The Greatest of all Time

Chapter 466 A Steady Performance

The counterattack was on, and most of Juventus' attacking players reacted accordingly as Carlos Tévez sprinted with the ball along the touchline on the left flank. Kingsley Coman and Stephan Lichtsteiner darted across the pitch via the right wing while Zachary Bemba raced through the middle in sync with the lightning-fast Tévez. They were like four incarnations of Usain Bolt as they bore down on AC Milan's goal like a pack of wolves on the hunt. Anyone could tell they had only a single mission on their minds: They wanted to catch AC Milan off guard and score on the counterattack.

"It's Carlos Tévez on the ball," the voice of Carlo Vanzini, the commentator, resounded across the stadium in tandem with the thunderous cheers. "He has yards of space ahead of him on the left flank. But he chooses to pass to Zachary in the middle. It's now Zachary on the ball..."

Pierluigi Pardo, the co-commentator, followed the proceedings on the pitch with bated breath as his colleague gave the match commentary. His eyes narrowed into slits, and he watched Zachary connect with the short pass from Carlos Tévez. Zachary then twisted and turned to step away from an opponent before continuing toward AC Milan's box like a racing cheetah traversing the jungle. The young Juventus number 10 soon stepped into the final third and faced off against the only remaining opponent barring his way towards the goal.

At that moment, Zachary could basically choose to go at it alone and beat the final defender before trying to score. However, the young Maestro made a surprising decision instead. He held on to the ball for only a few seconds to draw in the remaining defender. And when the opponent took the bait and closed him down, he immediately unleashed a well-timed cheeky pass towards his right to find Kingsley Coman, the other Juventus forward.

"Oh, my God!" Carlo Vanzini, the commentator, continued yelling. "Zachary's sweet pass has managed to release Kingsley Coman on a straight course towards the goal. The young Frenchman takes a touch and steps into the box. No one can stop him. He shoots. He beats the keeper. Oh, my goodness me! The ball is in the back of the net."

"Goaaaal!" The commentator screamed in sync with the thunderous cheers around the stadium. "Kingsley Coman, the nineteen-year-old Frenchman, has bagged Juventus' first goal just seconds after El Shaarawy failed to convert AC Milan's penalty. We have just witnessed one of the best counterattacking goals in football history. Truly spectacular stuff happening on the pitch."

Pierluigi Pardo, the co-commentator, chuckled. "What's more interesting is that Zachary Bemba, one nineteen-year-old, linked up with Kingsley Coman, another nineteen-year-old, during the build-up that led to the goal. The young talents of Juventus are surely incredible."

"Now that you mention it," Carlo Vanzini said, "I'm surprised Zachary chose to pass the ball instead of trying to test the goalkeeper. He had all the space to shoot at the goal himself but provided an assist instead. He's a different version of the Zachary we witnessed during midweek."

"Yes, that's true," Pierluigi Pardo agreed. "There are many critics and pundits who expressed that Zachary was a very selfish player after Juventus' Champions League game against Malmo. Additionally, the critics claimed that his selfishness was what allowed him to score more than twenty goals during the Europa League last season. But I don't see it that way, and I can't relate to such harsh words concerning Zachary. Instead, I think Zachary is an uncommonly talented attacking midfielder with an impressive vision on the pitch. He's able to make the most appropriate decisions during critical moments."

"For instance, if he notices that the best chance for his team to score is having a go for himself, he will shoot. But if he happens to spot a teammate with higher odds of putting the ball into the back of the net, he will pass to that teammate to increase his team's chances of winning. He's the kind of midfielder who makes decisions based on the situation. And that explains why he passed to Kingsley Coman instead of having a go at goal himself."

"You do have a point," Carlo Vanzini, the commentator, agreed. "But, let's return our focus to the pitch where Juventus is preparing to make a substitution. Remember that Coach Allegri's men are already a player down, even though they are one goal ahead. They will have to play the remaining 80-plus minutes with only ten men. Can they protect their lead and go home with all three points after the final whistle? Let's continue following the match to find out."

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Zachary relaxed a bit when he noticed that Coach Allegri had chosen to replace Kingsley Coman, a striker, with Arturo Vidal, a defensive midfielder. He could immediately tell that the coach was taking precautions by switching to defensive strategies instead of remaining hell-bent on playing possession football with only ten players on the field. If his guesses were correct, Juventus was about to switch to a 4-4-1 system that would enable them to endure and weather AC Milan's attacks after the red card.

"Coach's instructions!"  Arturo Vidal, the just-introduced substitute, said after approaching Zachary. "You're to continue playing as the attacking pivot in charge of linking up play with Carlos Tévez, our only remaining striker. But you will also have to fall back whenever we're not on the ball to help in defense. Do you understand?"

"Yes," Zachary replied.

"Good. Let's do our best to protect our lead. We must not lose to AC Milan, even at the San Siro." Arturo Vidal said and stepped away, heading towards his position in defensive midfield.

Zachary watched the midfielder take his position at the border of the final third before returning his focus to the referee. His fighting spirit was already shooting into the skies as he readied himself for the restart of the game. He wasn't resigned to losing and yearned to do his utmost to help his team seal victory against AC Milan even with a one-player disadvantage.

*FWEEEEEEE*

The referee blew the whistle and the game restarted. A few seconds elapsed, and the AC Milan players began launching endless waves of attacks on Juventus' box. While arrayed in the 4-3-3 system, they utilized their one-player advantage to outwit Juventus in the most crucial areas of the field and dominate possession. And it didn't take them long to start creating clear goal-scoring chances that tested Juventus' tenacity and defensive capabilities on multiple occasions.

Of course, many of AC Milan's attempts were off target, while only a few were on the mark. But even the few on target couldn't cause any harm to Juventus due to the impressive form of Gianluigi Buffon, the goalkeeper.

The experienced shot-stopper made six incredible saves during the first half and even came out on top after a one-on-one encounter with Jérémy Ménez, AC Milan's center-forward. His performance was out of this world, and he was by far Juventus' best player during the first half.

During the second half, it was almost the same story as in the first. The Rossoneri attacked as if their lives were on the line, searching for that one goal that would put them back on level terms with Juventus. But alas, they couldn't break through Juventus' defensive formation supported by only ten players. They couldn't put a ball past Gianluigi Buffon, the shot-stopper, who was clearly at the top of his game that evening.