Chapter 76 Tough Opponents
When Zachary returned to his hotel room, he couldn't resist the temptation to open the system interface. Despite only having a small window to clean up and pick his lunch before returning to the bus, he decided to check whether there were any marked changes in the interface.
The magical state of extreme focus that had enabled him to score the second goal was still fresh on his mind. He had only managed to enter it twice; first, during the match against JFC Riga and later in that day's game against ADO Den Haag.
During both instances, he had performed at a level much higher than his baseline. However, he still didn't have any conscious control over entering the state of mind. So, when he went into the shower, away from the eyes of Kasongo, he opened the system interface to search for clues.
Nothing seemed to have changed since the beginning of the match. Most attributes were still in the A grading while the X-factor was still showing an F grade—and 'limited information available' when he clicked on it.
Zachary only saw a significant change under the G.O.A.T Skills tab. His Zinedine-Visual-Juju had jumped from a 72.021% to a 77.072% 1st-level of progress within just a span of a single game. He was shocked by the unusually-large increment.
The advancement of the Zinedine-Visual-Juju seemed to have stagnated when he'd reached 70% progress. Zachary had been seeking ways to enhance its rate of improvement for months. He'd tried watching recorded matches and reading books about soccer tactics to quicken the process of mastering the skill.
Nonetheless, it had continued improving by only about 0.1 - 0.5% each month.
However, in a single match where he had managed to enter the mysterious state of extreme focus, the skill had improved by slightly more than 5%. He was astounded.
Zachary hypothesized that the state of extreme focus was somehow related to the Zinedine-Visual-Juju.
He wished he could master the Zinedine-Visual-Juju to a hundred percent and see whether he would gain control over achieving the state of extreme focus. However, he understood learning a skill was a slow process.
The only skills in the system he'd managed to master to 1st-level 100% completion so far were the Cruyff-turn and his arrow shot. That was because he'd practiced them regularly in his previous life. Otherwise, he would have taken much longer to learn them. Zachary could only wait to enter the mysterious mental state again involuntarily before continuing his investigation.
"Zach!" Kasongo's voice came in from behind the bathroom door, interrupting his musings. "We're almost late for the game. You'd better hurry since we have to pick our lunch before heading to the bus."
"How many minutes do we have left?" Zachary inquired, closing the system interface.
"It's now 1:30," Kasongo replied. "We have to be at the bus in 10 minutes if we wish to go with the rest of the team."
"Okay then," Zachary replied. "I'll be done in five. You can head down first. Please pick my lunch as well on your way. I'll meet you downstairs in less than ten minutes."
"Okay," Kasongo concurred. "But hurry up. I don't know why you're spending so long in the shower." He grumbled.
Zachary quickly finished cleaning up. He then slipped into a fresh dark blue tracksuit and a heavy jacket before running down the stairs to catch the bus to the stadium.
"Zach!" Kasongo hollered out to him, waving an arm as soon as he stepped on the bus. "I kept a seat for you here. Come on."
Zachary nodded at Coach Johansen by the door, mumbling an apology before taking a seat next to Kasongo.
Thirty minutes later, they were seated in the stadium watching the game between VfB Stuttgart and Tottenham, with their lunch boxes in hand.
The NF Academy squad members sat together with their technical team, keeping a close eye on the game's progress. They enjoyed their takeaway lunch at the same time.
The VfB Stuttgart players, dressed in white, were arrayed in the 4-3-3 formation once again. They attacked relentlessly, with three midfielders often committing forward to support the three forwards. They passed the ball quickly through gaps between the Tottenham players, waiting for an opportunity to penetrate the box.
Joshua Kimmich stood out in the central midfield. His positioning on the pitch was textbook perfect, making him the control tower for the whole team.
Zachary could instantly tell why Kimmich had been so good in his previous life, going on to play for Bayern and winning a major competition like the UEFA Champions League. He was a very skilled central midfielder with good spatial awareness.
Both on and off the ball, Kimmich knew the positioning of both his teammates and opponents. Zachary could feel his tenacity from watching his playing style. Other players on the VfB Stuttgart team occasionally lost out one-on-one or misplaced a pass, but not Kimmich.
A single touch would take him around an unsuspecting opponent—and within a matter of seconds, he would initiate an attack with a defense-splitting pass. He could spot runs made by his teammates behind opposing defenders even amid a crowd of opponents.
That was how he managed to launch the 20th-minute attack that resulted in VfB Stuttgart's first goal. He made a yard of space for himself by skipping past a challenge from Joshua Onomah, one of Tottenham's central midfielders. Without even looking up, he sent a lofted pass that beat the entire Tottenham defense. It landed right in the path of a sprinting Felix Lohkemper.
Felix, VfB Stuttgart's forward on the right flank, didn't waste the extraordinary opportunity. He reacted quickly to get ahead of the central defenders and fired a close-range shot that ended up in the top right corner. The German team had taken the lead as early as the 20th minute, giving the impression that they would come out on top after the 90 minutes.
However, the Tottenham players weren't loafing. They lurked like predators, waiting for the VfB Stuttgart players to make a mistake before pouncing on them. They created pressing zones using three players around Kimmich, trying their utmost to destabilize the midfield control tower.
In particular, Harry Winks, Tottenham's central midfielder, marked Kimmich remarkably, denying him breathing space when with the ball. Harry outmuscled the German midfielder with every chance he got, sometimes committing fouls.
His stubbornness helped Tottenham keep the control tower at bay—and his teammates came alive, playing with a spectacular counterattacking flair whenever they won the ball.
They profited from their relentless efforts in the 38th minute. Milos Veljkovic, Tottenham's center-back, won the ball fair and square, dispossessing Felix Lohkemper close to his box. He then quickly set loose Joshua Onomah, who was making a run in the left-wing.
The counterattack was on.
Joshua Onomah, Tottenham's attacking midfielder, looped the ball over the VfB Stuttgart players, sending it onto the path of William Miller, the left-winger.
The left-winger had timed his run perfectly, beating the defenders for pace. He cut back into the pitch and bolted into the box. He quickly looped the ball over the keeper, leveling matters just before half time.
In the second half, both teams continued attacking each other relentlessly. VfB Stuttgart continued using its stable style of passing the ball around the pitch, searching for opportunities. On the other hand, the Tottenham players intensified their counterattacks. Every mistake on VfB Stuttgart's side would translate into a deadly counter that threatened to turn into a goal.
Tottenham came close to scoring several times as the game approached the 60th minute. But the stable goalkeeping of VfB Stuttgart's number-1 kept matters level. He made several superb saves, denying the Tottenham forwards the chance to get on the score sheet in the second half.
The game remained at a stalemate until VfB Stuttgart stepped up to a higher gear in the 70th minute. Joshua Kimmich, Philipp Förster, and Sinan Gümüs (the three midfielders) all came alive, setting up several defense-splitting through-passes to their forwards.
The forwards didn't disappoint.
Timo Werner caught the Tottenham goalkeeper napping with a brilliant, instinctive strike after receiving a fantastic pinpoint pass from Kimmich in the 75th minute.
The forward was close to sealing his position as the top scorer of the tournament with twelve goals. He was already ahead of Zachary by two goals in the scoring tallies.
Zachary could only sigh in dejection as he continued to watch the match.
Felix Lohkemper, one of the other forwards, scored VfB Stuttgart's third from a curling finish after receiving another defense-splitting pass from Kimmich.
VfB Stuttgart then held on to win the second semifinal with a 3:1 score. They would face NF Academy in the finals.
**** ****
"What do you think about VfB Stuttgart?" Coach Johansen asked Zachary as they left the stadium, heading to the bus after the match.
"They're a better team than us," Zachary replied honestly. "Their style of play is stable, and they will most likely dictate the tempo of the game against us in the final."
Coach Johansen nodded without any reaction. "In which position do you think you would be most effective against them?"
Zachary was surprised since the coach had never bothered to inquire about tactics from any of his players. But he answered nonetheless. "I think I'll play better against Stuttgart if I play as a central midfielder. That happens to be my preferred position. However, I'll need help in the center of the pitch. We need to pack our midfield with five players to stop VfB Stuttgart's mobility—there. Only then do we stand a chance of winning."
