The Greatest of All Time

Chapter 49 - Squaring Off Against JFC Riga

The next day.

Coach Johnsen took the players to survey the Skonto Arena first thing in the morning. It was the indoor stadium where they would face the Riga academy in their opening match.

"I advise you to walk around and familiarize yourself with every nook and cranny of the pitch," the Coach said while leading the procession of the NF academy players past the gates of the stadium.

The arena's interior design mimicked a greenhouse with a dome-shaped roof that kept out the snow. Zachary's mood was bolstered by the well maintained artificial turf beneath his feet. He felt relieved that the pitch wouldn't limit his performance against Riga the following day.

After they finished the survey, they played a short warm-up game on the turf before returning to their hotel. The organizers had only allocated them a single hour of training time in the stadium. A few other participating teams were supposed to be using the stadium after they left.

"Rest well today," Coach Johansen intoned as they entered the hotel lobby. "Eat well, drink well, and make sure you stay away from anything that may disrupt your performance tomorrow. And stay away from alcohol." He warned solemnly, turning back to face the players. "Are we clear?"

"Yes, coach," Zachary and his teammates replied, more or less in unison. They attracted a few curious gazes from the hotel occupants and the uniformed waiters/waitresses in the lobby.

"I hope you stay committed to our purpose here. Our goal is to win. Nothing less." He gazed somberly at the players before adding: "We'll meet at 8:00 P.M, just after dinner for the prematch tactical session. See you then." He concluded and turned around as he moved away from the players.

Zachary spent most of his day in the system simulator, except for the brief periods he got meals or went to the washrooms. He was practicing the Bend-it like Beckham Juju the entire time. Since he would be facing strong and unfamiliar opponents, he wanted to have an edge, something that could win games. If his teammates defended well, setpieces would do the trick.

After training in the evening, he ate a sumptuous dinner at the hotel's restaurant with his teammates before heading to one of the board rooms to attend Coach Johansen's tactical meeting.

Zachary and his teammates found the coach in a somber mood when they entered the meeting venue. He was frowning all the time, his expression resembling Mike Tyson's before knocking out an opponent.

"Hurry up and settle down," he intoned. "We have very little time for this. Remember our game starts at 8:00 A.M tomorrow. I want you all tucked into your beds by 10 P.M."

The players hurriedly sank into their seats and waited for their coach to continue.

"We play against Riga tomorrow," the Coach begun. "As we have practiced over the past few weeks, we will use a 5:4:1 formation in this game. I expect you to maintain your focus throughout the entire game. Especially defenders. Remember to close down all the spaces quickly, use a high defensive line to create offside traps, and above all—don't make mistakes. We don't want to serve out opportunities on a silver platter to our opponents..."

Coach Johansen talked at length to the players about the tactics they would employ in the game the following day. He then gave a pep talk to stir them up to win the game. When he finished, he moved on to the prematch routine of naming the starting lineup.

"The starting goalkeeper is Kendrick Otterson in shirt number 1," he read out from a piece of paper.

"We are using three center-backs: No.3 Robin Jatta, No.4 Lars Togstad, and No.5 Daniel Kvande."

"Left-back: No.11 Martin Lundal, Right-back: No.2 Øyvind Alseth."

"Defensive midfield: No.6 Magnus Blakstad." He paused, glancing towards the tall midfielder. "Don't forget you'll be sitting in front of the defenders full time. Keep those aerial balls away from our box." He emphasized once again.