Chapter 66: Against Zenit Cшор I

From the technical area, Coach Johansen watched his players take on Zenit сшор in the quarter-final. The match turned out to be as tough as he'd expected.

The Zenit players, in their white jerseys, had the most compact defense in the tournament. They played in a 4-4-2 formation, with the defenders often feeding strikers aerial balls, skipping the midfield.

Coach Johansen kept his attention on his squad, in blue jerseys. He was looking for the occasional sign of complacency—characteristic of inexperienced players.

A team was like a machine, with several moving parts. The players were supposed to function as a collective whole. They had to complement the abilities of one another in the best way they can. Any lack of focus in just a couple of players could drastically impair the team's performance. Coach Johansen couldn't afford to let that happen. Not in a quarter-final match where a loss would lead to elimination from the tournament.

So, he watched the players, like a hawk eyeing its prey.

Zachary was in perfect shape and well-positioned—as usual, often running into free space to receive passes from his teammates. Magnus was also working hard, dealing with most of the long-range balls that threatened to find their way to Zenit's two strikers. Kendrick was even more focused, keeping a close eye on all threats to his goal.

All-in-all, the players were very attentive to the ball and focused on the game. They showed no signs of the complacency they had manifested in the second half of the group-stage match against Riga.

He was satisfied.

It seemed his gamble to expose his young players to a harsh beating against Genoa had paid off. He'd left Zachary and Örjan on the bench for that game, to humble his team and bring them down from their high horses.

He had noticed a malignant complacency developing in the team after they'd defeated BK Frem by a score of 6:0. At that instant, he'd decided to snuff it out before it took root in his team and ended his small chance of contesting for the Riga Cup.

The best way to teach his players a lesson was to use their opponents against them. Although he'd winced at every goal Genoa had scored in that game, his players had received a timely wake-up call. They were playing much better against Zenit despite their lack of experience.

"Those aerial balls will be the death of us," Coach Bjørn Peters, his assistant, observed from beside him. "Look how our center-backs are struggling to mark those two tall Zenit strikers. They're under immense pressure."

Coach Johansen nodded without taking his eyes off the pitch. Robin Jatta, one of NF academy's center-backs, had just made a long clearance towards the centerline. Konstantin Troyanov, Zenit's defensive midfielder, pounced on the ball and made a first-time clearance without even bothering to bring it under control. He blasted it up into the air, towards the roof of the Skonto Indoor Stadium.

Coach Johansen sighed at the spectacle. The Russian team had played infuriatingly for the entire game, even earning a wave of boos from the fans in attendance. The Zenit players would not allow the ball to settle down to the ground, not even for a minute. The game had turned into a display of clearance after clearance—by the defenders and midfielders from both sides.

Aerial balls were Zenit's only tactic.

Even when they decided to attack, they still relied heavily on long-range aerial bombardment. Zenit employed the tactic, repeatedly sending long—searching passes forward to opportunistic strikers. They seemed to be waiting for a lucky break, a bounce or knock-down, close to the goal.

Such passes had extinguished the beautiful and intricate passing play style—and the coordinated counter-attacks that had become characteristic of the matches in the Riga Cup. The fans booed the Zenit players for every long clearance they made.

However, the Zenit players didn't seem to care one bit. They continued to use their long-ball strategy, keeping the NF academy attackers quiet. The game remained at a deadlock, with only five minutes of play left in the first half.

Coach Johansen was worried about how the game was progressing. If his players remained unable to let the ball settle down and play with grounded passes, they would most likely lose against Zenit.

"Zachary," he yelled to his captain—who had moved closer to the technical area to defend against a throw-in. "Move back a bit—into the defensive midfield. Play parallel to Magnus so that you can create a 'two-man' defensive midfield. When you win the ball, try to keep it on the ground for as long as possible."

Coach Johansen relaxed once he saw Zachary giving him a thumbs-up to indicate he'd received the message. There would be a gap left in the attacking midfield, but he was sure Zachary could do something to hamper Zenit's long-ball strategy. He was the most likely player to achieve the feat on the entire team.

*FWEEEEEEE*

Coach Johansen stopped his musings when the referee blew the whistle for Zenit's corner-kick.

"Zenit is winning a lot of corner kicks," he commented as he watched Zenit's right-winger heading towards the corner flag.

Coach Bjørn sighed. "They are very good at corner-kicks. That's how they managed to overwhelm tough teams like Tottenham in their group. They usually first frustrate the team with long balls and finish them off with corners when they get the chance."

Coach Johansen nodded in agreement. He'd already read the reports on Zenit's tactical strategies. "Yes, they're good," he said. "But we're lucky to have Zachary. He has been dealing with the majority of the corner-balls. I guess I owe our clean sheet to him, so far."

As if to prove his point, the Zenit winger raised one of his hands and whipped a teasing corner ball into the NF Academy's box. Zachary read the ball well. He out-jumped one of Zenit's forwards and headed the ball out of the box—to safety.

"His game vision is astounding," Coach Bjørn commented after the NF Academy players had averted the threat. "It's like he can predict the trajectory of the ball even before it's kicked."

*FWEEEEEEE*

The referee blew the halftime whistle when the score was still 0:0. Coach Johansen followed the players into the dressing room and gave them a small motivational pep-talk. He didn't change his tactics.

However, he advised his players to try their best to stay focused for the remainder of the game. He instructed them on how they could disrupt Zenit's long-ball strategy—by using short, grounded passes or counter-attacks. He gave specific instructions to Zachary as they walked back to the pitch.

"We only have to score a single goal, and we'll have all the advantage," he said to Zachary. "If we score, they'll be forced to abandon the long-ball strategy to put pressure on us. As soon as that happens, they'll play right into our hands. So, try your best to get a goal in."

Zachary nodded—without replying verbally before running onto the pitch. Coach Johansen returned to the bench to watch the second half. He felt a bit nervous as he watched his players take up their positions. He couldn't afford to lose. Not at the quarter-finals.

**** ****