THE GREATEST OF ALL TIME

Zachary didn't dare dilly dally after ending his call with Emily. He dressed up quickly and then headed to Lerkendal to attend Rosenborg's official team training for that day.

He was among the first players to arrive at the training ground. So, he spent some time stretching and going through some agilities alone as he waited for his teammates to arrive at the stadium.

As it was already December, the weather was quite cold in Trondheim. The morning air was like frozen lace on Zachary's skin, delicate and chilling, like winter waves on sallow sand. Moreover, the sky above was a dull grey, with the occasional watery light illuminating thin patches to brilliance.

Be that as it may, Zachary continued training with a hundred percent focus even in such extreme weather. He went through various cone drills without a break and only stopped when his teammates and coaches started arriving a few minutes later. By then, his jersey was already dripping with sweat, depicting how hard he'd been working for the previous few minutes.

Since he had already elevated his body-control attribute to the S- grading, improving his agility to the next level as soon as possible was the priority. Thus, he'd recently started to focus on drills tailored to improving just his agility attribute.

Zachary understood that he could only learn the Robinho step-over juju after elevating his agility to the next level. So, he'd been extra hardworking even outside of official team training for the past five days. He didn't let all the fame he'd just gained disrupt his focus — but continued honing his skills day in, day out, like an exercising maniac.

He just wanted to reach the skill levels of players like the young Ronaldo and the young Messi before he made twenty years of age. Only then would he have the qualifications to make it on the list of the greatest players of the current generation.

"Zachary!" A loud yell sounded from the sidelines just as he was about to end his post-exercising stretching routine. He turned around and then noticed Rolf Aas, the assistant coach in charge of fitness, calling out to him. "Could you please come here for a moment?" The assistant coach added.

Zachary didn't dare dilly dally. He immediately put a full stop to his stretching routine, then chugged down some water before rushing towards the fitness coach on the sidelines.

"Good morning, Zachary," the assistant coach said when Zachary stepped in front of him.

"Good morning to you too, coach," Zachary replied, smiling. "How're you?"

"I'm good," Rolf Aas, the assistant coach, said, nodding. "The head coach would like to see you before the start of today's training. You can find him in his office."

"Okay," Zachary said, a bit surprised. "I'll head over to his office right away. Thanks for informing me."

"Better hurry since we're about to start the dynamic fitness session," the assistant coach added. "Off you go."

"Okay, okay. I'll be back as soon as possible. See you in a bit."

When Zachary arrived at Coach Johansen's office, he found him hunched over his desk, looking over a few game tactical charts. Most seemed to be for previous games, while a few depicted the tactics for Rosenborg's upcoming Europa League match against IF Elfsborg. Potential formations and player movements could be seen on the cards lying around the table. By just looking at the game cards, Zachary could tell that the coach was trying his best to design an appropriate game strategy for that game.

"Have a seat, Zachary," the coach said, looking up from his desk after a short while. "How're you?"

"I'm okay, coach," Zachary replied before making himself comfortable on one of the comfy chairs beside the coach's L-shaped office desk. "How's your morning, coach?"

"My morning is fine, Zachary," the coach said with a smile. "I can see that you're already sweating! I'm glad that you're still putting in a lot of effort to improve yourself. Keep it up. As long as you focus and continue training as before, the sky will be your limit."

"Thanks, coach, for your advice," Zachary responded, nodding. "I'll keep on doing my best during training and, of course, during official matches."

"That puts my heart at ease," the coach said, leaning back in his seat. "I called you in here today to discuss your future. For better organization, I would like to know your plans. Are you still with us here at Rosenborg, or would you like to transfer to a bigger league?"

"Oh!" Zachary said, a bit startled. "Why're you asking me this now, coach? Of course, I'm still a member of the Rosenborg squad. I won't make any decisions about my future until, at least, mid-next year."

"Then, I'm glad," Coach Johansen said, grinning. "A few teams, including Red Bull Leipzig and Tottenham, have already contacted management with the intent to trigger your release clause. So, I was starting to get worried that you might be planning on transferring out of the team."

"You don't have to worry about that, coach," Zachary said in a poised tone. "I'm still a member of Rosenborg in and out. Moreover, how can I run away from the team when we still have to contest in the Europa League? That would be irresponsible of me."

"Great," Coach Johansen said, his grin becoming more pronounced. "But if you ever decide to transfer out of Rosenborg, please try to give me at least a month's notice. Okay?"

"If I ever come to such a decision, you'll be among the first to know. So, don't worry, coach."

"Good," the coach said, nodding. "I also wanted to talk to you about your role in the team's new formation before announcing it to the rest of the squad. You really performed beyond all expectations in our match against Standard Liège. So, I plan on playing you in a forward position in the upcoming match against IF Elfsborg."

"I understand that you prefer playing in midfield as opposed to striking," the coach continued while locking eyes with Zachary. "However, to qualify for the later stages of the Europa League, we've got to keep on scoring many goals. And, that's where you come in, Zachary. With your skills, you'll be able to keep opposing defenders on tenterhooks, thus giving the rest of the team breathing space to play better football. That's the only way we can keep on winning and advance further in the Europa League. Do you get my point, Zachary?"

"Yes, coach," Zachary replied, nodding. "As long as I can increase the chances of my team winning, then I'm okay with playing in a forward position for a short while. But, I still prefer to play behind the main striker rather than playing at the forefront of the formation."

"You don't have to worry about that, Zachary," Coach Johansen said, placing one of the tactical charts before Zachary. "You'll be playing as both an advanced playmaker and a false number-10 in our upcoming game against IF Elfsborg." He paused as he pointed to the position on the tactical chart.

"In such an advanced forward position, you'll serve as the offensive pivot of the team with your superior technical abilities. You can choose to unleash defense-splitting passes like usual or score when an angle opens up in such a position. Additionally, you'll have to occasionally drift wide when in possession of the ball to help the wingers and fullbacks overload the flanks. So, in essence, you'll still be playing as a midfielder but in a more advanced forward position. Are we together, Zachary?"

"Yes, coach," Zachary said, nodding. "I've no problem playing such a role on the team."

"Great," Coach Johansen said with a smile. "We'll refine the new tactics, including your new position, starting today. So, be prepared. You can head back for training for now."

"Thanks, coach," Zachary said, getting up from his chair. "I'm always ready to do my best when it concerns football. So, you don't have to worry about me."

**** ****

Coach Johansen couldn't help but sigh when he watched Zachary's back as he stepped out of his office. He'd called the boy prodigy to gauge whether he was still committed to staying with Rosenborg. That was because several teams had constantly been inquiring about his availability during the upcoming transfer window over the past few days.

It was like Zachary had attracted all the vultures around Europe when he put up that phenomenal performance and scored four goals against Standard Liège. As a result, the Rosenborg management was starting to get tempted to sell him off to the highest bidder since the money involved was quite a lot. Only the club chairman and himself, as the head coach, were still in favor of keeping him at Rosenborg, at least, until the end of the upcoming season.

"Bzzt Bzzzt! Bzzt Bzzzt!"

The sound of the phone vibrating on the table soon broke Coach Johansen out of his reverie. Without any further ado, he picked it up, then glanced at the screen before accepting the call and placing it next to his ear.

"Good morning, Mr. Chairman," he spoke into the phone in a polite tone. "I was just about to call you."

"Good morning to you too, coach," Mr. Ivar Koteng, the Rosenborg club chairman, replied from the other end of the line. "So, did you manage to talk to him? What is your take on his commitment to Rosenborg?"

"He is still with us in both heart and mind," Coach Johansen replied immediately. "He assured me that he hasn't thought about making any decisions to transfer out of Rosenborg, at least until mid-next year. So, I really think that we don't have to rush off selling him to the highest bidder."

"Oh, okay, then," the chairman said. "If he's still committed to playing for us, then we can throw away all those offers made by those teams. But, try to keep him comfortable in the team for the moment. Okay?"

"Yes, Mr. Chairman. I'll do my best."

"Good," the chairman said. "I have to go now. And, please keep up the good work. I'm really looking forward to Rosenborg qualifying for the knock-out stages of the Europa League."

"Don't worry, Mr. Chairman. I'll do my best to prepare the team for the last Europa League group game. We really do have a high chance of winning."

"Okay, then," the chairman said in a conclusive tone. "I have to go now. So, have a good day." He added before hanging up.

**** ****

In the afternoon, Zachary attended the Audi photo session as planned. He just posed in front of some of the newest Audi Models the entire time and let the photographers do the rest of the work. After that, Zachary received his 100,000 NOK cheque from the Audi finance Department and an additional promise of selecting a car from the newest stock as remuneration for his services. So, he was in a good mood when he departed from the Audi showroom later that evening.

He then went out with Camilla to celebrate his birthday. Together, they feasted on a sumptuous Nordic dinner at the Clarion Hotel in Trondheim while listening to the catchy tunes in the background. They only ended their celebrations at around eleven in the night before heading back home for the night.

**** ****