THE GREATEST OF ALL TIME

*FWEEEEEEE*

The referee blew the whistle for half-time in the 47th minute, just a little over a minute after Rosenborg's goal. The Vålerenga players had just initiated an attack after the restart when the referee mercilessly brought the first half proceedings to an end.

Zachary immediately exchanged high-fives with the teammates close to him before starting to make his way towards the dressing room for the half-time break.

A soft smile played over his face—a clear tell-tale sign of the mood he was in at that moment. He'd managed to score twice against Vålerenga that day, taking his overall tally for both the month and the season to eight goals. He was only a goal behind the two top scorers: Nicki Nielsen, Roseborg's number-9, and Frode Johnsen, an Odds BK center-forward.

At first, before he'd made it to the starting line-up, he'd thought that fulfilling the system mission would be a hard-to-achieve endeavor. But after playing a few games on the first team, he'd developed solid confidence and great belief in himself. He was sure he could reach the system's milestones for the Tippeligaen mission. He believed he couldn't fail to accomplish at least a single milestone if he continued playing as a starter in most of Rosenborg's games.

"Nice game, Zach," Coach Johansen said, patting his shoulder as he walked into the dressing room. "You were amazing out there."

"Thank you, coach," Zachary said, smiling.

"But please strive to keep up the hard work during the second half," the coach said. "And continue shooting and testing their keeper whenever you get the chance. Okay?"

"Yes, coach," Zachary replied dutifully. "I'll do that."

"Then good." Coach Johansen nodded. "You can sit down and get some rest, Zach." He added, looking around, seemingly to check whether all the players had already arrived in the dressing room.

Zachary left the coach to his devices and settled on a bench in the far corner of the dressing room. He concentrated on quickly recovering his stamina by chugging down water and taking a light snack as Coach Johansen started his half-time address.

"Nice play during the first half," Coach Johansen said, sweeping his gaze across all the players. "Although we started off slow, we managed to recover and take the lead thanks to Zachary's brilliance up front." He smiled.

"But we haven't completed the task at hand yet," the coach continued, his voice becoming animated. "We still have to maintain our lead throughout the second half and try to score a few more goals if we want to go back home with all three points. I don't want to see us conceding goals at the start of the second half—like we've done the previous few matches. So, I'll be making a few changes in the squad for the second half to make sure we don't falter like usual."

Coach Johansen's eyes narrowed as he glanced around. "Verner Rönning will come on for Cristian Gamboa while Ole Selnæs will replace Jonas Svensson in midfield."

"We shall then immediately switch to a 4-2-3-1 formation so that we become more solid at the back. Zachary will remain as the only attacking midfielder and play right behind Nicki upfront. Ole and Mike Jensen will play as our double pivots and defensive midfielders—while Borek and Tobias will both pull back and play as real wingers."

"Please remember," Coach Johansen continued, his voice taking on a harsh tone. "I don't want to see any careless mistakes on the field of play during the second half. If you receive the ball and find you have no space to maneuver, pass it on. It's just that simple. Don't play around like amateurs and cause problems for the team. Are we together?"

"Yes, coach."

"This is our last game before the break," the coach intoned, his voice lowering. "So, please give your all so that we can win and have a good holiday. But should we lose, then the circumstances will force me to organize specialized training for you guys when the rest of the teams are on holiday."

A wave of chaotic murmurings washed over the room as soon as Coach Johansen started talking about infringing on the players resting time. It clearly showed they were against continuing training during the upcoming Tippeligaen break.

"Quiet! Listen closely." The coach was surprisingly sharp, and all the players in the dressing room quietened down.

"I'm not playing around by saying what I've just said," he continued after a moment, his gaze darting across the room with unconcealed harshness. "If you didn't hear me well the first time, I'll repeat myself once again. There won't be any holidays for you if I notice that you're still sub-par as professionals during the upcoming second half. Circumstances will force me to organize specialized training for you to raise your skill level. It's as simple as that."

"So, go into the second half and concentrate," he continued, half-smiling. "Give your all and play your best football today. I'm very sure we'll win, hands down—if we do that. Remember, we're the better team. So, there shouldn't be any possibility of us losing if we play like close to our best. Are you with me? If you understand me, reply, 'Yes, Coach.'"

There was an awkward and slightly out-of-sync reply of "Yes, Coach" from the players in the dressing room. It seemed the players were still unhappy about the coach's threat to cut their holiday time short.

Zachary was surprised. He would readily go for the specialized training without any complaints if the coach did follow through with his threat. Moreover, he would even be a little glad. He couldn't help but wonder why his teammates seemed so against the prospect of practicing during the break when they were professional footballers too.

"I couldn't hear you all," Coach Johansen said, his voice rising after hearing the awkward response from the players. "You sound like people who haven't eaten in days. So, please repeat after me. 'Yes, coach. We do understand."

Zachary couldn't help but smile when he heard the players do a better job at replying in sync that time around.

He could see the reasoning behind the coach's weird approach towards motivating the team. Rosenborg had been conceding a lot of goals after half-time over the previous few games. The coach was intent on ensuring that such a scenario didn't develop that day. So, he'd just utilized a mixture of hard and soft tactics to try and motivate them to play at their best during the second half.

"Okay then," Coach Johansen said, a sunny smile outlining his face. "That was the kind of response that I would expect from players on a team aiming to be champions. Remember: we won't be able to perform if we're in low spirits. So, cheer up and go back to the pitch for the second half. I'll be watching each one of you from the sidelines." He added, his tone conclusive.

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