glancing at the screen, his heart started racing with anticipation. He accepted the call and placed the phone against his ear.

"Hello, Zachary," Emily's bubbly voice sounded from the other end of the line the next instant. "Good morning?"

"Good morning to you too," Zachary answered, his mood immediately improving. "As always, it's a pleasure to hear from you. What's new? Could it be that the contract is ready for signing?"

Emily chuckled. "You guessed right. Together with the attorneys representing Juventus, we worked almost round the clock since yesterday morning. We polished the contract and produced a final draft just today. It's ready for signing."

A smile outlined Zachary's face as he sat cross-legged on the yoga mat. He switched the phone to his other ear and said, "Thanks for the hard work."

"You're welcome," Emily replied.

"When am I needed to sign the contract?"

"Tomorrow," Emily intoned. "Have you forgotten that it will be a Monday? It's the day we agreed that you would travel to Turin for the official signing ceremony."

"Of course, I remember," Zachary said. "I was merely confirming."

"There's an issue you should know before tomorrow," Emily said, her tone suddenly turning solemn.

"Speak away. I'm all ears."

"Yesterday," Emily said, "I spoke with Mr. Fabio Paratici about your wish to officially report for duty at Juventus at the end of August. First, I explained to him that you wanted to use the month before the start of the Serie A to shift and settle down in Turin. Then, I elaborated on how you needed time to train individually to regain your fitness, especially after spending two months out of action. I was quite persuasive as I wanted Juventus to exempt you from playing the pre-season friendlies. Guess what his response was."

Zachary's heart skipped a beat. "Did he refuse?"

"Exactly," Emily confirmed. "Fabio is a tough man. He totally refused to hear me out. First, the man quoted how Juventus would start paying you a weekly wage of roughly 160,000 Euros per week after you signed the contract. Then, he went on and on about how it would be unfair to the club if you couldn't report for duty as soon as possible. His words: you would be pocketing money without doing any work, which was unacceptable at a top European Club like Juventus."

"Mr. Fabio also hinted about the attitude of the new coach - Massimiliano Allegri," Emily continued. "Coach Allegri wants all his players, including those that participated in the World Cup, to feature in Juventus' pre-season program. He wants to use the pre-season friendlies to foster chemistry within the team before the commencement of the Serie A season. So, as you can see, he won't tolerate any player missing the pre-season tour. That is unless a player is injured or has another significant reason that prevents him from playing in an intensive official match."

Zachary's mood sank on hearing all that. He had just consumed the S-grade vitality-enhancing elixir and needed about a month to train intensively and escape its side effects. So, if he participated in the pre-season tour, he might perform below par and disappoint his new club and bosses.

"So, when does Juventus want me to report for duty in Turin?" He asked after taking in a deep breath.

"The sporting director said the maximum they can allow is ten days for you to shift and settle down in Turin," Emily replied. "That means you don't have to feature in Juventus' first two friendlies against A.C.D. Lucento and Cesena. But come 1st August, you'll have to head out with the rest of the Juventus team for the pre-season tour of Asia and Australia. That's a must for all Juventus players that aren't on injury spells."

"And, of course, we can't claim that you are injured so that you can miss the pre-season tour," Emily warned. "That's because the club will conduct a thorough medical examination before the signing ceremony tomorrow. The physicians will be able to ascertain the condition of your body with almost a hundred percent accuracy. You can't get away with the excuse of being injured."

"I see," Zachary said, expelling another lungful of air. "In that case, I'll go along with what they want and join their pre-season tour of Asia and Australia. I don't want my absence to put me at loggerheads with my soon-to-be bosses."

"Excellent choice, Zachary," Emily yelled from the other end of the line. "Before making the call, I was fretting over the fact that you might continue insisting on missing the pre-season tour. But now, it seems that I was worried for nothing."

"Of course, I wouldn't go against the directives of my new coach," Zachary said matter-of-factly. "That would be a gateway to hell, especially at a new club. I have a feeling that the coach would even choose to bench me for weeks or months if I insisted on missing the pre-season tour."

Although Zachary said that, he had already thought things through. He had realized that Juventus' pre-season tour would consist of matches against very low-tier teams in Asia and Australia. As a Juventus player, he would only face off against footballers less skilled than even those playing for the teams at the bottom of the Norwegian League. Thus, Zachary didn't need to fear the pre-season matches. That was because he could still put up modest displays against such players, even with his recently-declined technique attributes.

"I'm glad that you understand the importance of making a good first impression," Emily said after a moment. "If you maintain that attitude, you won't face any major problems while trying to fit into the Juventus team."

"Hopefully," Zachary intoned. "So, at what time should I arrive in Turin tomorrow?"

"As early as possible," Emily replied immediately. "It's best that you set off from Trondheim before five in the morning. That will allow you to arrive in Turin before 11:00 AM. I can even wait for you at the airport if you plan on following that exact schedule."

"You speak as if you're already in Turin," Zachary remarked. "Could that be the case?"

"Of course, I'm already in Turin," Emily answered. "I arrived here yesterday morning. That aside, can you manage to set off from Trondheim before 5:00 AM tomorrow?"

"Fine," Zachary confirmed. "I will wake up early and set off before five in the morning."

"That's perfect, then," Emily said. "I'll book a 4:30 AM flight for you. You only need to prepare and, at the latest, be at the airport by 4:00 AM."

"Don't worry," Zachary assured. "I'll be there on time."

"One more thing," Emily hurriedly said. "I'm going to e-mail you a copy of the final draft of the contract. Please read through it and note down all the terms that might be confusing or not to your liking. We can go through them tomorrow before we head to the Juventus grounds for the medical and the signing ceremony."

"Understood," Zachary replied. "I'll read through it before the end of today."

"Excellent," Emily cheered from the other end of the line. "I have to go now. Goodbye. See you in Turin tomorrow."

"See you in Turin tomorrow," Zachary replied and ended the call.

He placed the phone on the table and glanced at the wall absentmindedly. Then, his expression flickered a couple of times before blossoming into a smile.

He was both anxious and excited. Although he was yet to regain his peak fitness, he was still eagerly looking forward to commencing his life at his new club.

He hungered for the thrill of competing against other phenomenal talents playing for top teams partaking in the Serie A and the Champions League. He yearned to impress and leave his mark on the world football scene. And from the bottom of his heart, he desired to make his grandma in heaven proud of his future performances so that she would sing happily together with the angels whenever she saw him play.

Of course, he was a bit nervous since he had to learn a new language and compete against world-class teammates before settling down and cementing his place at Juventus. But that couldn't dampen his mood.

With his recently improved fitness, he was sure that he would shine as long as he dealt with the side effects of the vitality-enhancing elixir in a proper manner. He just had to bide his time and train intensively while getting through the tricky period of the pre-season. Then, his time would come when he regained his peak fitness. His time would come just when the Serie A was about to commence at the end of August. That was the source of his confidence.