THE GREATEST OF ALL TIME

Coach Johansen's heart raced with anxiety as he watched his players settle down around him on one side of the pitch. He was tense, and no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't seem to calm down. He understood that penalties depended a lot on the element of luck and experience of the players. So, as a coach, there was not much he could do to improve his team's chances of winning the penalty shootout aside from organizing an appropriate order and the best line-up of his players to take the penalties.

"Okay, guys," he said, sweeping his gaze across his players. "Listen up. I commend you for the great work done during the thirty minutes of extra time. You played as a team and held one of the more experienced teams in Europe to a draw for more than 120 minutes of game time. However, our work is still far from done as we have a penalty shootout. We can't relax. We've got to remain calm, highly focused, and at the top of our game during the next few minutes. Are you guys with me?"

"Yes, coach," the players replied in a lackluster manner. The fatigue had already taken a toll on them. So, they were focused on hydrating themselves instead of the coach's words.

"Guys!" The coach roared after hearing his players' half-hearted response. "Are you guys with me?"

"Yes, coach," the players yelled back in response. That time around, their voices were loud and clear. They reverberated across the stadium filled with chaotic chatter and even caught the attention of the Benfica players on the other side of the pitch.

Coach Johansen smiled and nodded. "Now, that's the spirit of a team that wishes to win a ticket to the Europa League finals," he said. "I believe we're now on the same page. So, let's move on to the crucial issues at hand. I'll now read out the order of players that will take the penalties. Listen carefully."

The coach fished out a crumpled piece of paper from his pocket. Without further ado, he unfolded it before continuing. "The player to take our first penalty will be Zachary Bemba. Then, Nicki Nielsen will be the second, Takumi Minamino will be the third, Mikael Dorsin will be our fourth, and finally, Thomas Partey will be our fifth penalty-taker."

"If we fail to decide the winner of the penalty shootout after the first five penalties," the coach continued. "Then, Alexander Söderlund will take our sixth penalty. After that, it'll be Eric Bailly, Tore Reginiussen, Paul Kasongo, Yerry Mina, and finally, Daniel Örlund, in that order. Have you all remembered the order of taking the penalties?" The coach glanced around.

"Yes, coach," the players replied.

"Good," Coach Johansen said, smiling. We have been practicing penalties since we started playing in the knock-out stages of the Europa League. So, you guys are already experts at taking penalties. There is no need to panic. You only need to remain calm and bring out those skills while facing off against the keeper. Remember to choose where to place the ball before shooting, and don't go for anything fancy. As long as you do that, you'll convert your penalty easily. Are you with me?"

"Yes, coach," the players replied.

"Excellent," the coach said, glancing at his watch. "The five-minute break is almost over. So, it's time for you to head into the pitch and take the penalties. I wish you the best of luck, and let's meet at the end of the game when we're already the victors."

Zachary felt like he was walking on pins and needles as he marched along with the rest of his teammates toward the center circle. Even though he'd already played football on the professional stage for more than a year, he couldn't totally push out the pressure brought about by the penalty shootout.

He dreaded penalties since they greatly depended on luck and understood that even the best players in the world could miss them. Moreover, Rosenborg's Europa League dream was on the line — and that caused him to grow tenser as he approached the center circle.

"Guys," Daniel Örlund, the Rosenborg keeper, said a few seconds later when the players reached the center circle. "I wish you all the best of luck. Let's win this semi-final." He then shook hands and hugged his teammates before marching off towards the goal selected by the referee for the penalty shootout.

The proceedings moved forward quickly, and soon, the referee called upon Zachary to step forward and take the first penalty.

"Good luck, Zachary," Mikael Dorsin said, patting him on the shoulder. "Remember to stay calm, and everything else will be fine. We all believe in you."

"Thanks for the encouragement," Zachary replied with a smile. He shook hands with a few other teammates before walking towards the selected goal for the penalty shootout.

A wave of silence swept across the stadium as most fans waited anxiously for the result of the first face-off between Zachary, Rosenborg's young playmaker, and Artur Moraes, Benfica's experienced keeper.

However, Zachary ignored the abnormal situation in the stands. He activated the Dead-Ball Specialist Juju and slowly forced himself to focus only on the goal and the opposing keeper. The Juju worked its wonders, and his concentration transcended the realms of geniuses. And slowly, all the distracting thoughts faded from his mind as he approached the box with confident steps.

After entering the penalty area, he picked up the ball from the ground and placed it on the penalty spot. The referee gave him the go-ahead, and he took a few steps back from the ball while glancing briefly at the keeper's position. His incredible spatial awareness came into effect, and in anything but a flash, he assessed the situation between the posts.

*FWEEEEEEE*

The referee's whistle sounded the next moment. Zachary immediately acted with haste and made an angled run towards the ball. He then took the last jump-step before smacking the ball and sending it towards the goal. His technique was incredible, and he sent the keeper diving the wrong way as the ball homed into the top right corner.

A soft smile lit up Zachary's face. He exhaled with relief as the cheers around the stadium rose to thunderous heights. He felt like he'd finally unloaded a heavy load off his shoulders since he had completed his task and converted Rosenborg's first penalty during the shootout. He waved to the enthusiastic home fans, causing them to cheer even more loudly before jogging back to the center circle.

Rosenborg BK 1 : SL Benfica 0

The large jumbotron in the stadium showed the current score from the penalty shootout as Rodrigo Moreno Machado stepped forward to take Benfica's penalty. The striker was surprisingly calm. Without losing composure, he sent Daniel Örlund the wrong way and converted Benfica's first penalty.

Rosenborg BK 1 : SL Benfica 1

The next player to step forward was Nicki Nielsen, and he also converted the penalty and put Rosenborg in the lead again. The score was then 2:1.

Lima dos Santos, Benfica's center-forward, stepped up next. He also remained composed and sent the keeper the wrong way to convert successfully. The score from the penalty shootout was then 2:2.

Then, it was Rosenborg's turn again, and Takumi Minamino converted successfully and reinforced Rosenborg's hopes for the finals. The score was then 3:2.

On the side of Benfica, André Almeida stepped forward and also converted. As a result, the score was then 3:3.

Mikael Dorsin, Rosenborg's left-back, was the next player in action. His technique was also good, and he converted with his left leg to score the fourth penalty. Rosenborg was again in the lead as the score was then 4:3.

Next, Enzo Pérez, one of Benfica's midfielders, also converted to equalize the score at 4:4. As a result, the teams were still neck and neck after four penalties.

The tension was in the air, and a wave of silence descended across the stadium as Thomas Partey, Rosenborg's young holding midfielder, stepped forward to take Rosenborg's fifth penalty.

After the referee's whistle sounded, Thomas Partey made an angled run towards the ball and unleashed a heavy shot towards the goal. However, Artur Moraes, Benfica's keeper, managed to dive the right way and punched the ball out of the play.

"Oh my God!"

Zachary felt a cold chill descend upon his entire being as he watched Benfica's keeper celebrating after saving Thomas Partey's penalty. His heart started racing, and beads of sweat rolled down his forehead. He couldn't help but bury his face in his hands as his heart descended into the abyss of desperation.

He was really anxious as Rosenborg was on the verge of losing the semi-final. If Daniel Örlund failed to save Benfica's following penalty, Benfica would win the game with five converted penalties. And then, Rosenborg would bow out of the Europa League that night when they were only a step away from the finals. The situation was really dire.