The Greatest of All Time

Chapter 19 - Pre-match Training Sessions

The next day.

Zachary received his temporary residence permit from the police station and managed to open a bank account. Surprisingly, Mr. Stein banked the 14,000 Norwegian Kroner that was his monthly allowance soon after. He seemed not to mind the fact that Zachary had not yet signed a contract with either the Rosenborg team or the NF Academy. When Zachary queried him about the issue, he just flashed a smile before telling him to perform well during the match on Tuesday.

At noon, Zachary returned to Moholt and ate light lunch before starting his preparations for his first training session later that day.

Since the Rosenborg senior team was using the Lerkendal Stadium that afternoon, the coaches had organized for the under-19 training session to take place at the Death-Valley Fotballbanen. It was a soccer pitch owned by NTNUI—the largest sports club in Norway.

Zachary reached the pitch at around 2:30 PM. He'd no trouble locating the Death-Valley since Mr. Stein's had already brought him there earlier that day. On arrival, he noticed that more than twenty players were already dressed and going through light warm-ups on the sidelines. They were an intimidating bunch. The majority were Caucasians, standing at almost six feet tall, with physiques—seemingly more muscular or comparable to his.

There was only a single African player in their midst with a dark-brown skin tone and hair shaped into a mini-afro. Zachary supposed that he was probably not very famous in his previous life since he couldn't identify him.

Running beside him was the only player Zachary recognized among all the boys on the pitch. He was a tall fellow with neck-length black hair named Ole—something. Zachary recalled Ole playing for the French team Saint-étienne in a match against Lyon during his past life. The midfielder was hard to forget since he shared a name with one of Norway's greatest players.

Zachary didn't bother the group of players and quickly donned his new soccer attire. He'd bought several sets of jerseys and a new pair of Nike boots after receiving his allowance earlier that day.

Soon enough, Zachary, fully dressed in a light-green attire, started warming up alone on the sidelines. He started off by marching on the spot before running from one corner flag to another—along the goal line. He made sure to include some forward and backward sprints in his routine when he pumped his arms up and down in rhythm with his steps.

Salty droplets flowed down his face like soft tropical rain, dripping onto the artificial turf of the pitch. But Zachary didn't stop the routine until he felt that his muscles were active and ready for intensive soccer drills. During the short career of his previous life, he'd come to understand the importance of warming the body before any intensive exercise. It would help increase his flexibility while reducing muscle soreness and lessening the risk of injury.

Zachary concluded his warm-up with some light stretches before returning his attention to the other players. He wanted to spy on some of their talents using the system. He was a staunch believer of the 'know your competitor as you know yourself' principle.

Zachary picked up one of the stray balls from the sidelines before clicking on the snooping-tool. He had to be in contact with a ball for the tool to function.

[DING]

Zachary focused on the interface as soon as the familiar system notification sounded.

Cross-hairs similar to those of a sniper android game had appeared on the screen. A few words were above and below them.

****

[SNOOPING TOOL ACTIVATED]

[Focus the virtual scope on the subject to assess their talent.]