The Greatest of all Time

Zachary woke up a bit late the following day, feeling refreshed and full of spirits. He stole a peek at his bedside clock and noticed that it was already 8:30 AM. So, without any dilly-dallying, he jumped out of bed and then washed up quickly before feasting on a sumptuous breakfast with Camilla.

Thirty minutes later, he dropped Camilla off at Møller Bil Trondheim, her workplace, before continuing towards Lerkendal to attend Rosenborg's official training that day. He navigated the early morning traffic at a leisurely pace while listening to some of the newest catchy tunes on his car stereo. As a result, he only arrived at the gates of Lerkendal a little more than thirty minutes later when the late autumn sun had long risen above the horizon in the east.

Nevertheless, he didn't panic since he was sure that the official training that day would only start at 10:00 AM. He still had some time to kill before the coaches arrived on the training grounds. So, he slowly pulled his R8 GT into one of the parking spaces allocated to the Rosenborg players before making his way towards the training ground.

Wherever he passed, the Rosenborg employees working on the field greeted him enthusiastically before congratulating him on winning yet another trophy. Some even went ahead and asked him to sign autographs for them as he made his way across the green towards the locker room.

Zachary could, of course, see that the employees held him in high esteem just from their attitudes. So, he returned their greetings politely and even signed plenty of autographs before continuing on his way with a slight swagger in his step. On the inside, he was swelling with pride as he'd finally managed to get recognition from both the fans and employees of Rosenborg.

It had only been less than a year ever since he started playing professionally for the Troll Kids. However, he'd already helped the Norwegian giants win the domestic double by becoming a top scorer and MVP for Norway's two most prestigious tournaments. So, he could hardly contain the sense of contentment swelling within him.

A few minutes later, Zachary couldn't help but smile when he got to the Lerkendal training grounds. His mood lifted when he noticed that the atmosphere around the whole Rosenborg team was exceptionally energetic. It seemed like winning the Norwegian Football Cup had boosted his teammates' morale and pushed them to work even harder in preparation for the two remaining Europa League group matches.

All the players present on the training grounds that morning were very spirited, with most spread across the field in groups, going through various fitness drills. They were all quite focused, performing routines without cutting corners, even though the coaches hadn't yet arrived to supervise them. For that reason, the atmosphere on the field was rather intense to the point that Zachary felt guilty just by standing there on the sidelines and watching his teammates train.

"Zach!!"

Zachary's ears picked someone calling out his name at that moment. He glanced around and noticed that Mikael Dorsin, Rosenborg's assistant captain, was waving at him from somewhere in the middle of the pitch. With him were four other players, namely: Tore Reginiussen, John Chibuike, Ole Selnæs, and Eric Bailly, all going through a simple stretching routine. "Don't just stand there on the sidelines, gawking," the assistant captain hollered out again after a moment. "Come here and join our drill."

"Okay, but just give me a minute," Zachary yelled back, grinning. Without further ado, he fixed his shin guards into his stockings, then tied his shoelaces before sprinting onto the field towards Mikael's group like a whirlwind.

"Good morning, Zachary," Mikael was the first to greet him while stretching out a hand for a handshake. "How was your day off yesterday?"

"Good morning to you, too, Mikael," Zachary replied, taking the hand. "My day off yesterday was fine and pretty relaxing."

"This time around, you're probably the last to arrive on the training ground," Mikael said as Zachary took turns greeting the other players in the group. "It's quite a rare occurrence."

Zachary just chuckled without giving a reply. "Shouldn't we be getting back to training?" He said after a moment.

"Okay, then," Mikael said, nodding. "The time should have already clocked 9:30 AM by now. We should only have roughly thirty minutes before the coaches arrive. So, guys, what do you suggest? Should we continue with the stretching? Or should we dive into agilities right away?"

"Zachary," Tore Reginiussen, the Rosenborg captain, chimed in. "Have you warmed up already?"

"Not yet," Zachary replied straight away. "I went through a yoga routine before leaving home. But my muscles should have already cooled down since slightly more than thirty minutes have already elapsed."

"Then, let's continue with the stretching routine for the next five minutes," the captain said, glancing at the rest. "That way, we'll be able to allow Zachary to warm up before diving into the agility and body coordination drills."

"That's perfect then."

The rest of the players concurred, and they were all soon going through a simple stretching routine. They started with neck stretches, then transitioned into upper body warm-up exercises before ending the regimen with lower body stretches. After taking a minute break, they dived into agilities and body coordination drills there in the middle of the field.

They were so engrossed, stepping quickly through agility ladders and cones, with a hundred percent concentration for the next few minutes. In no time, their shirts were caked with sweat, showcasing the intensity of the exercise.

Zachary, on his part, felt that the exercises were much easier than before. His motions through the agility ladders were simply smooth and immaculate as if they were second nature to him. He breathtakingly went through all the body coordination exercises, including the lateral plyometric jumps, the forward-running high-knee drills, and the shuttle runs without breaking a sweat.

His training efficiency was out of this world since there were simply no wasted movements as he performed the drills. He was still full of energy when the coaches arrived on the training ground at around 10:00 AM. On the other hand, most of his colleagues, except Eric Bailly, were slightly out of breath by then.