The Greatest of All Time

Chapter 12 - The Crucial Day III

"Are you going back on the field too?" Luyinda asked once Zachary approached him. He had just finished his chat with the other coach. They were standing on the touchline, waiting to re-enter the pitch.

"What do you think?" Zachary asked, the corner of his mouth lifting.

"Shit," Luyinda cursed. "I can't believe I'm stuck with you today of all days," he snorted.

"Why were you isolating me during the game?" Zachary asked directly, locking eyes with the defensive midfielder. He wanted to resolve the conflict between them before they rejoined the match.

"Eh!" Surprise registered on Luyinda's face. It seemed he hadn't expected that question.

"I asked," Zachary emphasized. "Why were you not passing to me during the first half? We are in a trial match, not some backyard soccer."

"You were not creating any space to receive the passes," Luyinda stammered, taking a few steps away from Zachary.

"Seriously. What about that time when I was on your left with no green players around?" Zachary pointed out. He had been creating space for himself to receive the ball, but Luyinda always opted for long balls that cost the red team possession.

"Okay, okay.

Stop bothering me." Luyinda gibbered. He looked around to see if any of the coaches were looking at them. He surrendered when he noticed that Coach Damata's attention was on them.

"I'll pass to you when we are back in. But this doesn't mean we're friends. God! I hope this is the last time we play on the same team." He whispered.

'What did I ever do to him?' Zachary wondered but said, "Suit yourself. As long as you pass me the ball, everything will be fine. Remember, we have less than twenty minutes to turn this around." He emphasized.

Luyinda did not reply. He continued silently observing the match.

Zachary did not bother him anymore. His main goal was to impress scouts not making friends.

A minute later, Coach Mande blew the whistle and invited them back into the pitch.

"Luyinda," Zachary called out to the number-6. "Don't forget your promise," he intoned before jogging confidently into the pitch. Luyinda nodded and followed.

"You're back," Kasongo ran to him excitedly as soon as he positioned himself in the center circle.

"Kasongo," Zachary bumped fists with the short winger. "We need to win this game to have any chance of impressing the scouts. So, be sharp. Go back to your number and wait for my passes."

"Okay," Kasongo replied and ran back to the right-wing. He could see the seriousness on Zachary's face and simply did as instructed.

Zachary started observing the positioning of every player on the pitch. The body language of both his opponents and teammates was captured in great detail in his mind.

Samuel Baraka, the goalkeeper of the red team, was still fetching the ball to restart gameplay. The ball had gone outside after Kayembe missed a shot on goal.

In the other half, he noticed that the face of Emanuel Luboya, his team's striker, still glinted with a hunger for the game. He was eagerly waiting for the ball deep in the green team's half. The striker hadn't given up yet. Zachary was relieved.

For the first time that day, he noted that there were gaps in the opponent's formation. He could see a lot of space between the green team's midfield and defenders that could potentially be exploited by his team. His A+ spatial awareness was already doing wonders.