THE GREATEST OF ALL TIME

Zachary's spirits were flying high for the rest of the day. He was ecstatic after making Coach Allegri's starting eleven for the following day's Champion's League against Malmo. His energy and motivation levels were at the best they had ever been as he went through the intensive team drills on the training ground that day.

He was more hardworking than ever and didn't stop running during the sessions to prepare for the game. He rushed at the defenders like a maniac, executed sliding tackles like a reincarnation of Sergio Ramos, and even leaped high on several occasions to win aerial duels in midfield. His intent was to show and convince the coaches that they hadn't made a wrong decision by including him in the match squad.

"Zachary! Come here for a moment." Coach Trombetta yelled from the sidelines right after Zachary executed another sliding tackle to win the ball from Sebastian Giovinco on the training ground.

Zachary's heartbeat accelerated as he turned to face the coaches watching him from the touchline. His thoughts raced at the speed of light as he wondered whether he had committed any mistake during the six-vs-six team drill. Otherwise, why would the coaches go out of their way to call him to the sidelines? He was confused and even forgot to jog to the sidelines after hearing the summon by the coaches.

"Zachary! Why are you just standing there?" Coach Trombetta yelled again. "Come here, and let's talk for a minute."

Zachary didn't dare dilly-dally any longer. He raced towards the sidelines with all the haste he could muster and stood before the coaches in a matter of seconds.

Coach Trombetta exchanged a meaningful glance with Coach Allegri before placing his hand on Zachary's shoulder. "Zachary!" He said as his tone softened. "We need you to understand that you'll play as an attacking midfielder behind the strikers in the game tomorrow night. You'll be the pivot that links up play from the midfield to our two forwards. Do you know what that means?"

Zachary nodded and said, "It means I must constantly receive passes from my fellow teammates and supply them to the strikers as quickly as possible. I must also remain creative on the field of play to spot perfect opportunities to create clear goal-scoring chances for the strikers. That's my role as an attacking midfielder on the field of play."

"Good." Coach Trombetta nodded as a smile outlined his face. "I'm glad you have a good grasp of your roles on the pitch. But I still have to bring to your attention that there's one dimension still missing from your playing style."

Zachary raised a brow as he locked gazes with the assistant coach. "What is it?" He asked.

"Efficiency," Coach Trombetta replied with a smile.

"Efficiency!" Zachary raised a brow as he couldn't comprehend the assistant coach's words. His passing was fluid, and he could easily find his teammates during crucial game moments. How could he not be efficient?

Coach Trombetta chuckled after noticing his expression. "Let me explain," he said. "You'll play as an advanced playmaker against Malmo tomorrow night. That means you will essentially serve as the offensive pivot of the team in charge of reading the opposing defense in order to deliver defense-splitting passes to the strikers. You only have to create good shooting and goal-scoring opportunities by utilizing your superior vision, control, and technical skill. Isn't that so, Zachary?"

"Yes," Zachary replied.

"Now, let me explain why we find your playing style inefficient," the assistant coach continued. "For instance, you have been all over the pitch, executing sliding tackles and winning aerial duels during today's training. But I want you to ask yourself: Do you really need to do all that work on the field?" The coach glanced at Zachary intently.

In turn, Zachary didn't know how to respond. He remained silent and waited for the assistant coach's ensuing words.

Coach Trombetta sighed and continued, "In truth, you don't need to do all the hard work of tackling and winning aerial duels if you're the attacking pivot of the team. You even don't need to run constantly off the ball. Instead, you can choose to conserve energy and remain alert by observing and analyzing everything around you. You remain patient and choose a strategic position for yourself on the pitch. Then, you wait and continue observing and assessing. And when you finally spot the right opportunity, you unleash your burst of skills onto the opponents. You create a perfect goal-scoring chance with a pass, a cross, or a well-timed dribble. That's the way of an effective attacking pivot. Do you get what I'm saying, Zachary?"

"Yes, I do," Zachary responded. "So, I should limit my running in the game tomorrow and only aim to create opportunities for the team. Is that it?"

"That's basically the gist of it," Coach Trombetta replied. "I know that you were used to playing in a weaker team, where you had to do most of the work to help your teammates win. But we don't require you to continue playing like that here at Juventus. We have world-class defensive midfielders and defenders to handle the defensive side of the game here at the club. They have all the qualities to win the ball by executing tackles or leaping high to win aerial duels. They can handle defensive tasks pretty well to ensure we don't concede goals. As for you, an attacking pivot, you don't have to involve yourself in their business unless the coach tells you otherwise. On most occasions, you only have to receive the ball from them and create opportunities at just the right moment. That's all we need from you. Understand?"

"Yes, coach," Zachary replied, nodding. "I'll follow your instructions during the game tomorrow. Thank you for your advice."

"Good," Coach Trombetta said, smiling. "If you get time, you can watch some videos of Lionel Messi or Zinedine Zidane in action. Try to analyze how they behave when they are not on the ball, and you'll be able to understand our advice better. Okay?"

"Okay, I'll do that later today, after training," Zachary responded.

"Great," Coach Trombetta said. "You can return to training now. But keep in mind what I have just said as you train with your teammates."

"Aye, coach," Zachary responded before jogging back onto the pitch to recommence his training with his teammates. He was ready to incorporate the coach's advice into his playing style, starting right then.