Tuesday, May 5th, 2015
Juventus Stadium, Turin, Italy.
Time: 8:40 PM.
Only five minutes were remaining before the first leg of the long-awaited UEFA Champions League semi-final battle between Juventus and Borussia Dortmund. The fans of both teams had already filled up the stands. They were cheering at the top of their lungs while eagerly waiting for the referee to blow the kick-off whistle.
On the pitch, proceedings were also moving forward smoothly. The players had just completed most of their pre-match routines. They were taking their positions while waiting for their captains to finish the mandatory coin toss that would mainly decide which side would kick off the game.
Zachary was obviously among the Juventus starting players. He had rested enough over the past ten days and was as fresh as ever. His energy levels were sky-high, and he was ready to do his best against Borussia Dortmund.
Zachary took his starting attacking midfield position right outside the center circle and started observing the Borussia Dortmund players on the other side of the pitch. He could see famous names from his previous life, like Ciro Immobile, Marco Reus, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Henrikh Mkhitaryan, Ilkay Gündogan, and Mats Hummels, taking up their positions. They all looked sharp and ready to give their all during the game.
Zachary then turned to Borussia Dortmund's bench and saw another renowned and all-familiar figure from his previous life. The person in question was Jürgen Klopp in the flesh. He was the budding coach of Dortmund who would later manage Liverpool and guide them to Premier League and Champions League glory.
At the moment, Klopp was yet to reach his peak as a football tactician. But even then, he was already a tricky manager to play against since he had a knack for performing during big moments. Moreover, his game already had a flavor of the annoying gegenpressing that would later be his trademark tactic when he reached the peak of his career.
Zachary turned away from the German tactician while fully knowing that the game could be tricky with such an opponent overseeing things. He cast the irrelevant thoughts out of his head and did a few stretches. Then, just as his body warmed up again, he saw the referee initiating the motions to blow the whistle.
The game was about to commence, and Zachary could hear the cheers of the fans hitting a thunderous peak. The atmosphere turned volatile within seconds, tempting him to glance toward the stands. He immediately saw the Juventus fans displaying a tifo that was already lighting up the whole place with its visual imagery comprising of Juventus' traditional colors.
Zachary felt reassured after taking in the sight. He knew that Juventus' job for the semis was already half-done with the support of the fans behind the team. He smiled and returned his attention to the proceedings on the pitch.
The referee soon blew the whistle. On cue, the first leg of the UEFA Champions League semis commenced, with the early pace of the match rivaling the electric intensity inside the stadium.
The Juventus players grabbed the ball from the get-go and maintained possession during the early stages. They arrayed themselves into their 4-3-1-2 formation and exchanged intricate and well-timed passes. They relied on their midfield of Zachary, Andrea Pirlo, Arturo Vidal, and Claudio Marchisio to overwhelm the opponents and dictate the tempo for the first ten minutes.
On the other hand, the Borussia Dortmund players were not so quick to settle into the game. They couldn't even take advantage of their 4-3-3 formation to maintain possession or initiate any form of gegenpressing. They fell back and defended like some typical defensive-minded team while waiting for a chance to counterattack.
With Juventus attacking and Borussia Dortmund defending well, the game fell into a steady rhythm without any team creating clear chances on goal. However, all that changed when Claudio Marchisio played a well-timed through ball to Carlos Tevez during the 14th minute.
The on-form Carlos Tevez used his pace to race past Mats Hummels, the Dortmund center-back, before connecting with the through pass from Claudio Marchisio. Tevez then remained composed and hammered the ball goalward from around the edge of the box. He unleashed a shot towards the inside of the far post, hoping to score Juventus' 1st goal on the night.
However, Tevez's luck wasn't the best that night. The Dortmund keeper reacted and threw himself at the incoming ball. He punched it away from the goal and beyond the box.
It was at that moment that the strategic Ilkay Gündogan went into action. The German midfielder hurriedly collected the ball cleared by the keeper from around the edge of the box. He then played a first-time diagonal pass toward the left wing where Marco Reus, Dortmund's winger for the day, was lurking.
Marco Reus effortlessly controlled the ball close to the center line on the left flank before whirling around and setting off toward the other side of the pitch.
Speed like the wind, Marco skipped past Stephan Lichtsteiner, the Juventus right-back, before squaring the ball into the middle to find Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, the forward running in sync with him.
Aubameyang was just too sharp for Claudio Marchisio while connecting with the pass from Marco Reus. He met the ball with a simple mesmeric touch that took him past the Juventus midfielder. Then, without losing a moment, he played a pass forward to release Ciro Immobile, Dortmund's center-forward, on his way toward the goal.
"Whoosh!"
Immobile was like the wind as he beat the offside trap and controlled the ball mid-stride. He then took another touch and unleashed a goalward shot from around the edge of the box, hoping to score Dortmund's first on the night during the 15th minute.
Fortunately for Juventus, the ever-alert Gianluigi Buffon was on the pitch. The keeper reacted fast and punched the ball to safety and towards the left side of the box.
Patrice Evra, who was nearby, picked up the just-cleared ball. He then wasted no time before whirling around and beyond the reach of Henrikh Mkhitaryan, who was closing him down. And just as quickly, he played a forward pass towards the middle of the field to find Andrea Pirlo.
Andrea Pirlo also worked with the same urgency to advance another attack for Juventus. He evoked his Maestro sorcery and looped the ball over a crowd of players to find Zachary, who had just floated into the right wing.
Another blistering counter for Juventus was on, and Zachary did the needful. He pushed off the ground and controlled the ball with his chest without any pressure. He then turned around and set off for Dortmund's goal while speeding up like a Ferrari on a Formula One race track.
He soon met an obstacle in the form of Ilkay Gündogan, one of the Dortmund midfielders, while cutting into the pitch. But he remained composed and zoomed past the midfielder with a few step-overs followed by a simple change of pace.
Zachary then continued running at the Dortmund defenders while noting everything around him. He circumvented another defender as he approached the final third, and when the angle opened up, he played a well-timed forward pass to Carlos Tevez.
Carlos Tevez was quite ingenious on the striking line. He timed his run to perfection and beat Dortmund's offside trap. He raced through the gap between the opposing center-backs before connecting with Zachary's inviting pass.
All that remained at that moment was the telling touch, and Tevez showed his class and composure as a striker. He calmly drove the ball forward before kicking it goalward. He blasted it past the helpless Dortmund keeper and into the back of the net to score Juventus 1st goal for the day during the 16th minute.
The cheers hit another thunderous peak as Carlos Tevez ran to the touchline to celebrate the goal. They caused the already volatile atmosphere to become more explosive, with some fans even going as far as removing their shirts while yelling at the top of their lungs. They couldn't contain their excitement after their team drew first blood and scored the first goal in the UEFA Champions League semi-finals.
"Well, well, well," Ian Crocker, the commentator, said after the cheers started fading. "It's Juventus one, and Dortmund zero. After a few minutes of nerve-wracking counterattacks from both sides, the Turin-based team has finally found a breakthrough. They scored the first goal on the night through Carlos Tevez during the sixteenth minute. They have gotten the perfect start to this first leg of the UEFA Champions League semi-finals."
"Damn! The football over the past few minutes has been electric," Tony Gale, the other commentator, remarked. "We first saw Juventus launch an attack that set up Tevez for a one-on-one with the Dortmund keeper. However, the Argentine missed the opportunity and allowed the German outfit to launch their own counter."
"But the Dortmund players also wasted their counterattacking opportunity when Ciro Immobile saw his shot saved by Buffon. That set up another counterattack for Juventus, which saw Zachary work his magic on the right flank before cutting into the pitch and finding Tevez again. That time around, Tevez didn't miss. He remained composed and put the ball into the back of the net to score Juventus' 1st for the night."
