THE GREATEST OF ALL TIME

Speculation about Zachary's almost-imminent transfer out of Rosenborg appeared in the news over the following few days. Some rumors were very far-fetched and reported that he might be heading to famous clubs like Chelsea, AC Milan, Real Madrid, or Barcelona. And probably due to his free-kick technique, others claimed that he was a fan of David Beckham, and he might go to Manchester United to follow in the footsteps of his idol. The gossip spread over the internet like a forest fire in summer.

However, all those rumors didn't affect Zachary in the slightest. He ignored the media attention and focused solely on improving himself through serious training. He couldn't afford to waste time thinking about his potential transfer, especially since he had to prepare for the Europa League final, scheduled to be played in Turin on May 14th, roughly two weeks from then.

Aside from training alone to hone his skills, Zachary joined the team training sessions. The team training was always intense, but none of his teammates raised any complaints. They were all hyped up since they wished to prepare themselves adequately for the Europa League final. They sometimes even put in a few extra hours of exhaustive workouts after the official training sessions. Their commitment was truly commendable.

Due to the intense schedule, the days seemed to pass by quickly, and soon, it was Sunday, May 4th. It was finally the day when the Rosenborg players would play their first game in that year's Norwegian Cup. And that game was against Orkla FK, a team from the Norwegian 3rd division football league.

Even though the game was at an away ground, at Orkla FK's home stadium, Zachary and his teammates effortlessly vanquished the weaker side. During the 13th minute, Zachary picked out Paul Kasongo with a defense-splitting through-pass. The latter easily connected with the pin-point pass before skipping past a defender and scoring Rosenborg's first goal for the evening.

Eight minutes later, during the 21st minute, Zachary worked his magic again. He burst through the middle of the pitch like a Tsunami, leaving opposing midfielders and opponents powerless. When the shooting angle opened up, he struck from outside the 18-yard-box to score Rosenborg's second goal.

But that wasn't the end of his spectacular display. Six minutes later, during the 27th minute, he found the mark again by relying on a free-kick positioned a few yards away from the box. He curled the ball over the defensive wall and into the back of the net to score Rosenborg's third goal for the evening.

The proceedings moved forward, and the Troll Kids continued pressurizing the opponents. However, they didn't manage to score the fourth goal until much later in the second half, during the 78th minute.

When everyone in the stadium began to assume that there weren't any more goals in the game, Takumi Minamino struck. He connected with Thomas Partey's long-range pass just outside the box on the left flank and unleashed a missile of a shot towards the goal. His effort was on point and curled past the keeper's outstretched fingertips before homing into the top right corner. The score was then 4:0 in favor of Rosenborg.

Takumi's goal seemed to have opened the floodgates again, and the Rosenborg players soon made it rain goals in Orkla FK's home ground. During the 83rd minute, Zachary scored Rosenborg's 5th and his 3rd for the day to complete his first domestic hattrick that year. Alexander Söderlund netted Rosenborg's 6th goal three minutes later, during the 86th minute. And finally, Tore Reginiussen, Rosenborg's captain, closed off the scoring frenzy by netting the 7th goal during the 91st minute.

It was the first time that season that all Rosenborg's first-team players had played in a domestic league match. They hadn't disappointed and had managed to overwhelm the much weaker Orkla FK by a score of 7:0. Due to the spectacular performance, Coach Johansen was grinning from ear to ear during the post-match press conference.

"Coach Johansen," one of the journalists in the press room called out. "Congratulations upon winning your first Norwegian Cup game this year. Your players, especially Zachary, Takumi, and Thomas Partey, were phenomenal. They performed well and ensured that your team beat Orkla FK 7:0. But what worries me and the rest of the Rosenborg fans is that you didn't rest any of your first-team players today. As we all know, the Europa League finals are on May 14th. That is only ten days from now. Aren't you worried about wearing out the players if you play them during every domestic game? Aren't you concerned that they'll become fatigued and underperform during the finals?"

"Thank you for the question," Coach Johansen said, smiling. "I decided to field the players today for rhythm reasons. If the players spend many days without playing competitive football, they'll lose their rhythm and get rusty. So, I have to give them several match-playing opportunities before the final. To them, the Norwegian Cup match was like a warm-up — to keep them in shape for the finals against Sevilla."

The journalist who'd posed the query chuckled before asking another question. "Are you implying that you might utilize your first-team squad during the upcoming Tippeligaen game against Sogndal? Or will you choose to rest them and keep them fresh for the finals?"

"That, I can't answer right now," Coach Johansen replied. "I'll observe the players during training over the next few days and analyze and understand their conditions. Then, I'll decide whether to field them on the day before the game against Sogndal IL."

Another journalist stood up. "Coach Johansen," he said. "My question is about Zachary Bemba. Once again, he was spectacular today, and he managed to score a hattrick. But many Rosenborg fans are worried about the speculation surrounding Zachary. As you should know, many news outlets and transfer experts have already reported that Rosenborg is close to selling Zachary to Tottenham, Manchester United, or Juventus. Can you tell us whether these rumors are true?"

Coach Johansen sighed and shook his head. "As you said, those are just rumors. The entire team's focus is on the Europa League finals at the moment. So, we're not going to negotiate any transfer deals with other clubs until after May 14th. That implies that Zachary is still our player until we communicate otherwise."

"Coach Johansen!" Another journalist called out. "Can you tell us whether any clubs have reached out to Rosenborg to buy Zachary?"

"No comment," Coach Johansen said. "As I already said, the entire team is busy preparing for the Europa League finals. As a coach, I also have to do my part and ensure that my players are ready for the final. So, I don't have any time to move around, checking whether any other clubs are about to make bids to acquire my players."

After the press conference, Coach Johansen returned to his office within Lerkendal. The endless questions about Zachary's potential transfer out of Rosenborg had fouled his jolly mood. He couldn't even smile even though his team had just thrashed Orkla FK by seven goals to nil.

"Damn it!"

Coach Johansen cursed out loud as he settled into his office chair. He really felt helpless since Zachary was about to leave the club.

The previous day, both Tottenham and Juventus had increased their bids for Zachary. Tottenham had tabled 42 million + add-ons of about 20 million, while Juventus had offered a whopping 70 million Euros to outbid them.

The two offers had excited the members of Rosenborg's board, and they were already pushing for the club to sell Zachary to the highest bidder. So, if nothing unexpected happened, Zachary would leave Rosenborg during the upcoming transfer window.

But that wasn't what vexed Coach Johansen the most. He was incensed by the rest of the teams trying to raid his other players. Big clubs like Valencia, Lyon, Benfica, Arsenal, Manchester United, and Chelsea, among others, had already tabled bids for his other players like Thomas Partey, Eric Bailly, Yerry Mina, Takumi Minamino, Nicki Nielsen, and Paul Kasongo. And what upset him even more was the Rosenborg board leaning towards selling all those players to the highest bidders. That was simply unacceptable.

"What to do?"

Coach Johansen breathed out deeply and leaned back into his seat. He'd long expected Zachary to leave the club due to his extraordinary skills and talent. So, Coach Johansen could accept the board members' decision to sell him to the highest bidder as soon as possible. But he couldn't bear losing his other players, like Thomas Partey, Eric Bailly, and Takumi Minamino, especially since he'd just signed them.

"Let's focus on winning the finals first," Coach Johansen decided. "Maybe, the players will feel a stronger sense of belonging to the club if they win the Europa League with Rosenborg. Then, it'll be hard for those money-grubbers to sell the players off if they wish to stay at the club. That could be a solution."

Coach Johansen's eyes glinted with resolve. He soon pushed the distracting thoughts to the back of his mind and opened his laptop. Before long, he started watching one of Sevilla's past games while taking notes. The game was boring since Sevilla was playing a defensive game against Valencia. But the coach remained focused and watched every minute of the proceedings. He couldn't relax since he wished to understand the opponent's style of play and weaknesses before playing them in the Europa League final.