“Listen up, young fellas,” said Coach Johansen, his voice deathly quiet and filled with foreboding. “I’m sure that most of you are thinking this game is just another insignificant friendly. And, as long as you perform well, you won’t be released by the academy. You’ll pass the review. Isn’t that right?” He grinned, letting his gaze roam over the sixteen players seated in a semi-circle before him.

The academy players before him remained silent, waiting for their coach to continue.

Zachary and his teammates had just finished warming up. They were in the dressing room, attending a pre-match tactical briefing for the game against Rosenborg’s second team. Their opponents were a combination of both under 19s and reserves of the Rosenborg team.

“Let me tell you this. You can’t afford to lose this game,” Coach Johansen continued. “I understand that those men are a few years your seniors. They may have much more experience than you guys. But you still have to win. I hate losing—and you should, too. Go out there and play like your life depends on it. Otherwise, I’ll cut most of you out of the team during the review.” He took a few steps closer to the players. “Are we on the same page?” He asked in a solemn tone.

“Yes, Coach,” all the players, including Zachary, replied, more or less in unison.

Coach Johansen nodded at the players before unfolding a piece of paper. “The starting line-up for today is as follows:

Goal Keeper; Kendrick Otterson

Center-backs; Robin Jatta, Lars Togstad, Daniel Kvande

Left-back; Martin Lundal, Right-back; Öyvind Alseth

Midfield; Magnus Blakstad, Zachary Bemba

Right-wing; Paul Kasongo, Left-wing; Kim Riksvold

Forward; Örjan Börmark.”

Zachary turned to look at Paul, his Swedish flatmate, after hearing the names on the squad. Coach Johansen had left him out of the starting line-up.

The boy’s brows were—creased into a frown. He appeared devastated by the coach’s decision. Zachary made a mental note to console him later and returned his attention to the coach’s instructions.

“I want to emphasize one point once more. You’re playing against a stronger team. That’s for sure. That’s why we are using the 5-4-1 formation. All of you, except Örjan, have to defend and mark all their forwards and attacking midfielders. Center-backs! You have to maintain a high level of concentration for the whole match. You can’t let them make runs behind you.”

The coach turned towards Zachary and regarded him for a moment. “Zach boy,” he said in a mild tone. “I need swift transitions, from the defense to striking, when you guys win the ball. You’re in the midfield—and with your speed, you should be able to provide the wingers and forwards with through passes for counters. Right?”

“Yes, coach,” Zachary replied. He fully grasped the strategy since Coach Johansen had been talking about it in training the entire week. The coach intended to have them play a purely defensive game and catch the opponents on the counterattack.

“Kasongo and Kim,” Coach Johansen intoned, turning away from Zachary. “You’ll be doing a lot of running during this game. The two of you have to support Örjan in the attack, and also fall back quickly whenever we lose possession.”

“Especially you, Kim,” the coach emphasized, pointing at one of the players. “Please make sure you support Martin on the left-wing whenever we are defending against their attacks. Is that clear?”

“Yes, coach,” Kim Riksvold, the starting left-winger, replied solemnly.

“Great. Let’s have a good match.” Coach Johansen smiled. “Bjørn, give out the jerseys,” he instructed, turning towards his assistant at his side.

Zachary and his teammates exited the dressing room once they had all donned their dark blue jerseys. On the way out of the dressing room, Zachary approached Paul Otterson and asked: “Are you alright?”

“Why wouldn’t I be?” The Swede flashed him a smile. “I’m sure I’ll get a chance to play later on in the game.” He said.

Zachary clapped Paul’s shoulder as they walked through the tunnel. “That’s great. I thought you were depressed about the game. Stay positive. You’ll get a chance to play.” He consoled his friend.

Paul’s smile faded, and he lowered his voice, his expression solemn. “I suggest you take this game more seriously.”

“Of course, I will,” Zachary replied, also in a whisper. “I always take every game seriously.”

“You don’t understand.” Paul scowled at Zachary. “There is talk of making Coach Johansen the permanent coach of the Rosenborg II team.”

“Wasn’t he already confirmed as the head of the NF academy instead of the Rosenborg under-19s?”

“Yes.” Paul nodded. “But that’s all ancient history. Rosenborg’s Board of Directors wants to appoint him as the coach of the second team. This match may be a test set for him by the club officials. That means if we lose, he may cut most of the players from the academy team. I’m sure you won’t be affected because of your exceptional talent.” He smiled ruefully. “However, the rest of us will be in deep trouble.”

Zachary frowned. “Are the rest of the players aware of this?”

“Nope. I just heard this from my agency.” Paul sighed. “They warned me to perform my best today because of that.”

“I’ll do my best.” Zachary smiled. “Let’s hope luck is on our side today. Taking our team into consideration, we have a real chance of winning. We only need to find a way to score.”

Zachary had realized that the NF academy had a relatively strong under-18 team over the past year. The defense was almost on par with the Rosenborg under-19s’. The only challenge they faced was a lack of strikers. The only forwards on the roster were Kim Riksvold and Paul Otterson. Coach Johansen’s only resort was to use the 5-4-1 formation to cover that defect.

“Just do your best, Zach,” Paul implored as they walked out of the tunnel into the pitch. “The continuation of our blissful life in the academy hinges on this game. It’s even more important than the one against the Rosenborg seniors.” He patted Zachary’s shoulder and rushed off towards the technical area.

Zachary sighed as he glanced at the departing back of his flatmate. He’d even forgotten that he was in an annual review—testing the performance of the players. If their performance didn’t meet the required standards during the review week, the academy would release them and politely advise them to try their talents elsewhere. Zachary wasn’t worried since he was already assured of his position in Rosenborg when he turned 18. As long as he wasn’t involved in a terrible scandal or accident, the academy wouldn’t release him. Mr. Stein had already assured him about that.

“Zach,” A deep voice sounded from behind him as he was still in contemplation. He turned around only to find Magnus Blakstad, the other central midfielder selected for that day’s game, standing behind him. The number six was very tall, a clear head higher than most people Zachary would consider tall.

“What is it?” Zachary inquired. He had never been close to the midfielder since they attended different schools.

“I’ll cover the whole of the defensive midfield,” Magnus said, smiling. “Just concentrate on attacking. We need to win this game.”

Zachary nodded. “I believe that we should be able to win. But watch out for Ole’s passes. Otherwise, we will have no chance of emerging victorious.”

“That’s true,” Magnus concurred. “We can’t win this game unless we deal with Ole’s passes. But they will also have to deal with you if they want to win this game. Just look around and see how the Rosenborg players are stealing wary glances at you.” He grinned, pointing towards the other half of the pitch.

Zachary turned around and noticed that his old acquaintances, in their Rosenborg black and white jerseys, were glowering at him with a burning urge to compete. The likes of Mushaga, Ole, Jonas, Asen, Christopher, Fredrick, and a few other players Zachary did not recognize were already standing in their positions. They had arrayed themselves into a 3-5-2 formation, showing their intention to play an attacking game against the NF academy.

*FWEEEEEEE!*

The referee blew his whistle, signaling for all the players to take their position. The match between Rosenborg II and the NF academy was finally beginning.

Zachary’s mood lifted. It had been a full year since he last partook in a serious soccer game. He was eager to test his skills against the Rosenborg second team.

“It finally begins,” Magnus grinned. “Let’s have a good game,” He pumped fists with Zachary before running back to his position.