THE GREATEST OF ALL TIME

Zachary called Emily after returning to his hotel room that evening. In as few words as possible, he told her about the villa he'd just seen and expressed his yearning to purchase it as soon as possible. He even mentioned how he'd promised to give an answer to the real estate agent in charge of selling the house by seven the following evening.

"I think you're so much in a hurry," Those were the first words Emily said from the other end of the line after hearing Zachary's narrative. "All deals require patience. To avoid getting scammed or cheated, we need to investigate the circumstances behind the deal before agreeing to it. You need to slow down."

"I get that," Zachary said. "But I really liked the house. I would be lying if I said I didn't wish to purchase it as soon as possible."

"I get where you're coming from," Emily said. "But I still implore you to first get in touch with another real estate agent who can show you other villas in the same price range. After taking a look at the various villas on sale in Turin, you'll be able to make a more informed decision on whether you like the first one. Additionally, you'll increase your bargaining power during negotiations after collecting more details about Turin's real estate market. There's simply no harm in waiting."

"I see," Zachary said, sighing. "Seems like I'll have to break my promise to the real estate agent. I won't be able to give him an answer tomorrow."

"That would be for the best," Emily encouraged. "There's no need to rush when buying such an expensive villa. Waiting a week or two to investigate the exact circumstances of the property is probably okay before making the final decision. If you find it hard to disappoint the real estate agent, you can give me his number, and I'll talk to him on your behalf. I'm sure I'll be able to convince him to allow you more time to consider the deal with my bargaining skills."

"Then, let's do that," Zachary said. "I'll text you the number of the real estate agent after the call. Thanks."

"You're welcome," Emily responded. "But in the meantime, don't forget to look at other villas for sale in Turin. You never know: You might find a better house in a better neighborhood."

"Don't worry," Zachary assured. "I plan on doing exactly that."

"Okay, then," Emily said. "I'll also work with my contacts in Turin to investigate the circumstances surrounding the villa you just mentioned. I'll have all information about it by the end of the week."

"Thanks," Zachary responded. "I guess we should end our conversation here. I have to go to bed early since we have training tomorrow, early in the morning."

"Okay, all the best. Keep me updated about the progress of your house-hunting."

"I will," Zachary said. "Have a good night."

"Have a goodnight, too," Emily responded and ended the call.

Zachary settled on his bed and decided to make another call. He dialed Camilla's number, and they spent minutes conversing about various topics, big and small. They only ended their call after Camilla claimed that she had to prepare for the following day's work before going to bed. She used almost the same excuse Zachary had employed to end the call with Emily a few minutes prior.

"Oh, my!" Zachary exclaimed after placing his phone on the bedside table. "I forgot to tell her about my house-hunting." He settled on his bed and considered calling Camilla again to tell her about the villa he'd just seen earlier that day. But after a few minutes of pointless contemplation, he sighed and abandoned the notion.

He figured that it was better to leave her alone since she had explicitly expressed that she had to do preparations for work and go to bed early. He would disclose the house-hunting news when he called her the following day.

"There's also her birthday coming up," Zachary thought with a smile. "I should surprise her with something nice."

Zachary had already noted Camilla's birthday in his phone's calendar. It was on Thursday, 25th September, the day after Juventus' mid-week game against AC Cesena. Since he would be free on that day, he planned on surprising her with a dinner date and some presents to celebrate her twenty-six years of life.

He'd also requested permission to travel to Trondheim and be with his girlfriend on her birthday. And since there were neither training nor any other team activities that day, the club officials had allowed him a two-day traveling window out of Turin. In his own way, he was going all out, trying to become a better boyfriend despite his busy schedule.

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Over the following two days, Zachary returned his focus to training. He was always a focused participant in the team sessions as the Juventus players trained intensively to prepare for the game against AC Cesena. And as usual, he was impressive while going through the various tactical drills under the strict supervision of his coaches.

But that was not all there was to his schedule. During his free hours in the evening, he would attend his Italian language classes and also find an hour or two to go house-hunting. He was as busy as a worker bee over those two days before the game against AC Cesena.

Fortunately, his focus and hard-working attributes generated tangible results, allowing him not to feel depressed. He progressed well in his Italian studies and had already started pronouncing a few sentences. He could already exchange greetings or ask for food in Italian. He was taking the necessary baby steps toward achieving mastery of the language.

His house-hunting, however, wasn't progressing so well. He'd looked at three more villas during those two days but failed to find any among them that suited his taste. So, he was still in love with the first villa he'd seen in Pinerolo Turin even after taking the time to look at those houses.

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Time would always pass by quickly when one was busy. In a blink of an eye, two days passed, and Wednesday arrived. It was finally the day when Juventus would face off against AC Cesena in their first battle of the 2014/15 Serie A season. As a result, all eyes were on the Juventus Stadium that evening.

In front of tens of thousands of enthusiastic supporters, the Old Lady players started the match on the front foot. They dominated possession from early on and created many goal-scoring chances by relying on their fluid passing abilities. And naturally, it wasn't long before they tore apart AC Cesena's defensive shape and scored their first goal.

Zachary, who had been as impressive as ever during the first few minutes, opened the goal fest. With machine-like precision, he converted a free-kick from just outside the right edge of the box to beat AC Cesena's keeper. The ball nestled into the top left corner, allowing him to score another stunning goal from a set piece. He had put Juventus ahead during the 13th minute of gameplay.

After the celebrations, Juventus' dominance continued, and it wasn't long before the ball made it into the back of AC Cesena's net for the second time that night. Arturo Vidal, the often defensive-minded midfielder, was the next on the score sheet. After exchanging a couple of one-twos with Zachary and Pirlo, his counterparts in midfield, he magically arrived before AC Cesena's box and pulled the trigger. He unleashed a missile of a shot from about twenty-five yards and beat the keeper to score Juventus' second goal during the 38th minute.

The second half soon arrived, and AC Cesena looked even more powerless to the attacking prowess of the hosts, who duly added another during the 57th minute. Once again, Arturo Vidal was the player who performed the magic. He found the back of the net with another heavy shot from outside the 18-yard-box to score Juventus' third goal for the night. The midfielder was on fire. He was showing exactly why the coach had selected him ahead of Claudio Marchisio for that game against AC Cesena.

With twenty-five minutes remaining, Coach Massimiliano Allegri turned to his substitute's bench, obviously with one eye on Juventus' packed schedule ahead. He introduced Simone Padoin, �lvaro Morata, and Simone Pepe in place of Zachary Bemba, Carlos Tévez, and Stephan Lichtsteiner in a single go. But despite the changes, Juventus continued to dominate proceedings as they cruised to yet another comfortable victory. An injury-time goal from �lvaro Morata allowed them to extend their lead and beat AC Cesena by four goals to nil after the final whistle. They had further cemented their position at the top of the Serie A table with another overwhelming performance.

The man of the match for the game was obviously Arturo Vidal, the midfielder who had scored a brace for Juventus. The second-best player was Zachary Bemba, who had successfully converted another free kick before providing an assist that set up Arturo Vidal for his second goal. And lastly, the third best-rated player was Andrea Pirlo, the midfielder who had made the most forward passes during the game.

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Zachary could hardly contain his happiness as he matched down the tunnel after waving to the enthusiastic home fans. He was in high spirits simply because he'd maintained his consistency and put up another solid performance for Juventus. He could sleep well that night, knowing he was making steady progress towards permanently sealing his place within Juventus' starting eleven.

"Zachary, my man," Patrice Evra called out to him as they were about to reach the dressing room. "I'm holding a dinner get-together with a few teammates at my house tomorrow night. Do you wish to come over and celebrate our win over Cesena with us?"

"Unfortunately, I can't," Zachary responded, shaking his head. "I'll be away from Turin tomorrow."

"For real?" Evra asked, stopping dead in his tracks to face Zachary. He continued after lowering his voice, "You know you can get in trouble if you travel without permission. Has the club agreed to this? Have they permitted you to travel out of Turin?"

"Yes," Zachary replied. "They have allowed me a two-day travel window. Is that surprising?"

"No," Evra responded. "If you've already gotten permission from the club, you can travel at peace. Just remember not to exceed the days of your travel window before returning to Turin."

"I'll take note of that," Zachary said with a smile. "Thanks for the advice."

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