THE GREATEST OF ALL TIME

Tuesday, December 3, 2013.

Zachary woke up early as usual and headed out for his early morning run. The weather was cold enough to make his atoms shiver, yet he ran at a constant rhythm as his measured strides ate up yards of the frozen sidewalk.

It had been five days since Rosenborg had crashed Standard Liege in the Europa League group game. However, all the sports headlines in Norway were still about him since he'd managed to score four goals in that game. His phenomenal performance during that match had even pushed him to the top of trending topics on most of the social media platforms in Norway.

Moreover, an article by Olav Brusveen, a famous TV2 Sporten sports journalist in Norway, had even described him as one of the young talents with the potential to become the G.O.A.T in the future. As a result, his fame, both in Norway and entire Europe, had exploded due to the added media attention.

On top of that, more teams in Europe continued approaching Emily, his agent, to inquire about his availability during the upcoming transfer window. Some clubs like Tottenham and Red Bull Leipzig had even hinted about triggering his release clause as long as he nodded to their offers. They were clearly willing to offer him over-the-top lucrative personal terms if he could transfer out of Rosenborg during the January transfer window.

Be that as it may, Zachary still stuck to his plan of staying in Rosenborg until the following year. He remained silent about his future and left all the negotiations and dealings with the interested clubs to Emily, his agent.

As a player living his second life, he understood his priorities. Thus, he'd only focused on training and ignored all the other happenings around him for the past five days.

He was well aware that he could only attract the most lucrative deals from top clubs in Europe by putting up more consistent and phenomenal displays during important matches. As long as he could play like Ronaldinho, Zidane, or Messi, club offers would find him at his doorstep even if he wasn't searching for them.

That was a simple truth.

Zachary ran with conviction and purpose as he winded corner after corner in the early morning darkness. His breathing got more labored as beads of sweat continued flooding his undershirt with every passing minute. However, he persisted with his iron will until he completed his early morning six-kilometer run thirty minutes later.

He then returned to his apartment and stretched a bit before taking a hot shower to lighten the burden on his muscles. After that, he settled on one of the sofas in his living room and started feasting on his breakfast.

Eating was a way to nurture himself, to show his body that it was worth the effort of good nutrition. So, he was in an unusual state of concentration as he gorged himself with food while listening to some soft rock music in the background.

To achieve more from his training, he'd recently started following a strict diet recommended by a sports nutritionist. For instance, his breakfast that day included one large bowl of cereal with milk, two slices of white toast with jam, 300ml of fresh orange juice, and lots of fresh fruit. It was a well-balanced breakfast that included all the nutrients that could support the energy demands of a professional athlete during the day. As a result, he was confident to do his best in the team training sessions after following such a diet.

"Bzzt Bzzzt! Bzzt Bzzzt!"

His phone started vibrating like an angry rattlesnake right after he'd finished feasting on his breakfast. He couldn't help but smile after picking it up from a nearby table and glancing at the screen.

"Good morning, Camilla," he spoke into the phone after placing it next to his ear. "How's your morning?"

"My morning is fine, dear," she replied, her voice filled with a vibrancy colored by her exotic accent. "Taˈda! I just called to wish you a happy birthday! I am sending you an ocean of love. I really do hope that your birthday is as cool as you are. Enjoy the day, and put your happy face on."

"Oh, thank you for the birthday wishes," he replied, a bit surprised. For the past five days, he'd been living like a hermit. He'd only focused on his training, day in, day out, and ignored everything else. As a result, he'd pushed his birthday out of his mind. So, he was a bit startled when Camilla mentioned it.

Unknowingly, he'd already spent close to a year as part of Rosenborg's senior team. He'd already achieved so much as a footballer even though he'd just made nineteen years in his second life. He couldn't help but feel like his life was like a dream out of the best of fantasies.

"So, what are your plans?" Camilla continued, her voice laced with a tinge of excitement. "Party, or should I take you out, just the two of us, to celebrate? You decide!"

"I won't be making any parties just for a birthday," Zachary was quick to reply. "About going out, let's see if we can get time later."

"Oh!" Camilla said from the other end of the line, seeming disappointed. "Okay, then. But don't forget. You only get a single day in a year to celebrate your birthday. So, you better cherish it."

"I do get your point, Camilla. Thank you!" Zachary replied and immediately decided to change the topic. "Are you still in Oslo?"

"Nope! I just returned to Trondheim today morning. I'm even still at the airport at the moment."

"Oh! You're quite early," Zachary said, a bit surprised. He couldn't help but steal a glance at the wall clock on the opposite wall. It was just coming to seven o'clock in the morning. So, Camilla should have woken up before 4:00 AM to catch the flight from Oslo to Trondheim that morning.

"I had to be early," Camilla said from the other end of the line. "Remember, we have that Audi photo shoot with you today. So, I've to be in Trondheim to make sure that everything is in order before the photo session."

"Oh, the photo shoot!" Zachary said, nodding. "It's late in the afternoon. Right?"

"Yes! The session is scheduled for 4:00 PM today evening. Please try to arrive by 3:30 PM so that we can start on time and finish early. You can contact your agent for more specifics."

"Okay. I'll contact my agent right away. Let me say goodbye for now. Talk to you later."

"Talk to you later! Have a good day, my dear!"

"Good day to you, too!" Zachary responded before hanging up the phone. Without further ado, he decided to call Emily right away to find out the specifics of the photo session with Audi that day.

"Zachary, I was just about to call you," Emily said immediately after picking up the phone. "Cheers to you for another trip around the sun! Happy birthday to you!"

"Thanks for the birthday wishes, Emily! How's everything on your side?"

"All is fine, and I'm having a wonderful morning," Emily replied. "I guess you should be calling me about the details of the Audi photo session. Right?"

"Yes," Zachary responded.

"Then, I have all the details with me here. The session will be at 4:00 PM today afternoon. Audi Norway has promised to pay you an additional 100,000 NOK as a sort of per diem for the session. Additionally, you will get a chance to pick a new ride from the latest stock of the new Audi car models."

"Great," Zachary said, his heartbeat speeding up. Of course, he was delighted by the prospect of owning a brand new car in the Audi series. "Then, let's meet up at Lerkendal so that we can head to the Audi showroom together."

"That's okay," Emily replied. "One more thing! Audi has also sent over a revised contract extension. They've promised to raise your annual income from 7.5 to 11 million Norwegian Kroners per year if you extend your contract with them from three to five years. As long as you agree, the contract will come into effect starting January 2014."

"11 million Kroner!"

Zachary was quite startled. Eleven million Norwegian Kroner was just over one million Euros. The amount was enough to push him onto the list of the highest-paid athletes in Norway. So, he was surprised that Audi was willing to offer him such terms in his second year as their ambassador in Norway.

"Don't be surprised," Emily said, seemingly reading his mind. "You deserve such an offer based on the way you have been playing over the past few weeks. The professionals of companies like Audi should be able to discern that you'll be quite a valuable player in the near future. So, that's why they're rushing to secure your signature before their competitors can make any offers to you."

Zachary nodded. "By the way, how are the negotiations with those companies that were interested in my services? Is there any progress yet?"

"That's the other issue I wanted to discuss with you. I have already held a couple of meetings with the representatives of Nike, EA Sports, and Pepsi, and all I can say is that everything is going well. All three companies are willing to offer you endorsement deals if you continue putting up phenomenal performances, especially in the Europa League. However, I can't give you any specifics since we're still ironing out the details."

"That's great," Zachary said. "As long as there's progress, then all is fine. I have to go now since I have to prep for today's training. So, talk to you later, I guess."

"Just one more thing," Emily quickly interjected before Zachary could hang up. "The investment consultant friend of mine communicated that she has made plans to come to Norway next week. So, if you're interested in meeting her then, I can go ahead and confirm an appointment with her."

"Just go ahead and confirm the appointment," Zachary replied immediately. "If possible, we can meet on Monday afternoon next week. Has she compiled the list of companies that I could invest in yet?"

"That, I don't know," Emily said from the other end of the line. "But, don't worry. She's very good at her work. She'll be able to compile the list and all the associated statistics within a few days after you finish negotiating a working contract with her."

"Then, that's okay," Zachary said. "I'm looking forward to meeting her next Monday. Otherwise, I've got to go now as it's getting late. I have to prep for training."

"Okay, okay," Emily said. "Have a good day."

"Have a good day, too," Zachary replied before hanging up.