Chapter 452: Fates of Former TeammatesZachary returned his entire focus to training after sending off Cami. He spent most of his time in the gym, working on his physical fitness or partaking in the often-intensive team sessions. His work ethic over the following few days was exceptional as he wanted to make it into Coach Allegri''s starting eleven as soon as possible.
Additionally, he didn''t neglect hisnguage sses. Every evening, after departing from the training ground, he would head to the L''Italiano Porticandonguage school and spend hours trying to master the Italiannguage. His newly-enhanced intelligence worked wonders, and he started speaking a few words in a short span of a few days. He could easily exchange greetings with his Italian colleagues or vocalize a few curse words after seven days of intensive study. He was obviously on a fast track to learning the newnguage.
A few days quickly passed, and Friday arrived. On the evening of that day, Zachary left thenguage school at around 9:00 PM and returned to the J Hotel. He cleaned up quickly before making himselffortable in a chair on his room''s balcony to enjoy ate-night snack. He was in a good mood as he took in the delightful view of the extensive J Hotel gardens while enjoying his meal.
At that moment, his mind fell into a period of self-introspection, and he felt like he was living in a blissful utopia. He had a career that many would only dare to consider pursuing within their dreams. Secondly, he had a beautiful girlfriend that could cause the downfall of nations with just a simple gesture. Andstly, he was rich, going by the standards of over 90% of all the people in the world. What else could he ask for from the world? He just had to remain consistent and work hard to refine his skills. Then, he would continue elevating his game with the passing of time while enjoying many more years of career contentment.
The corners of Zachary''s lips quirked up a little as the refreshing evening breeze caressed his face. His mind achieved a blissful state of rxation, and he quickly finished his meal. He picked up his Italiannguage textbook and began his daily pre-bedtime revision routine. But a few minutester, just as he was starting to immerse himself in the act of learning new Italian words, his phone vibrated from a nearby table and broke him out of his state of concentration. He frowned as he ced his Italian textbook to the side before ncing at the screen. But the next moment, his face eased into a smile as he realized that the WhatsApp call was from Paul Kasongo, his friend and former teammate. He immediately pressed the ept button and positioned the phone next to his ear.
"Hello, Kasongo," he said, leaning back into his seat. "It has been long. How are you doing?"
"I''m doing okay," Kasongo replied from the other end of the line. "What about you? How is life taking you in Italy? Have you managed to learn Italian yet?"
Zachary chuckled, finding his friend quite amusing. "How can I learn a newnguage in just a month? Do you think I''m some brainiac out of a sci-fi movie?"
Kasongoughed in response. "Anyways, jokes aside, how are you finding life in Turin? Have you managed to settle in?"
"I''m doing okay while trying to settle down. The only issue hindering me from fitting into the new culture is thenguage barrier. But I have already started taking Italiannguage sses to ovee the challenge."
"Good for you, my man," Kasongo said. "I''m confident that you''ll achieve a lot at Juventus. Keep giving your all in everything you do, and everything will work out."
"That''s my intent. Thank you." Zachary responded. "But enough about me. Are you still in Trondheim, or did you finally transfer to a new club?"
"I''ve alreadypleted a move to a new club," Kasongo replied, his voice filled with a sense of pride. "Can you guess which club it is?"
"I''m sorry, I can''t," Zachary admitted.
He hadn''t followed the transfer news for a few days. He was totally ignorant in regards to thepleted signings on the deadline of the transfer window. He didn''t even know which ones among his former teammates had followed his example and transferred out of Rosenborg that summer.
"Can''t you really guess?" Kasongo asked again.
"No, I can''t."
"You''re such a bore, man," Kasongo said, sighing. "Don''t you watch the news? Anyways, I managed toplete a move to Tottenham on Monday evening, just a few hours before the closure of the transfer window. As I speak now, I''m already a Tottenham yer."
"For real? You''re now a Tottenham yer?" Zachary''s eyes widened as he almost couldn''t believe his ears. It seemed that the future of football was changing fast and bing more and more unfamiliar to him. Moreover, he was well aware that he was the spark that had set off all those changes simply because of interfering with the life of a young footballer while he was still in DR Congo andter encouraging Coach Johansen to sign a few talented yers. He had a feeling that he might turn out to be the institutor of a mega butterfly effect that could send the football world into unpredictable future paths — totally different from those of his past life.
"I''m telling the truth, man," Kasongo responded. "If you don''t believe me, you can check the transfer news."
"Then, congs, my man," Zachary said. "I''m really happy for you. Are you already in London, or are you still in Trondheim?"
"I''m in London," Kasongo replied. "I have even already trained with the team. That aside, a few of our other former teammates alsopleted moves out of Rosenborg sessfully. Eric Bailly is with me here at Tottenham while Karl Toko Ekambi went to Lyon. As for Nicki, he joined Virreal."
"Damn!" Zachary eximed. "All our teammates have left Rosenborg. Coach Johansen must be in a foul mood."
Kasongo chuckled and said, "I don''t think so. From what I heard, management will use part of the money gained from the transfers to sign new yers. There are rumors that Rosenborg could ssh out around 50 million Euros to bring in new talent during the December-January transfer window. Such an amount of money can do wonders in the Norwegian League. Coach Johansen should be able to continue dominating the league after spending such an amount."
"True," Zachary said. "But they still have to put in ce an excellent recruitment policy. They must sign yers with potential if they are to continue dominating the Norwegian League. By the way, what''s up with Yerry Mina, William Troost-Ekong, Thomas Partey, and Takumi Minamino? Are they still at Rosenborg?"
"Thomas Partey was close to joining Atlético Madrid during thest week of the transfer window," Kasongo responded. "But his move fell through after the Spanish side failed to meet Rosenborg''s asking price of 25 million Euros. Yerry Mina was also about to join Barcelona. But his move also fell through after Barcelona refused to cough out the 28 million for the defender. As for Troost-Ekong and Takumi, they haven''t thought about leaving Rosenborg. They seem to be enjoying their time in Trondheim."
"I think it''s good that the four of them have remained at Rosenborg," Zachary remarked. "They should be able to help Coach Johansen win the trophy this year."
"Of course, they will," Kasongo confirmed. "Rosenborg is unstoppable in Norway at the moment. The club is veryfortable at the top of the league table. It''s also ahead of the second-ced by twelve points."
"Oh, okay," Zachary said. "Then, they should be able to win the Norwegian league this season. That aside, how are you faring in London? Do you think you will be able to make the match squad within a short time?"
"Honestly," Kasongo replied, "I''m a bit intimidated by everything here. All the yers are talented, and on top of that, they work hard on a daily basis to make the squad. I can''t be sure when I''ll make it into the starting eleven or even the match squad."
"Just keep on working hard," Zachary encouraged. "You''ll eventually make the squad since I''m sure that Tottenham signed you because they saw potential in you. They can''t just leave you on the bench after coughing out money to get you from Rosenborg."
"True." Kasongo chuckled. "It was nice talking to you again, Zachary. But for now, I have to say goodnight. I have to train early tomorrow."
"Okay," Zachary said. "Goodnight to you, too, and let''s keep in touch."
"Let''s keep in touch," Kasongo replied before ending the call.
Zachary smiled and returned his focus to cramming Italian words. He was, of course, happy that his former teammates were progressing well. But he also understood that he had to continue working hard and pull out all stops to continue improving himself as a footballer. Or else those former teammates might leave him in the dust in a few years if he cked off.
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A week quickly went by as Zachary toiled from morning to evening, each day, with the intent to refine his ball skills and improve his physical fitness. And soon it was Saturday, 13th September. It was finally the day when Juventus would face off against the Udinese Calcio.
For the game that day, Coach Allegri still chose to start with the midfield of udio Marchisio, Andre Pirlo, and Arturo Vidal. As for his other talented midfielders like Zachary Bemba and Roberto Pereyra, he chose to rest them in preparation for Juventus'' opening fixture in the Champions League against Malm? FF. He asserted that rotating the squad would keep all the yers fresh and free from injuries. As a result, they would find it easy to win more than one trophy in a single season.
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