THE GREATEST OF ALL TIME

Tuesday, September 16, 2014.

Juventus Stadium, Turin, Italy.

-----

The sunset on the western horizon of Turin wasn't as captivating as usual that day. Tumultuous, dark, and ragged clouds quickly closed in and filled the sky above to blanket the brilliance of the setting sun. Before long, they assembled over the city and formed a thick, grey canopy that released a sudden shower that caught many of the folks in Turin by surprise.

The most affected by the weather were the thousands of fans queuing at the gates of the Juventus Stadium. Their clothes were soon soaking wet as they braved the rain with the intent of quickly entering the stadium to watch their football club's first Champions League match that season.

"Damn it! This rain is going to mess things up big time." John Hansen cursed out as he joined the long queue at the gates of the Juventus stadium. Accompanying him were Zachary's acquaintances, including Angelo Mattiello, Emily, Kristin, Coach Bjørn Peters, and his wife. They had all decided to watch the match together as a group after receiving the rare match tickets from Zachary.

"Honestly, I don't mind this slight drizzle," Emily remarked from her position behind John Hansen in the queue. "I wish it continues raining the entire night." For that match, the agent had gone all out to support her client by donning a Juventus number 10 jersey with Zachary's name on the back. She had even painted the Juventus flag on one side of her face to look like the most enthusiastic fan girl, heading into the stadium to watch Juventus' Champions League game against Malmo football club.

"Emily!" Kristin, Zachary's publicity secretary, chimed in after hearing Emily's remark. "Care to share why you don't mind the rain? For me, I find it quite annoying during matches." She was also in a Juventus number 10 shirt that matched her tight denim jeans to emphasize her gorgeous and lithe figure.

Emily smiled mysteriously after hearing Kristin's question. "Have you all forgotten that Zachary tends to perform well during the rain? He is always unstoppable during rainy weather."

"Ohhh, you're totally right," John Hansen agreed. "I remember Rosenborg's Europa League home game against Lyon last season. It was literally raining cats and dogs on that day, with limited visibility on the pitch. Other players struggled to find their rhythm, but Zachary was not affected and played like a force of nature during that game. He was all over the pitch, dribbling and executing tackles. He even scored twice."

"That was surely a night to remember," Coach Bjørn Peters supplied with a chuckle. "During that game, I thought Zachary could even compete with the best footballers in the world. His creativity, versatility, and work ethic were all out of this world. He did everything possible to ensure that Rosenborg won the game, and I think that was the day the fans in Trondheim gave him the nickname - the Nemesis of Lyon."

"Now, do you get my point?" Emily asked. "Rain is always good for Zachary. I have a gut feeling that he will surprise us tonight."

John Hansen nodded and returned his focus to his surroundings. His heart raced with anticipation as his eyes feasted on the enthusiastic crowd of football supporters donning Juventus' black and white colors. They seemed not to mind the drizzle as they moved forward in the messy queue of humans before gradually disappearing into the stadium gates.

At that moment, he realized that Turin's football community was overly enthusiastic and supportive of their local football club. The Italian supporters were willing to turn up in droves even when their team was facing off against a relatively small club like Malmo. They were, without a doubt, much better supporters than the Norwegians he was used to in Trondheim.

"Thank God that Zachary got us tickets," John Hansen remarked, turning his attention back to his colleagues. "Otherwise, we might not have found any tickets for sale on the market yesterday evening."

"That's true," Angelo Mattiello, Zachary's interpreter, confirmed. "I highly doubt that you guys would have found any tickets on the open market. You would have had better hope trying to freeze hell instead."

John chuckled and asked, "Do you think the players of both teams have already arrived?"

"I think they are already inside the stadium, going through their pre-match warm-ups," Angelo answered as he moved forward in the line and approached the gates. "They should have arrived like thirty minutes ago. It's almost our turn to enter, guys. Prepare your tickets."

The rest nodded and fished their tickets out of their pockets. When their group finally arrived before the busy gates a short while later, they presented them to the officials and gained the right of access to the stadium without much hustle. They soon went through the metal detectors and other rigorous security checks before finally setting foot into the famous stadium.

"The atmosphere around here is quite electrifying." John Hansen remarked as he followed his colleagues, heading further into the stands. He was already in love with the ever-vocal crowd that seemed to give life to the stadium.

"You haven't seen anything yet," Angelo said, grinning. "Wait for Juventus to reach the semi-final or the final of the Coppa Italia. You'll be surprised by the enthusiasm of Italian football fans."

Hansen smiled and continued observing everything around him while moving towards his seat in the stands. His eyes automatically took in the singing group of fans behind one of the goals before his gaze settled on the players of both teams warming up on the field. At that moment, he finally noticed the visage of Zachary, who was going through a shuttle run routine with the rest of his teammates.

The young playmaker didn't seem to mind the slight drizzle as he followed the coach's instructions to warm up his body. He was the pure definition of a focused player as he cut through the rain repeatedly on one side of the pitch.

"You said that Zachary is on the starting line-up?" He asked Emily, who was walking a step ahead of him.

"Yes, he is," Emily replied, raising her voice to make herself heard over the din in the stadium.

"Excellent!" Hansen grinned. "I can't wait to watch him perform his magic on the pitch. Hopefully, he won't disappoint us this time around."

"He won't," Emily replied confidently. "Have you forgotten that the rain hasn't stopped yet?"

Hansen chuckled and took his seat in the stands along with the rest of the members of their group. They soon blended well into the rest of the crowd as they waited for the game to commence.

-----

Zachary was almost in autopilot mode as he went through the motions of the pre-match dynamic warm-up. He completed all the routines without committing a single error before returning to the dressing room to put on his match gear.

He quickly changed into his striped white and black number 10 Juventus jersey before donning his stockings and stepping into his sleek and green Nike Mercurial Superfly boots. He tied his shoelaces and then rose up from his seat, finally ready to step onto the field of play for the game.

"Zachary!" Maurizio Trombetta, the assistant coach in charge of the first team, called out while approaching his position. "How are you feeling today?"

"I feel fine," Zachary responded.

"Are you ready to show those boys from Sweden how we do it here in Turin?"

"Yes, of course. I can't wait for the match to begin."

"I like your confidence." Coach Trombetta nodded and patted Zachary's shoulder. "Do you still recall our advice to you during training yesterday?"

Zachary nodded and said, "I'm to limit my running off the ball and only focus on creating goal-scoring chances for the team. In other words, I have to conserve my energy expenditure and utilize my burst of skills at the most opportune moment."

"Good." Coach Trombetta smiled, patting Zachary's back again. "Try your best to follow that advice during the game today, and you'll soon realize how easy football can be. Okay?"

"Okay," Zachary confirmed.

Coach Trombetta smiled and said, "I'm looking forward to your performance today. Do your best so that you won't have any regrets after stepping off the pitch."  Without saying any more needless words, he stepped away to join the rest of the coaches in the far corner of the dressing room.

Zachary remained standing in one spot as his anticipation for the match rose above and beyond the skies of Turin within seconds. He immediately reminded himself to stay calm and soon ignored all the chatter from his teammates around him. He regulated his breathing and emptied his mind to achieve a peak state of extreme focus with familiar ease.

"Ragazzi!" A shout from Coach Allegri soon broke him out of his meditative state. "Il momento è adesso..."

Zachary didn't understand the coach's last-minute address before the game. But he still followed the example of his teammates after the head coach finished vocalizing the rapid monologue of Italian words.

He exchanged high fives with his coaches before stepping out of the dressing room and heading into the tunnel leading towards the field of play. His face was a pure portrayal of focus as he quietly traversed the already-familiar hallways of the Juventus Stadium. A short while later, he stood in the line of Juventus' starting eleven, ready to head into the pitch for the game.

At that moment, he was akin to a raging volcano, ready to erupt anytime. He could hardly contain his anticipation and desire to perform as he waited for the referees to give the go-ahead for the teams to march onto the field of play. He'd already resolved to play his heart out on the field or die trying since he didn't wish to continue wasting away on the substitutes bench during Juventus' upcoming matches.