THE GREATEST OF ALL TIME

The following day, the Juventus team returned to Turin in a jubilant mood. All the players were brimming with excitement and positive energy after defeating Atlético Madrid. Their euphoria was infectious, and their bright smiles lit up Juventus' training center as they alighted from the bus.

"Juventus! Juventus..."

"Tevez..."

The fans waiting eagerly beyond the railings started singing to welcome their stars back to Turin. They chanted all the players' names for the next few minutes and caused the atmosphere around the gates of the Vinovo to become more electrifying. And when they finally got to vocalizing Zachary's name, they became even louder. They were like a bunch of madmen as they yelled phrases like "Zachary, the hattrick hero," "Zachary, the nemesis of Madrid," "Zachary, the phenomenon of the Champions League," and so on, and so forth. Anyone watching from the side could clearly tell that they really adored Zachary.

"The fans are really starting to fall in love with you," Patrice Evra said to Zachary as they started making their way into the training center. "If you continue scoring goals, you might become as famous as Messi and Ronaldo in no time."

Zachary chuckled and shook his head. "That's not easy," he said. "Moreover, I don't really care about fame. I only care about winning as many trophies as possible."

Patrice gave Zachary a sideways glance and whistled. "Someone is being really humble today afternoon. He doesn't want fame — but wants to win many trophies. He's really modest and unpretentious."

"Don't misinterpret my words," Zachary said with a smile. "I was only saying that I don't play football for fame. I only play football because I love it. Fame is just a bonus for me."

"No worries. I get you." Patrice smiled and patted Zachary's back. "Football aside, how are you planning to spend your day off? Do you want to come to my place to hang out?"

"Nope," Zachary said. "I will be holding a series of meeting with one of my lawyers to complete the procedures to purchase a house today. On top of that, I have to train and attend language classes. So, I have no time to hang out over the next three days."

On hearing that, Patrice seemed stunned. He stopped in his tracks and turned to face Zachary. "Bro!" He said. "You're buying a house? Where?"

Zachary smiled and told him about the house in Pinerolo, Piedmont. He described the 14-bedroom villa in vivid detail and then disclosed the money he'd spent to purchase it.

"Cong's, man," Patrice said with a smile after hearing Zachary's description. "You seem to have gotten yourself a good deal. 1.8 million is really not that expensive, especially for the house you just described."

Zachary blanked out on hearing Patrice describe 1.8 million Euros as not expensive. The corners of his mouth twitched ever so slightly, and he couldn't help but recall details from his previous life.

Before his rebirth, he'd once played for TP Mazembe, one of the biggest clubs on the African continent. At one point, he was a key member of their squad and was earning what he thought was good money at the time. But even then, he could never afford to buy a house valued at a million Euros. The hell: He couldn't even afford to purchase one at 50,000 Euros even after saving a year's income. So, when he heard Patrice commenting on how 1.8 million was really not expensive, feelings of melancholy threatened to overwhelm him.

But aside from that, Zachary also felt proud of his achievements. He took defiant joy in the fact that he had escaped a life of struggle and joined the ranks of the privileged in the world. He could even afford to splash 1.8 million Euros on buying a house without batting an eye.

"Does this mean you'll soon leave that crappy hotel room of yours?" Patrice asked, clearly unaware of what was on Zachary's mind. "When do you plan to move into the house?"

"I'm not sure," Zachary replied, shaking his head. "After completing the transfer procedures for the property, I'll have to hire an interior designer to work on the house. I can only move in after the interior designer finishes work on the house."

"Okay," Patrice said. "But you should know that interior designers work fast. A good one should complete the work on your house within four or five days. Do you wish for me to recommend you one? She handled the interior design of my mansion right after I moved to Turin."

"Oh!" Zachary's curiosity was piqued. "How much would I need to spend to hire her?"

Patrice smiled. "Most interior designers charge for their time by the hour, anywhere from 50 Euros to 500 Euros, depending on their experience. A good interior designer such as her will, of course, charge higher fees. She might charge you roughly 100,000 Euros, plus a few other expenses, to work on your 14-bedroom villa."

"That's expensive," Zachary exclaimed. "I can basically buy a good new house with that 100,000 Euros."

"You have to spend to get the good stuff," Patrice said with a shrug. "There's no way around it."

"Okay, then," Zachary said, nodding. "Give me her number. I'll contact her and see if we can come to an agreement."

"Good choice, my man," Patrice said. "You won't be disappointed."

Zachary smiled in response. He planned to call the interior designer after returning home that very day. He was hoping to have her start interior design work on his soon-to-be mansion immediately so he could move into it at the beginning of the following week.

-----

The following three days went according to plan for Zachary.

On the first day after playing against Atlético Madrid, he met Mateo Tavano, the solicitor, and completed the required legal procedures to purchase the 14-bedroom villa in Pinerolo, Piedmont.

On the second day, just before going for the team training at Juventus' training center, he wired the 1.8 million Euro house purchase fees to the seller's account, thus becoming the legally recognized sole owner of the villa in Pinerolo, Piedmont. He was ecstatic after completing the deal and immediately hired the interior designer recommended by Patrice Evra to work on the house.

As expected, the interior designer was a greedy vulture. She asked for a fee of 115,000 Euros to decorate and furnish the entire place. But even then, Zachary still chose to go with her after she promised to finish all the interior design work on the house within five days. He could afford to spend the money as he wanted to vacate the hotel room and move into the house as soon as possible. He was eager to have a place of his own.

On the third day, after paying an advance fee to the interior designer, Zachary returned his total focus to the team training. He forgot everything else and immersed himself in the team's preparations for the following day's Serie A game against the tricky AS Roma side. He was as hardworking as ever while going through the team drills, as he wanted to make the starting line-up for the team once again. And not even the intense precipitation on that Saturday could affect his motivation.

-----

The time passed quickly as the Juventus players went through drills to prepare for the game against AS Roma, and soon evening arrived. Everything went as planned, and Coach Allegri, who had been keenly supervising the training since morning, immediately called the players into the tactics room for the pre-match tactical meeting.

After the players took their seats, the coach wasted no time before starting to explain the tactics. Illuminated by the soft rays of the setting sun streaming in through the open window, his face was stern as he presented the game plan to be used against AS Roma. And as usual, he spent roughly an hour describing formations, player off-ball movements, and marking strategies before reading the starting line-up.

"Gianluigi Buffon, Giorgio Chiellini, Leonardo Bonucci, Martín Cáceres, Claudio Marchisio, Andrea Pirlo..."

The coach vocalized the names of the starting eleven almost in a single breath. But what surprised many in the room was that he'd decided not to include Zachary in the first eleven for the game against AS Roma. Zachary was instead on the bench with the likes of second-string players such as Marco Storari, Angelo Ogbonna, Rômulo, Kingsley Coman, and Sebastian Giovinco.

"As you all know, our game against AS Roma is a late kick-off scheduled to be played tomorrow at 9:00 PM in the Olimpico di Roma," Coach Allegri said after reading the line-up. "But even if it's a late kick-off, we still have to set off for Rome early in the morning. That way, we'll have ample time to rest after arriving."

"So, here is our schedule for tomorrow," the coach continued. "We  should all be here at the Vinovo by 9:30 AM. Then, we'll take a bus to the airport before boarding an 11 o'clock flight to Rome. After arriving in Rome, we'll have lunch and rest for two or three hours. Then, we'll go through a mild exercising routine to refresh our bodies before heading to the Olimpico di Roma to defeat AS Roma. That's our plan for tomorrow. Any questions?"

The coach glanced around. However, all the players remained silent and didn't raise their hands. They clearly had no questions for their coach.

"I'm glad we're on the same page," the coach said. "Let's call it a day and head back to our homes. But remember, AS Roma is a tricky opponent. So, I want you all to have ample rest tonight so you can be at the top of your game tomorrow evening. I don't want to see players dozing off early in the morning before we set off for Rome tomorrow. Clear?"

"Clear, coach," the players replied in unison while trying to suppress their chuckles. They'd obviously recalled the amusing incident when the coach caught Zachary napping.

-----