Chapter 69: Preparations for the Semifinal

It was Monday morning, the day before NF Academy's semifinal match with ADO Den Haag.

Zachary and his teammates woke up and had breakfast early before heading to the gym for post-match recovery exercises and massage. The academy management had fully covered the fees for their gym activities during their stay in Riga. They could enjoy the facilities of the Riga People's Fitness Gym on the days following their matches. Zachary was satisfied with the arrangement.

The squad spent an hour at the gym going through Coach Bjørn's post-match recovery routine. Zachary diligently stretched using foam rollers— a routine that involved rolling different parts of his body slowly over a tube. Coach Bjørn had said foam rolling helped reduce post-match-related soreness and muscle pain, shortening recovery time considerably.

Zachary and his teammates left the gym an hour later, feeling more relaxed after the massage session. They headed back to the hotel in a bus, chattering about their quarter-final match against Zenit. Even after an entire night, their euphoria hadn't faded. Most of them couldn't believe they'd qualified for the semis.

Thirty minutes later, they arrived at one of the conference halls in their hotel for Coach Johansen's tactical briefing. He had called the meeting to discuss strategies for the semifinal game against ADO Den Haag.

On entering the conference hall, Zachary immediately noticed a large LCD screen placed atop a table in front of the room. It appeared that, unlike in previous meetings, Coach Johansen would use video analysis to expound on tactics he intended to employ in the semifinals.

"Good morning to you all," Coach Johansen intoned in a booming voice after the squad finished taking up their seats.

"Good morning, coach," the players replied in a chorus.

Coach Johansen half-smiled. "I'm quite happy that we've made it all the way to the semifinals," he said. He was seated on the edge of a table in front of the room. "However, our work is still cut out for us. We still need to win both the semis and finals before becoming the champions." He paused, letting his gaze settle momentarily on each player in turn.

"Are we together?" He asked.

"Yes, coach," the players replied in chorus.

"That's good." Coach Johansen nodded. "Winning in football is not just about tactics. It's not just about a game plan—like the one we'll be discussing in a few minutes. What matters most is your state of mind. The focus and concentration you put in a particular game will have a marked impact on your performance."

"If our intention is winning the next two games and becoming champions, we've got to have the proper mindset," he continued, beginning to walk around the players' seats. "We have to stay focused for the entirety of these games."

"Remember, the ability to focus makes or breaks our chances of success in matches. Scientists have shown that an individual's ability to establish mental focus is one of the most important predictors of future success in life. It's the same in sports."

"The ability to focus in sports is perhaps one of the most significant drivers of success, along with hard work and talent." He paused and walked back to the front of the room before continuing.

"Mental focus can make the difference between being mediocre and being extraordinary. It helps you avoid the little mistakes that lead to losses in our matches. It helps us win matches. It's as simple as that. Are we together?"

Zachary nodded along with the rest of his teammates. His mind soaked into Coach Johansen's message. He could relate to the point about the importance of mindset and concentration in sports.

Players could only achieve true greatness when they fully-focused their attention on what they were doing at the moment. If they allowed distractions to interrupt their training or matches, their performance would suffer a great deal from it.

On the other hand, if players focused intensively on the work at hand, they would unlock their full potential, whether in training or matches. Playing with one hundred percent concentration in tournaments would significantly increase their chances of winning. Just like sun rays igniting paper when focused by a lens, the player's impact on a game would improve dramatically—if they maintained a high level of concentration.

"Maintaining focus is everything in sports," Coach Johansen continued, lowering his voice slightly. "In matches, we need to stay organized in attacks and defense, for every single minute of gameplay. We can take risks, but we still need organization behind the ball. All this requires a high level of concentration among you—the players. If you lose focus for a single minute during the game, you'll make mistakes and present our opponents with chances—as you did in the match against Riga."

"I will keep on reiterating this," Coach Johansen continued, raising a fist to emphasize his point. "For the match tomorrow, you have to play as a team, and more importantly, defend as a team. You need to stay focused and play each minute as if your life depends on it. When you lose possession and are defending, make sure to mark open spaces and opponents. When you're on the attack, make runs and ready yourselves to receive passes from teammates. Play as a cohesive unit to overpower our opponents."

He paused, turning towards Coach Bjørn. "Could you help us turn on the machines?" He asked his assistant, his voice taking on a polite tone.

Coach Bjørn nodded before busying himself with the connections and placing a disc in the DVD player.

"Coach Bjørn has been scouting the matches of our opponents," Coach Johansen continued. "I want us to start our tactical session by watching the highlights of the match between ADO Den Haag and Skonto academy." He smiled softly, turning to check whether his assistant had finished setting up the presentation.

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Coach Bjørn quickly finished connecting the banana pins, and the screen came alive with a match recording playing on it.

Zachary blinked as his eyes adjusted to the screen's lighting. ADO Den Haag, in their green and yellow striped jerseys, faced-off against Skonto Academy.

Zachary fixed his attention on the screen as one of ADO Den Haag's midfielders made a swift switch from midfield to the wings— using a teasing through-pass. A winger latched on to the pass and played a one-two with a wing-back, penetrating the Skonto Academy's half. The defenders looked helpless against them. The sweeping attack ended with a cross to an ADO Den Haag striker inside the box. The number-9 planted a header past the goalkeeper—into the back of the net.

Coach Bjørn forwarded the video to another highlight of the game. A wing-back made a solo run close to the touchline, swiftly entering Skonto Academy's half. He dashed past the players so fast that they had no chance to react. He finally unleashed a spectacular cross into the box, finding the central striker once again. The ADO Den Haag number-9 pulled the trigger and scored, sending the ball to the inside of the right post.

Zachary continued watching—attentively as ADO Den Haag scored the third goal using similar tactics. He realized that the wing play of his next opponents was remarkable. Their wingers and wing-backs worked together, running with the ball to deliver crosses to the strikers.

"So, what do you think?" Coach Johansen asked after the video had finished playing.

Paul Otterson raised his arm.

"Yes." Coach Johansen pointed at him.

Paul smiled softly. "Most of their attacks are coming in from the wings," he said. "If we want to win against them in the semis, we need to seal that avenue."

"Correct," Coach Johansen said, nodding. "We have to make sure that those wings become totally useless when we face them. We have to deal with the crosses from their wings decisively. That's the only way to win against ADO Den Haag." He added in an emphatic tone.

"ADO Den Haag has some good wingers who provide crosses and clinical finishers who convert them into goals," Coach Johansen continued. "That's how they've managed to reach this stage of the tournament. We need to keep our risk minimal."

"We can only accomplish that by maintaining a high level of concentration against them tomorrow."

"I've made some changes in our formation to handle ADO Den Haag's style better," Coach Johansen intoned, moving towards the whiteboard by the screen. "We'll play with a 5-3-1-1 formation tomorrow."

"As usual, we'll play with our two wing-backs forming a defensive line along with our three center-backs." He paused to draw the formation on the board. "Our defense will remain the same as before with three center-backs: Robin, Lars, and Daniel. However, we'll use a defensive style of play based on tightly marking the opposing wingers. Öyvind and Martin, our wing-backs, will be responsible for stopping ADO Den Haag's wing attacks before they do any harm in our half."

Coach Johansen paused, turning back from the board, to look at the players before continuing. "Kasongo and Paul; you're our wingers, but you'll play as midfielders together with Magnus during the match. You'll also have to assist the wing-backs in case there are any wingers they can't deal with." He turned back to the board and drew the new positions.

"Zachary," the coach said, fixing his gaze upon him. "For this match, I want you to play behind Örjan as both a half-striker and a half-midfielder."

Zachary nodded silently, waiting for the coach to continue.

"While reviewing our match against Zenit, I noticed that their long-ball strategy could serve us better with you on the team. You have good ball handling and control, and you're quick on your feet. You'll be responsible for collecting the long balls and holding on to them long enough to create time for your teammates to shape up."

"I also expect you and Örjan to keep the ADO Den Haag defenders on tenterhooks as the rest focus mostly on defense. The ADO Den Haag coaches will be wary of your runs and won't dare commit too many players forward. That's how we keep ADO Den Haag at bay." He said as he finished drawing the starting line-up on the board.

"Any questions?"

None of the players raised their hands.

"Okay," Coach Johansen intoned. "Make sure you rest and eat well today. You'll not perform at your best if you're fatigued. Let's have a good game tomorrow." He spoke in a conclusive tone.

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