THE GREATEST OF ALL TIME

After gaining approval from the doctors, Zachary finally returned to the Vinovo to recommence his training early morning on Tuesday, June 2nd. His teammates welcomed him with warmth and enthusiasm when he stepped on the training ground, making him feel like he had never been absent. He responded with warm words before heading to the sidelines where the coaches were standing.

"Zachary!" Coach Max Allegri called out to him. "Welcome back. I hope you're now fully recovered."

"Thanks, coach," Zachary replied in fluent Italian. "Of course, I'm back to full fitness already. How's your morning, by the way?"

"My morning is great, especially since you've returned to the training ground," the coach said with a chuckle. "We can now begin serious preparations for the Champions League final. I hope you already went through the calf strengthening exercises while healing."

"I did during the last seven days of my recovery period," Zachary said. "My calf muscles are already back to normal."

"Okay, that's a relief," Coach Max Allegri said with a smile. "But to be safe, we'll still not rush you into the intensive exercises. You can do some little ball work, including rondos and the lighter tactical drills, with the others for today. But please take it slow until we're sure you're back to full fitness. Understood?"

"Yes, coach," Zachary replied.

"Good," Coach Max Allegri nodded with a smile. "You can now join the others. We'll begin the warm-up drills as soon as possible."

"Yes, coach," Zachary said. He then ran back to the pitch and joined his teammates.

The training session commenced after a few minutes, and Zachary immediately matched his teammates to perform all the warm-up exercises. Whether it was the light jogs, high knees, butt kicks, leg swings, and kickbacks, among other routines, he went through them all without experiencing any bit of discomfort in his calf muscles.

Later, at around ten, he joined the team tactical drills focusing on formations and swift transitions from defense to striking. He again performed exceptionally well and impressed his teammates and coaches. His sharpness on the ball and passing accuracy were near-perfect, causing those watching to wonder whether he was just from injury. But even then, the coaches insisted he take things slow and sent him back home to rest at lunchtime.

He returned to the training ground on Wednesday morning, feeling well-rested and energetic. He again performed well and impressed the coaches during the morning sessions. But they still didn't allow him to partake in the intensive afternoon sessions. Instead, they dispatched him off to the gym, where he spent two hours undergoing gym work under the supervision of the Juventus on-pitch medics.

The following day was a Thursday, and only two days remained before the long-awaited UEFA Champions League final. As such, the coaches integrated Zachary into all the team's training sessions to allow him to master the tactics for the game against Barcelona.

Zachary, in turn, worked harder than ever to master everything the coaches required of him. He was abnormally motivated since he wanted to play his best football ever during the Champions League final. He struggled hard and learned all the tactics, set-piece routines, and attacking transitions by the end of Thursday.

Then, Friday, which happened to be the eve of the Champions League final, finally arrived. Zachary once again performed exceptionally well during the morning sessions. His dribbling sharpness, set-piece precision, and passing acuity had almost returned to normal. He impressed all the coaches again with his skills on the training ground and ended the four-day preparations for the final on a high note.

What followed was the moment of truth. Coach Max Allegri summoned all the players to the tactics room for the pre-game tactical meeting at midday. He wasted no time and began to talk about the final against Barcelona immediately after the players took their seats.

"I hope you're all having a wonderful afternoon," he began. "We've been seriously preparing for the UEFA Champions League final for five days. We have all worked hard to grasp the tactics for the game against Barcelona. And tomorrow is finally the day we put all those strategies to the test. It is the day we'll go all out to win the Champions League and bring the UEFA trophy back to Turin. Are you guys excited?"

"Yes, we are," the players replied, more or less in unison.

"Are you ready to head to Berlin and win the Champions League trophy?"

"Yes, we are," the players replied again.

"I like the spirit," Coach Max Allegri said with a smile. "As you all know, we plan to travel to Berlin on a 4:00 PM flight today. We hope to arrive at around eight and spend the night there. Then, we'll inspect the venue for the final and hold a light training session tomorrow morning. After that, we can all relax in Berlin while waiting for the final."

"Since our time is scarce, I'll now read the provisional line-up for tomorrow. In goal, we'll go with Gianluigi Buffon, our captain, while our backline will constitute Patrice Evra, Leonardo Bonucci, Giorgio Chiellini, and Stephan Lichtsteiner."

"Moving on to midfield. We'll play with three holding midfielders, including Arturo Vidal, Roberto Pereyra, and Claudio Marchisio, while Zachary Bemba will play as our sole advanced playmaker. And finally, we'll utilize the services of Carlos Tevez and Álvaro Morata as our two strikers to complete our 4-3-1-2 formation."

"Moving on to the bench," the coach continued. "We'll have Marco Storari, Andrea Barzagli, Simone Padoin, Stefano Sturaro, Kingsley Coman, Fernando Llorente, and lastly, Andres Pirlo, who is not with us at the moment but has just passed the fitness tests today."

Most players, including Zachary, cheered when they heard Andrea Pirlo's name on the line-up. The Maestro had been nursing a calf injury, which he picked up during the first leg of Juventus' semi-final against Borussia Dortmund about four weeks ago. Fortunately for Juventus, he had passed the fitness tests on time and could thus partake in the following day's final. Of course, his presence was more than welcomed by all the Juventus players and coaches who yearned to win the Champions League more than anything.

Coach Allegri smiled when he saw his players cheering. He nodded and said, "First, listen, people. As we've already discussed all week, Barcelona, our opponents, are a team that relies on their incredible Tiki-taka style to break down opposing teams. They will play short, intricate, and accurate passes throughout the game, with the primary aim being to keep possession for long periods, work the ball through various channels, and ultimately reach advanced positions, where they can create scoring opportunities."

"To combat this playing style, we must work hard in defense and midfield. We must go all out to win the ball before hitting the opponents with swift counterattacks. That's why we'll have three holding midfielders on the pitch, with the role to win back possession and set up Zachary, Tevez, and Morata with first-time through passes."

"All in all, we won't try to beat Barcelona at their own style of Tiki-taka football. But we'll instead rely on our hard work to break down their passing before unleashing through passes to our attackers, who will do their best to score. Are we on the same page, guys?"

"Yes, coach," the players replied.

"Do any of you have any questions?" The coach asked.

Zachary gritted his teeth and raised his hand.

Coach Max Allegri was surprised. But he still gave him the go-ahead to ask the question by pointing at him.

"Coach!" Zachary began. "Our 4-3-1-2 line-up is narrow and will leave openings in the wing areas for Messi and Neymar to exploit. Of course, we can rectify that by having one of our holding midfielders cover the flanks when Barcelona is attacking through the wing. But that will again leave gaps for the strong Barcelona midfield to exploit in the middle. Coach! How should we handle this problem?"

Coach Allegri smiled. "Of course, I know well that we lack numbers in the wings. But we can't sacrifice any of our midfielders to rectify the problem. So, what we can do is to remain tenacious while defending."

"In particular, all midfielders must work hard to cover our two wing-backs when they are up against Barcelona's wing duo of Messi and Neymar. I know that that will also leave gaps in the midfield. But we can also overcome that through collective hard work when we defend as a team. Does that answer your question, Zachary?"

Zachary nodded and showed no change of expression. But on the inside, he was still worried.

He feared that the lack of numbers in the wings would give Barcelona's incredible wingers opportunities to create several goal-scoring opportunities, like what transpired in the final of his previous life. But since the coach had already decided, he could only remain silent and wait for the game before thinking about how to rectify the issue himself.

Coach Allegri smiled and turned away from Zachary. "Whether I mentioned your name on the line-up or not, we'll all travel together to Berlin for the finals. We'll board the flight as a team at 4:00 PM and hope to arrive in Germany by eight. So, you should all return home and pack your bags before quickly returning here. We must set off for the airport at 2:45 PM. Understood?"

"Yes, coach."