THE GREATEST OF ALL TIME

After the goal celebrations, the game continued. And without any surprises, the Atlético Madrid players relied on their numerical advantage to outplay Juventus and dominate proceedings during the final twenty or so minutes of gameplay. They were relentless on the offensive and even scored a consolation goal through Arda Turan during the 88th minute. But that was all they could manage due to the tenacity of the Juventus team.

The ten men of Juventus defended as a unit and thwarted most of Atlético Madrid's attempts to create goal-scoring opportunities. Their tactical discipline was outstanding, and they remained aggressive while covering the spaces and marking the opponents during the final minutes. As a result, they held on for dear life and won the game by three goals to one after five minutes of added time.

"Yeah!"

Coach Allegri couldn't help but pump his fists repeatedly after the referee blew the final whistle. His heart throbbed with happiness after his side defeated Atlético Madrid, the reigning Spanish Champions and the runners of the previous season's Champion League. He couldn't contain his emotions, and he hugged all the members of his technical staff to celebrate. After that, he waved to the fans before heading toward Atlético Madrid's bench to shake hands with Coach Diego Simeone.

"Congratulations," Diego Simeone said in fluent Italian while smiling and extending his hand. "You got me by switching Zachary Bemba to the striking line this time. It's your victory."

Coach Allegri smiled in response and took the other man's hand for a firm handshake. "Thanks. Your team also played well. But we were just lucky to win."

Diego Simeone's eyes narrowed a bit as he released Allegri's hand. "Indeed, count yourself lucky. You're lucky to have a player like Zachary in your squad. Otherwise, you wouldn't have won tonight's game."

"You're right." Coach Allegri nodded with a smile. "But don't forget that he's a player I signed."

"That's true." Coach Diego Simeone sighed. "But we'll still have the last laugh after the second leg of this fixture in December. Not even Zachary Bemba will be able to save you from losing that game."

"Let's wait and see," Coach Allegri said before turning away and heading into the playing field. Very soon, he started moving around and hugging his players to congratulate them upon winning the match.

Zachary, on his part, was still overflowing with happiness as he left the pitch and walked down the tunnel with the match ball in hand. Under the guidance of a UEFA official, he took a different route from his teammates and headed to the press area to partake in the post-match press conference.

"Zachary!" The beautiful female reporter said after he stepped before the cameras a few seconds later. "Congratulations upon winning the match."

"Thank you," he replied with a smile.

The reporter smiled back and said, "You were outstanding on the pitch today and managed to score your second consecutive hat trick in the Champions League. That implies that your tally in the Champions League is six goals in two matches. How are you managing to score such an insane number of goals in every game?"

"I guess I could say I'm lucky," Zachary responded with a shrug.

"Really?" The reporter pressed with a soft chuckle.

"Yeah, I guess so," Zachary said. "Aside from being lucky, I also have skilled teammates who are good at creating chances. That also helps."

The reporter smiled. "You played as a center-forward in today's game," she stated. "So, most of us are just wondering. Are you thinking of switching positions from midfield and playing as a striker from now on?"

"Of course not," Zachary said. "I love playing in midfield. That's my natural position, especially since I love making runs from the back. But even then, I will not hesitate to play striking or any other number as long as it helps my team win the game."

"There's also another matter I'm curious about," the reporter continued, "After Antoine Griezmann missed the penalty during the 71st minute, you reacted so fast and chased after the ball cleared by Patrice Evra. How were you able to achieve that? Could you have anticipated that Antoine would miss beforehand?"

"Of course, I wasn't sure he would miss," Zachary replied with a hearty chuckle. "But I knew there was a chance as he was against the best goalkeeper in the world. So, I bided my time and remained alert while waiting for an opportunity to counter. And as luck would have it, Buffon saved the penalty, and then Patrice cleared the ball, sending it my way. From there on, I only had to remain composed and control the ball before initiating the counterattack."

"Well, thanks, Zachary, for answering our questions," the reporter said in a conclusive tone. "Congratulations upon winning today's game, and I wish you all the best in your upcoming matches. Have a good night."

"Have a good night, too," Zachary responded before stepping away from the cameras.

**** ****

"Well, well, well," Emilia Vasquez, the ESPN presenter, said, smiling at the cameras in the studio. "That was Zachary, the hattrick hero, talking to Rebecca, one of our reporters at the Vicente Calderón Stadium. His second consecutive hattrick in the Champions League has helped Juventus overcome Atlético Madrid and ascend to the top of Group A. It's another phenomenal performance by the 19-year-old playmaker."

"Indeed," Alessandro Costacurta, one of the in-studio pundits, said as the cameras focused on him. "You know what: I was worried at the start of the match when I noticed that Coach Allegri had played him as a striker. I thought to myself: What the hell? Why is he playing him out of his natural midfield position? I even believed that Coach Allegri had messed up big time and was only waiting to criticize his tactics at the end of the game."

Emilia and the other pundits in the studio laughed at that.

"But you guys know what?" Alessandro continued without minding the laughter of the others in the studio. "Zachary Bemba went out there and proved me wrong. He proved that he's a highly versatile player who can play striking as well as he can play midfield. This guy is a phenomenon. He is slowly ascending to the ranks of the best players in the world."

"We also learned another thing about Zachary today." Joshua Morales chuckled. "His instincts for goal are inhuman, and he's the type of player who's a nightmare for defenders. You cannot lose track of him, even for a second, while defending against him on the field of play. Otherwise, he will punish you."

Emilia Vasquez smiled and said, "Aside from Zachary, most of the other Juventus players were a bit sub-par today. They dominated possession, yes. But they still couldn't link up play with Zachary and Tevez, their two strikers."

"You're right, Emilia," Joshua Morales, the other in-studio pundit, concurred. "Yes, the Juventus midfielders, especially Andrea Pirlo and Claudio Marchisio, were not at their best today. Their service to Zachary and Tevez was not that good, and that's why Juventus didn't have many shots on goal, despite dominating possession. Fortunately for Coach Allegri, Zachary came through and delivered when it mattered. He scored those three goals, allowing Juventus to win the game."

"I think you guys are forgetting to give credit to Diego Simeone and his players," Alessandro Costacurta reminded. "Atlético Madrid is the team that outsmarted both Barcelona and Real Madrid to win La Liga last season. So, it's understandable that most Juventus players didn't perform at their best today."

"You do have a point," Emilia immediately agreed. "In fact, I thought the Atlético Madrid players were pretty unlucky today. They hit the post like three times and even missed the penalty. Had it been their day, maybe they would have converted all those chances and defeated Juventus."

"But it wasn't their day, and there are no ifs in football." Joshua Morales hurriedly corrected. "They lost 3:2 to Olympiacos during their first group fixture and have now lost 3:1 to Juventus. They are in trouble as they are at the bottom of group A."

"It's just two matches," Alessandro chimed in. "There are still four Champions League group matches remaining. So, Atlético Madrid still has a high chance of qualifying for the knock-out stages."

"Are you forgetting that they still have to face Juventus in Turin on 9th December?" Joshua Morales questioned. "Their chances of qualifying are minimal after losing today's game."

"Gentlemen!" Emilia hurriedly chimed in. "The match aside, let's talk about Zachary. After watching his performances this season, do you think he can win the Golden Boy award?"

"I think he's the undisputed player to win the Golden Boy award," Joshua Morales replied.

"I'm with Joshua on this one," Alessandro Costacurta also concurred. "Frankly, his level is way above that of the other players within his age group. He even has the potential to make it in the top ten players of the world if he can continue putting up such outstanding performances. He's the real deal."

"I wonder who else will be on the Golden Boy award nominee list!" Emilia commented. "Can you guys guess?"

"Well," Alessandro Costacurta replied, "there's Kurt Zouma, John Stones, Raheem Sterling, Divock Origi, Adnan Januzaj, Luke Shaw, Eric Dier, Aymeric Laporte, and Saúl Ñíguez, among others."

"I think Alessandro has forgotten the names from the Serie A, Bundesliga, and Ligue 1," Joshua Morales hurriedly chimed in. "For instance, there's Kingsley Coman and Mateo Kovacic from Serie A. Then, from Bundesliga and Ligue 1, I can name Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, Marquinhos, Adrien Rabiot, Benjamin Mendy, and Lucas Ocampos. All those players have been exceptional this year — but they are still not at Zachary's level. They can't outcompete him for the Golden Boy award."