THE GREATEST OF ALL TIME

Zachary woke up early the following morning and headed to Lerkendal. Since he was still in the process of mastering the Robinho-step-over Juju, he wanted to put in a few hours of practice before the actual team training session. However, on reaching the training ground, he noticed that there was someone who'd arrived even earlier than him.

He was surprised after seeing Coach Johansen's lank form standing in the middle of the training ground while glancing far off into the distance. It was as if the coach was a shepherd overlooking his flock. Yet, there were no animals or even people anywhere in the vicinity.

"Coach, you're very early today," Zachary said as he stood next to the coach in the middle of the almost-empty training ground.

The coach slowly inclined his head and smiled at Zachary. "You're finally here," he said. "Welcome back."

"Thanks, coach," Zachary replied. "I actually arrived in Trondheim yesterday. However, I'd to settle some personal issues since I'd been away from my place for about two months. So, I couldn't attend yesterday's team training."

"Don't worry," the coach said. "We only worked on the team member fitness yesterday. Many of your teammates were not training seriously during the off-season. As a result, their fitness wasn't up to par. So, we had to help them get back into tip-top shape before starting the actual work on the tactics against Fiorentina."

"Oh," Zachary said, his brows creasing slightly. He had the high aspiration of helping his team progress further in the Europa League.

However, all that also depended on the strength of his teammates since football was a game of eleven. If their fitness levels were in some way lacking, they would find it hard to perform at their best over the next few days. Then, what would follow would be Rosenborg finding it very hard to beat their next opponents - Fiorentina.

Zachary had watched plenty of Fiorentina's matches over the past two months while on vacation, and his assessment was that the Italian side was on form. Fiorentina had even recently defeated Udinese Calcio before qualifying for the finals of the Italian Cup. They were not an easy team to beat, for sure.

So, unless all the players of Rosenborg could work as a whole and do their best, they would be in for a hard time against such a fierce Italian side. It was a simple—but ugly truth.

"Coach," Zachary said, his tone a bit self-effacing. "Then, when will we start working on the actual tactics? The match against Fiorentina is next week on Thursday. That is just eight days away."

"We should be able to start today," the coach said with a smile. "Don't worry. The team's situation is not as bad as it seems. Aside from you, everyone else arrived a week ago. So, they've been working on their fitness for the past seven days. They're already in good shape and just about ready to begin the actual preparations for the match. You might even find yourself on the bench if your fitness is lacking."

Zachary chuckled. "I'm not worried about being on the bench since I've been working hard on my fitness throughout the off-season. Instead, what worries me is having teammates who aren't at their best. You know football is more enjoyable with great teammates."

"True," Coach Johansen said, nodding. "That's why we've been doing our best to bring the team back into tip-top shape. For those that haven't managed to achieve acceptable levels of fitness by the end of today, we'll drop them. There's no use involving them in our training plans."

"That harsh!" Zachary was surprised.

"Are you worried that we might drop you?" The coach asked with a smile while glancing at Zachary.

"Not at all," Zachary replied with confidence.

"Then, there's nothing to worry about," the coach said. "We have two squads now with almost equal strength. We can easily build a good team around you even with half the players missing."

"Oh, okay, coach," Zachary said, feeling slightly at a loss for words. "I'll start my training now. There are a few aspects of my game that I'm still working on. I hope to refine them before the start of the season."

"Okay, off you go," Coach Johansen said with a dismissive wave of his hand. "I'm looking forward to those new aspects of your game when we play Fiorentina. So, please do your best."

"Thanks, coach," Zachary said. "I can promise that you'll not be disappointed." He added before stepping away from the coach to commence his training.

The weather was cold that day, while the training ground was slippery due to the previous night's precipitation. However, all that didn't dissuade Zachary from training with his usual earnestness.

He quickly set up the cones on one side of the pitch and soon began executing agility and dribbling drills. For the next few minutes, he worked like a maniac without caring about anything around him. He was simply like a robot as he weaved through the cone set-up with the ball glued to his feet.

After completing the cone work, Zachary immediately switched to juggling the ball. For the next dozen or so minutes, he went at it with a hundred percent focus since he was in the process of honing his control and ball skills in order to master the step-over juju.

Although juggling might seem like a simple exercise to amateurs, it was a surefire way for professionals to hone their ball skills. Juggling could build an affinity with the ball and improve timing, spatial understanding, touch, motor coordination, balance, body control, and leg strength while solidifying a player's confidence. That was why many of the brilliant professional players were excellent ball jugglers.

For instance, a phenomenal player like Ronaldinho had spent numerous hours juggling the ball in his earlier years and had honed the skill to an incredible level. He could thus juggle the ball for hours, not just using his feet but with many other parts of his body. As a result, his control and ball skills during matches were at a monstrous level.

Zachary had long understood that a player without excellent ball control would find it hard to become a fantastic dribbler. So, that's why he wasn't the least bit surprised when the system included juggling exercises as part of his physical conditioning routine to learn the step-over skills.

The minutes flashed by quickly, and Zachary soon ended his training. On looking around, he noticed that most of the Rosenborg first-team players had already arrived. They were going through various fitness drills, alone or in small groups, even without the guidance of the coaches.

Among them were two new faces that Rosenborg had just signed. They were Takumi Minamino, a player all the way from Japan, and the young Karl Toko Ekambi from Cameroon. At that moment, the two of them were comfortably going through agilities with Mikael Dorsin and Eric Bailly.

"Seems like these two are already fitting in well." Zachary mused before stepping forward to greet them. He exchanged a few words with them, taking care to welcome them to the team. After that, he started moving around to catch up with the rest of his teammates.

In particular, he spent more time talking to Kasongo and the Otterson brothers, who'd by now firmly secured their positions on the Rosenborg team. The three of them had matured a great deal over the past year. They even had a chance to vie for first-team numbers if they continued working hard.

*FWEEEEEEE*

The whistle sounded while Zachary was still conversing with Kasongo and the Ottersons. Without further ado, the four of them quickly made their way towards the group of coaches who were at that moment in the center circle.

"Good morning to you all," Coach Johansen said when all the present Rosenborg players had assembled before him. "Today, we'll begin the actual preparations for our Europa League match against Fiorentina. We'll have to work hard over the next seven days as we try to get into shape and refine our tactics for that game."

"Fiorentina is a team currently placed fourth in the Italian League," the coach continued, sweeping his gaze across the players. "They're surely strong opponents with a deep squad that can even cause plenty of problems for European giants like AC Milan and Juventus. So, to win against them, we'll have to play at our best as a team."

"There can be no mistakes! All players have to play their roles flawlessly if we're to have a chance at beating them. And that's why I've decided to select only match-fit players for that game."

"I can assure you that I'll not consider last season's performance when selecting the team. So, even if you're someone who was always a reserve player last season or a new player that has just joined Rosenborg, you'll still get your chance as long as you work hard over the next seven days. As long as you can prove that you're better than the rest on the training ground, then there's no reason for me to leave you out of the squad. Are we together, guys?"

"Yes, coach."

Coach Johansen nodded. "Now that we're on the same page, we can think about starting our training. But first, I would like to test your fitness. Those that I find unfit will not even have the right to participate in today's training. They'll have to first go to the gym and refine their fitness to acceptable levels before they can return here for the tactical training."

A wave of murmurs emanated from the crowd of players after the coach had made his declaration. It seemed like most were not confident in their fitness, especially since they were just from the off-season.

"Quiet," the coach said, his tone commanding. "You're professional players, not some greenhorns in an academy. Staying fit is your most important responsibility as a professional. So, why should I put up with you if you haven't taken care to maintain your fitness levels during the off-season?"

The players immediately quietened down on hearing Coach Johansen's words. The coach was right. An unfit player had no right to play high-level football. So, they could only swallow down their complaints and hope for the best during the fitness testing.