THE GREATEST OF ALL TIME

Coach Johansen sighed, leaning back in his chair. "Okay, have it your way," he said. "You can keep on fighting for numbers in the midfield. But remember, you're competing with very experienced players. So, it won't be a walk in the park for you."

"I understand," Zachary replied solemnly. "I'm more than ready to compete for a spot in the midfield."

He had just learned the Zinedine-Pirlo Mental Juju. If he continued improving his mastery of the skill, he was sure he would surpass the top midfielders in the Tippeligaen in no time. As long as the coach gave him playing time in a few matches, he was sure he would acquire a spot as one of the Rosenborg starting midfielders. He had no intention of changing his playing position just to make the team.

"Okay, I like your conviction," said Coach Johansen, nodding. "Let's wait and see how you perform in Wednesday's game against Strindheim. I shouldn't be dumping any pressure on your shoulders before your debut game, but I feel I need to remind you of a few things."

The coach planted his elbows on the desk and looked at Zachary pensively. "Remember, you'll get few other chances to showcase your skills on the first team. If you put up a dull performance, it will be quite hard for you to get another opportunity."

"You must have already felt it. The atmosphere in the first team is quite different from that of the academy. The fans, the coaches, and even your teammates won't give you chances if they feel like you're just going to make them lose games. That's why first impressions are everything. The better you perform in your first game, the easier it'll be for you later on. So, try to do your best in that game."

"I'm not asking you to play like Ronaldinho or Messi," he continued, the words coming out of his mouth softly but steadily. "I only need you to do your part on the team. Go for a simple approach and release the ball as quickly as possible. Don't try to put on any showy displays, like making runs from the defensive midfield to the opponent's box. If you do that, you'll simply be seeking injuries in your debut game. We can't have that."

"Remember, you are no longer in the academy. You're now playing at the professional stage. Defenders are—paid highly to stop opponents from attacking their goals. So they'll do everything in their power to stop you, in case you dribble a lot. That's why I'm imploring you to play simple football in your debut game. If you do the opposite, you'll most likely blunder, and that's where the problems will begin."

"Understood?"

"Yes, coach."

Coach Johansen narrowed his eyes and stared at Zachary intently. His overgrown red beard made him all the more imposing despite his gangly physique.

"I have seen a few talented players graduate with flying colors from the academy but mess up in their first season. They all have one thing in common—they try to play like Zidane or Ronaldinho when they don't have the necessary experience. Most of them would have done better if they played simple football of passing—giving and going. But because they try to do more than necessary, they keep on blundering and wasting chances—until all the fans and coaches lose confidence in them."

"Zachary, I'm urging you, again and again, don't follow the same trend," the coach said sternly. "Are we clear?"

"Yes, coach," Zachary replied, his tone humble. "I understand and will strictly follow your advice."

The negative thoughts about his coach that had recently taken root in his psyche vanished instantly. From that single conversation, he could feel that the coach deeply cared about his progress as a player. He had called him to his office and warned him about all the pitfalls to avoid in his debut game. Zachary felt very grateful to him.

He had suffered similar pitfalls during the debut game of his previous life. He had intended to show off his skills while playing his first game for TP Mazembe—but had messed up in the process. He didn't want to go through a similar situation in his new life. So, he would follow the coach's instructions to the letter.

"Okay, you can leave," the coach said, with the air of seeing a visitor out. "Don't forget to go for your last medical. If possible, do it today or tomorrow. We don't want anything to stop your debut now."

"Yes, coach," Zachary said, standing up. "Thank you for giving me an opportunity on the starting eleven. And thank you for your valuable advice." He added before walking out of the door.

After leaving the coach's office, Zachary headed to the canteen right away. He quickly ate his lunch before leaving Lerkendal.

It was only half-past noon. So, there were still three hours left to the start of the training session that evening. Zachary wanted to use those three hours to rest and regain his stamina. That way, he would perform his best during the training. He didn't want to mess up after already making it onto the squad.

So, he boarded a bus and headed to his apartment in Stjørdalsveien without further ado. Thirty minutes later, he was safely in the confines of his living room. He couldn't resist the temptation to open the system interface much longer. He was itching to learn about the new system mission details.

"System," he mumbled, lying down on his bed. "Bring out the information on the new system mission."

"Command received," the apathetic feminine voice of the system AI sounded in his mind right away.

"Mission details have been displayed on the interface."

Zachary blinked as his eyes adjusted to the contents of the translucent bluish screen that appeared before him. He then started reading the mission details.

****

G.O.A.T MISSIONS

#NEW MISSION: 2013 Norwegian Football Cup Serial Challenge

->The system has detected that the user is part of the Rosenborg BK squad partaking in the 2013 Norwegian Football Cup, commonly referred to as the Cupen. The system has designed an associated mission for the event.

->The user needs to accept the mission first to stand a chance of winning rewards after completing the milestones below.

*Milestone 1: Play all matches in the Cupen. The user must be part of the starting eleven or a playing substitute for every tournament match.

*Milestone 2: Help your teammates win the finals and become the champions of the Cupen.

*Milestone 3: Provide the most assists in the Cupen.

*Milestone 4: Become the top scorer in the Cupen.

*Milestone 5: Become the MVP of the Cupen.

*Rewards:

->Milestone 1 completion reward: 1000 Juju-points

->Milestone 2 completion reward: 1500 Juju-points

->Milestone 3 completion reward: 3000 Juju-points

->Milestone 4 completion reward: 4500 Juju-points

->Milestone 5 completion reward: Three-Month dosage of A-grade Physical Conditioning Elixir.

->The user can choose not to accept the mission.

*Accept *Reject

*Punishment if none of the milestones has been achieved after the stipulated time (In case the user accepts).

->Minus 15000 Juju-points

*The user has to complete at least one milestone before the tournament ends to escape the penalty.

*Remarks: The role of a genius is not to complicate the simple but to simplify the complicated. And only geniuses have the potential to become the G.O.A.T.

****

After reading through the mission details, Zachary didn't click on the accept button right away as he'd always done on previous instances. Instead, he took some time to deliberate whether completing the various milestones was feasible.

Firstly, he wasn't sure if he would be in the match squads of all Rosenborg's fixtures in the Norwegian Cup. Even if he played well, the coaches could still decide to rotate the players at any time—and then he would fail the mission. Secondly, although Rosenborg was one of the Norwegian football giants, they could still fail to win the cup. In the previous year, Molde had easily knocked them out of the Cupen in the fourth round.

Zachary was only sure that he could complete the third milestone, which needed him to provide the most assists in the Cupen. With the Zinedine-Pirlo Mental Juju in his skills repertoire, he would find it easy to unleash defense-splitting passes that would turn into goals. But completing the milestone also depended on whether his team progressed further in the tournament. If it so happened that his team got knocked out of the Cupen in the second round, he would still fail even if he averaged three assists per game. The last two milestones were even harder to complete since he had just entered the Rosenborg first team. Becoming the top scorer or MVP required a good deal of luck and help from a player's team. Only established and experienced star players on top team squads usually had the chance to realize such accomplishments.

"Oh, whatever," Zachary mumbled to himself and pressed the accept button after a few more seconds of deliberation.

He was a gambler by nature—a habit picked up in the bad years of his previous life. If he failed, he would merely have to look for a way to pay the 15,000 Juju-points owed. But if he completed a single milestone, he would win a lot of Juju points right away. He would be one step closer to upgrading the system and learning another G.O.A.T skill. So, he decided to bite the bullet and accept the mission even if he couldn't guarantee he would achieve the minimum of a single milestone necessary to escape the penalty.

"DING"

"The user has accepted the mission: 2013 Norwegian Football Cup Serial Challenge."

"User data updated successfully."

After Zachary finished accepting the mission, he set an alarm clock for 3:00 PM. He didn't want to miss the training that evening. He closed his eyes and entered slumberland—dreaming of himself scoring goals in one of the Tippeligaen matches.