THE GREATEST OF ALL TIME

Zachary woke up a bit late the following day, feeling refreshed. He took a peek at his bedside clock and noticed that it was already 8:30 AM. Without dilly-dallying, he jumped out of bed and washed up before having a sumptuous breakfast with Camilla.

Thirty minutes later, he dropped Camilla off at Møller Bil Trondheim, her workplace, and then continued to Lerkendal to attend Rosenborg's official training that day. He navigated the early morning traffic at a leisurely pace while listening to the newest catchy tunes on his car stereo. He arrived at the gates of Lerkendal a little more than thirty minutes later when the late autumn sun had long risen above the horizon in the east.

He wasn't worried, though, since he was sure that the official training that day would start at 10:00 AM. He still had some time to kill before the coaches arrived on the training grounds.

Zachary slowly pulled his R8 GT into one of the parking spots allocated to Rosenborg players before heading towards the training ground.

Wherever he passed, the Rosenborg employees working in the stadium greeted him enthusiastically and, of course, congratulated him on winning yet another trophy. Some went as far as asking him to sign autographs for them as he made his way across the green towards the locker room.

Zachary could obviously see that the employees held him in high esteem. So, he returned their greetings politely and even signed plenty of autographs before continuing on his way with a slight swagger in his step. On the inside, he was swelling with pride since he'd finally managed to get recognition from both Rosenborg's fans and employees.

It had only been less than a year since he began playing professionally for the Troll Kids. However, he'd already helped the Norwegian giants win the domestic double by becoming a top scorer and MVP for Norway's two most prestigious tournaments. So, he could hardly contain the sense of contentment swelling within him.

A few minutes later, Zachary couldn't help but smile when he got to the Lerkendal training grounds. His mood lifted when he noticed that the atmosphere around the whole Rosenborg team was exceptionally energetic.

It seemed that winning the Norwegian Football Cup had boosted his teammates' morale and obviously pushed them to work even harder in preparation for the two remaining Europa League group matches.

Zachary could see that all the players on the training grounds were in high spirits that morning. Most were spread across the field in groups, going through various fitness drills. They were all focused, performing routines without cutting corners, even though the coaches hadn't arrived to supervise them yet. For that reason, the atmosphere on the field was so intense to the point that Zachary felt guilty just standing there on the sidelines watching his teammates train.

"Zach!!"

Zachary's ears picked someone calling out his name at that moment. He turned around and noticed that Mikael Dorsin, Rosenborg's assistant captain, was waving at him from somewhere in the middle of the pitch. With him were four other players, namely: Tore Reginiussen, John Chibuike, Ole Selnæs, and Eric Bailly, all going through a simple stretching routine. "Don't just stand there on the sidelines, gawking," the assistant captain hollered out again after a moment. "Come here and join our drill."

"Okay, just give me a minute," Zachary yelled back, grinning. Without further ado, he fixed his shin guards into his stockings, tied his shoelaces, and sprinted towards Mikael's group like a whirlwind.

"Good morning, Zachary," Mikael was the first to greet him while stretching out a hand for a handshake. "How was your day off yesterday?"

"Good morning to you, too, Mikael," Zachary replied, taking the hand. "My day off was fine and pretty relaxing."

"For once, you're among the last to arrive on the training ground," Mikael said as Zachary took turns greeting the other players in the group. "It's quite a rare occurrence."

Zachary just chuckled without giving a reply. "Shouldn't we be getting back to training?" He said after a moment.

"Okay, then," Mikael said, nodding. "It must already be 9:30 AM. We only have about thirty minutes before the coaches arrive. So, guys, what do you suggest? Should we continue with the stretching? Or should we dive into agilities right away?"

"Zachary," Tore Reginiussen, the Rosenborg captain, chimed in. "Have you warmed up already?"

"Not yet," Zachary replied straight away. "I went through a yoga routine before leaving home. But my muscles must have already cooled down since more than thirty minutes have already elapsed."

"Then, let's continue with the stretching routine for five more minutes," the captain said, glancing at the rest. "That way, we'll let Zachary warm-up before diving into agility and body coordination drills."

"That's perfect."

The rest of the players concurred and immediately started going through a simple stretching routine. They began with neck stretches and then transitioned to upper body warm-up exercises before ending the regimen with lower body stretches. After taking a minute's break, they dived into agilities and body coordination drills right there in the middle of the field.

They soon became so engrossed, stepping quickly through agility ladders and cones, with a hundred percent concentration for the next few minutes. In no time, their shirts were already drenched in sweat due to the intensity of the exercise.

Zachary, on his part, felt that the exercises were much easier than before. His motions through the agility ladders were smooth and immaculate as if they were second nature to him. He breathtakingly went through all the body coordination exercises, including the lateral plyometric jumps, the forward-running high-knee drills, and the shuttle runs without breaking a sweat.

His training efficiency was out of this world since there were no wasted movements as he performed the drills. He was still full of energy when the coaches arrived on the training ground at around 10:00 AM. On the other hand, most of his colleagues, except Eric Bailly, were slightly out of breath by then.