THE GREATEST OF ALL TIME



More minutes passed, and soon, it was the long-awaited halftime. The players of both teams headed to the tunnel for the fifteen-minute break.

Zachary, Tevez, and Pirlo were obviously among the Juventus players who returned to the dressing room. They had to receive the coach's instructions before entering the pitch as substitutes at the beginning of the second half.

"Listen, guys," Coach Allegri immediately said after all the players had settled on the chairs around the dressing room. "During the first fourteen minutes, we played good football against Parma. But I don't know what happened after that. We all became disorganized on the pitch and started committing mistakes. Our midfielders even forgot my pre-game instructions and made a mess of the midfield. The result was Parma catching us off guard and scoring the first goal."

Coach Allegri paused for a few seconds before continuing, "I don't want to go too much into our performance for the first half. Those who performed poorly and those who played well clearly know themselves. What I will do now is plan for our second half."

"This is a game that we must win. We all know that only by putting this league to bed and winning the Serie A trophy today can we create more time for ourselves to focus on the Champions League. On that note, our goals are clear, and I expect all the field players to give their all during the second half."

"I want to see each one of you playing brilliant football. I want to see all of you exhibiting world-class decision-making while on the field of play. And more than anything, I want to see you breaking apart the opponents' formation and creating chances to score goals."

"I'll make a few substitutions for the second half," Coach Allegri continued. "Zachary will replace Roberto Pereyra and become our attacking midfielder, Andrea Pirlo will replace Arturo Vidal in central midfield, and Carlos Tevez will enter the fray as a substitute for Stefano Sturaro."

"Kingsley Coman! Where are you?" The coach asked, looking around.

"Here," Kingsley immediately replied and raised his arm.

Coach Allegri nodded at him. "During the second half, you'll surrender the striking position to Carlos Tevez. Instead, you'll fall back and play as our new left midfielder. In that position, you'll collaborate with Andrea, Marchisio, and Zachary to build up play from the middle and left-wing areas before creating chances for our two strikers. Understood?"

"Yes, coach," Kingsley replied with a spirited voice.

Coach Allegri nodded again and turned to Zachary. "Zachary!" He said. "Your role during the second half will only be to find gaps in their defensive shape before capitalizing on them. I want to see you sending as many through-balls as possible to Fernando Llorente and Carlos Tevez. Aside from that, I also want you to try your luck from outside the box so that we can slowly add more pressure on Parma's defense. All in all, play as usual and ensure that we score. But please remember to protect yourself from injuries while on the pitch. Okay?"

"Yes, coach," Zachary replied.

"Very good." The coach smiled and swept his gaze across the rest of the players. "The same goes for each and every other player. Play brilliant none-contact football and release the ball as fast as possible to avoid injuries. Avoid taking unnecessary risks like dribbling past several opponents. If we do that, we'll also be able to avoid committing unnecessary mistakes like loss of possession during critical moments. Understood?"

"Yes, coach!" The players replied in unison.

Coach Allegri nodded and said, "May luck shine upon us. Let's go out there and destroy those stubborn opponents. Let's beat Parma and become Serie A Champions tonight. Are we together?"

"Yes, coach," the players' voices were more spirited as they replied.

The coach smiled and said a few concluding remarks concerning the formation and game plan. By the time he finished, fifteen minutes had almost elapsed, and he sent his players back to the pitch for the second half.

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The fourth official raised the substitution board immediately after halftime. On cue, Zachary, Andrea Pirlo, and Carlos Tevez entered the pitch, one after another, amid thunderous applause from the traveling Juventus fans. After the substitutes took their positions, the referee blew the whistle, and the second half of the Serie A battle between Parma and Juventus commenced.

Most substitutes would usually make the mistake of trying to jump right into the heat of things after entering the game. They would attempt to immediately make an impact by going for the spectacular or taking unnecessary risks to prove their worth to the coaches as soon as possible.

However, Zachary knew better than to commit such a silly mistake. As a substitute midfielder, his first 'course of action' after stepping onto the pitch was not to attempt spectacular dribbles or unleash long-range rockets of shots toward the opponent's goal. Instead, it was to make his presence in midfield known to his teammates by exchanging as many accurate passes as possible.

The more accurate passes he exchanged with his teammates, the more the other Juventus players would subconsciously trust his abilities to change the game. And the more trust he gained, the more his teammates would try to look for him whenever they were on the ball.

Zachary did just that after stepping onto the pitch. He spent the first ten minutes of the second half exchanging quick but accurate passes with the teammates around him. His SS-graded passing techniques allowed him to receive the ball well with a single touch before distributing it quickly with his second touch.

More minutes passed, and Zachary became a midfield pivot within the Juventus line-up. His swift and accurate passing gradually evoked feelings of confidence and a sense of urgency in all his teammates. They soon became comfortable on the ball and started playing brilliant football while dictating proceedings on the field. They even continued hoarding more and more of the possession as the game progressed.

In the meantime, the Parma players had chosen to shrink back into their half and go on the defensive. They had even arrayed themselves into a 5-4-1 formation, seemingly to defend their one-goal advantage until the final whistle sounded.

Zachary had already analyzed their set-up and knew their intentions. The gears in his mind turned quickly, and he decided to act and go on the offensive before it was too late.

After receiving a return pass from Andrea Pirlo during the 61st minute, he whirled around and skipped past Cristobal Jorquera, one of Parma's midfielders. He then sidestepped past another opponent before creating a few yards of space for himself close to the border of the final third.

At that exact moment, his SS-graded Spatial awareness worked like a charm, and he spotted Kingsley Coman making a penetrating and spirited run behind the defense on the left flank. Zachary acted with all the haste he could muster. He unleashed a grounded ball in-between the defensive lines and sent it towards the unmarked pocket of space behind the defender on the left wing.

Pedro Mendes, one of Parma's defenders, tried intercepting the ball as it headed toward its intended target. But due to the perfect timing of the release, his efforts were futile, and the ball slowly arrived in the unmarked pocket of space before Kingsley Coman.

"Whoosh..."

Kingsley Coman was like the wind as he stormed forward and connected with Zachary's pass a few yards from the touchline on the left wing. He controlled the ball midstride before the Parma defenders could react and then continued his mad diagonal dash toward the box.

At that point, another Parma defender had already reacted and raced back to block Kingsley's run at the edge of the box. However, Kingsley didn't tango with the Parma player. Instead, he squared the ball into the middle towards the edge of the box, where Zachary was arriving.

Zachary's game reading was as potent as ever, and he effortlessly connected with Kingsley's pass after another stride forward. But just as he was about to pull the trigger and attempt to score, another defender rushed in from the right side and blocked his shooting angle.

Zachary, though, didn't panic. His SS-graded spatial awareness, risk assessment, and ball control attributes came into play. Out of the corner of his eye, he caught a trace of a silhouette, donning Juventus' black and white jersey, driving into the box from the right side. Without hesitation, Zachary took another touch and released a very light pass toward the sprinting course of the figure in question.

"Ahh..."

The defender before Zachary gasped as the seemingly slow ball passed a few inches beyond his left foot. But since he had been angling his body towards his right side to block Zachary, he couldn't realign his posture in time and get to the ball. He could only turn his head awkwardly to see Carlos Tevez, another Juventus substitute, connecting with Zachary's pass inside his box.

"Pa..."

Carlos Tevez was as sharp as ever. He had already beaten the offside trap with his well-timed run and connected with Zachary's pin-point pass. He remained composed and blasted the ball past the keeper and into the roof of the net to score Juventus' 1st goal for the night. On cue, Stadio Ennio Tardini exploded into a wave of thunderous cheers as he turned around and headed towards Zachary to celebrate the equalizer.