THE GREATEST OF ALL TIME

The illumination from the Olimpico di Roma's bright floodlights lit up the faces of Zachary and Fernando Llorente, highlighting their intense facial expressions as they warmed up on the sidelines. The two Juventus players were quite focused as they prepared to enter the game. Not even the loud jeers of the hostile AS Roma fans could disturb their concentration as they went through the light warm-up routine.

"Zachary! Fernando!" Coach Trombetta, the assistant coach in charge of Juventus' first team, yelled out after the two men completed another repetition of the warm-up routine. "That's enough warm-up. Finish putting on all your gear and come here for your instructions."

"Aye, coach," Zachary and Fernando Llorente responded in unison.

After hearing the summon of the coach, Llorente readily completed his warm-up and returned to the bench to finish his preparations. Zachary, however, didn't immediately answer the assistant coach's summons. Instead, he followed his own pace and completed a couple of more stretches to ensure his body was in great shape. Then, after confirming his condition, he hurriedly returned to the bench and changed into his match jersey before rushing toward Coach Trombetta for his match instructions. His eyes shone with immense hunger to enter the game as he stepped before the assistant coach.

Unsurprisingly, Zachary wasn't alone in his eagerness to enter the game and perform. Fernando Llorente, the striker who'd finished his pre-game preparations, also exuded an intense fighting spirit as he strode toward Coach Trombetta to receive his match instructions.

With one glance, Zachary could tell that the striker was starving for game time. Most probably, his last-minute drop from Juventus' squad that faced off against Atlético Madrid during the midweek had awakened an intense desire to fight for a number in the starting eleven. He looked eager to perform, thus giving Zachary a feeling that his fate might change for the better.

If the striker maintained his fighting spirit, he might soon evolve into a much more clinical version of the Fernando Llorente that Zachary knew from his previous life. He might mature to become a lethal box assassin, capable of competing with phenomenal strikers like Lewangoalski and Luis Suárez.

"Zachary! Fernando!" Coach Trombetta said, interrupting Zachary's musings. "How do you feel? Are you ready to enter the game?"

"Yes, of course," Zachary and Llorente responded in chorus, their voices filled with unwavering conviction.

"Good." Coach Trombetta nodded, leaning closer. "Listen, the both of you! We're in trouble as AS Roma has started overpowering us in midfield. They are dominating possession and creating more chances on goal. We can't let this go on, especially if we wish to win the game. So, this is where you two come in."

"Zachary!" the assistant coach continued after taking a deep breath. "You'll enter the game in place of Roberto Pereyra. After you step onto the pitch, try to be more active. Play intelligent football, filled with conviction and purpose, and help us dictate the tempo again. You must have already noticed that Miralem Pjanic and Seydou Keita, the two AS Roma midfielders, are moving forward a lot. Try to exploit the spaces they leave behind and run at the opposing defenders. If there's a chance, try to shoot from outside the eighteen to test the keeper. But if the situation is not right, you can link play with our strikers to advance play and create goal-scoring opportunities. Clear?"

"Yes, coach," Zachary replied. "I understand."

"Good," Coach Trombetta said and immediately turned to Llorente. Patting the Spanish striker's back, he continued, "Fernando! You'll enter the game in place of �lvaro Morata. You're our second striker, and your only role on the pitch will be to score. So, position yourself well and remain alert on the striking line. Always be ready to convert opportunities that come your way. Understood?"

"Yes, coach," Llorente replied, balling his fist.

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On the pitch, AS Roma was still dictating the tempo by relying on their brilliant zonal and man-marking strategies. They were totally outplaying Juventus with their intensity and hunger to win. They even resorted to brutal tackling when proceedings on the field didn't go their way.

The AS Roma players that performed the best were Miralem Pjanic, Daniele De Rossi, and Seydou Keita, the three central midfielders. If a Juventus player happened to receive the ball in the middle, the three AS Roma midfielders would turn into predators, hunting down the player in question to win back possession almost immediately. As a result, sliding tackles, fifty-fifty challenges, and ruthless fouls reigned supreme on the football field as the men in maroon colors showed Juventus that football was a physical game. They were obviously not about to entertain any sort of nonsense from Juventus.

*FWEEEEEEE*

The referee blew the whistle after Seydou Keita slid forward and brought down Andrea Pirlo close to the center circle. But that time, the referee didn't let off the AS Roma man but instead showed him a yellow card for repeatedly pushing the envelope and committing borderline challenges.

"I got the ball first," Seydou Keita obviously tried to protest the caution. "That can't be a yellow card."

In response, the referee just smiled and shook his head. And without bothering to argue with the AS Roma midfielder, he pointed toward the sidelines to signal a Juventus substitution.

It was obviously time for Zachary and Fernando Llorente to enter the game. As a result, the fourth official readily put up the board to confirm the substitutions. Without dilly-dallying, the two substitutes ran onto the pitch while Morata and Roberto Pereyra exited the game and took their seats on the sidelines. And in a matter of seconds, the game was ready to restart with Juventus' freekick.

-----

"De Rossi!" Rudi Garcia, the AS Roma coach, yelled in Italian right after the substitutes stepped onto the pitch. "You're in charge of marking Zachary Bemba. Don't allow him to do as he pleases in midfield. Okay?"

"Okay," De Rossi replied with a thumbs-up. The AS Roma midfielder immediately left his holding midfield position close to the border of the defensive third and then started shadowing Zachary.

De Rossi was, of course, happy with his coach's arrangement. His fighting spirit was overflowing as he yearned to compete with Zachary and teach him that the Italian Serie A was no joke. He wanted to show the budding playmaker the way of Italian football.

-----

*FWEEEEEEE*

The referee blew the whistle, and the game continued. Andrea Pirlo, Juventus' deep-lying playmaker, immediately took the freekick short to find Claudio Marchisio, his counterpart in midfield. The latter controlled the ball while surveying the situation around him to look for options that could be the outlet for the ball.

"Whoosh!"

Zachary immediately took off like a rocket right after Claudio Marchisio took a second touch on the ball. In almost an instant, Zachary exploded with speed, thus leaving De Rossi, his marker, in the dust. And before any other AS Roma players could react, he was already bolting into an unmarked pocket of space toward the left side of the pitch.

All midfielders playing on the professional stage had four underlying attributes. They possessed excellent foot-eye coordination, superior peripheral awareness, impeccable vision-balance integration, and superb dynamic visual acuity. They could track the movements of other players and the ball while they (themselves) were in motion or under pressure. And, of course, Claudio Marchisio, a brilliant and renowned midfielder all over the world, possessed all those qualities. He spotted Zachary's run almost instantaneously and passed the ball to him.

"Sweet!"

Zachary's mood brightened as he noticed the ball making its way to him. He slowed down slightly and controlled it with an outstretched leg before whirling around to face the other side of the pitch. He was ready to take off toward the other side of the pitch to initiate an attack. But he had to halt his actions the next moment as he noticed that De Rossi was already strategically positioned to block his potential run toward AS Roma's box.