Chapter 485: A 40-Yard Free-Kick

The three Juventus substitutes finally stepped onto the pitch one after the other after the ball went out of play for an Atlético Madrid throw-in during the 73rd minute.

Andrea Pirlo entered in place of the injured Claudio Marchisio while Carlos Tevez substituted in for the underperforming Álvaro Morata. As for Zachary, he replaced Roberto Pereyra, thus becoming the only attacking central midfielder for Juventus during the final 17+ minutes.

After the substitutions, it was time for the game to continue. The referee's whistle sounded, and Atlético Madrid restarted the game by taking the throw in.

Juanfran Torres, the Atlético Madrid right-back, was the man called into action. He raced towards the touchline before planting his feet firmly on the ground and throwing the ball towards the middle.

The defender's technique was spot on, and he threw the ball accurately, hoping to find Mario Suárez, who happened to have just moved into an unmarked pocket of space in the middle. However, just before Suárez could make the connection with the pin-point throw, Zachary, who had just stepped onto the pitch, came rushing in to win the ball.

Zachary timed his run to perfection before pushing off the ground to leap for the ball. His 6-foot-4 physique played its role, and he outmuscled the seemingly helpless Mario Suárez for aerial superiority. And with that, he easily won the ball fair and square before using his head to guide it towards Andrea Pirlo on his left.

"Pa..."

With the soft sound of the ball meeting the boot, Andrea Pirlo connected with Zachary's pass. Then, just before an opponent could close him down, the maestro drew his leg back and smacked the ball expertly to unleash a raking pass toward the other side of the pitch.

Of course, the Italian maestro wasn't just playing aimlessly but trying to release Carlos Tevez, the other substitute, who happened to be making a daring run toward the other side of the pitch.

"Hu..."

Inhaling deeply, Carlos Tevez leaped high and chested the ball to the ground. He then feigned going left before actually accelerating towards his right to lose Gabi, the Atlético Madrid captain who had been closely following after him.

However, just as Tevez was about to dance his way out of another tight space, José María Giménez, one of Atlético Madrid's center-backs, came rushing in with a flying tackle from the side. The center-back slammed into Carlos Tevez, thus ramming the Argentine off the ball.

*FWEEEEEEE*

The referee blew the whistle and rushed to the scene within seconds. He then went against the bitter complaints of the Atlético Madrid players and awarded Juventus a free-kick at a spot roughly forty yards from the goal.

"That was a fair challenge," Gabi, the Atlético Madrid captain, argued after the referee had made the decision. "Football is a physical game. There will always be duels based on strength when going for the ball, and that's what happened with José María. You surely can't penalize him for that."

"Are you serious!" Leonardo Bonucci, the Juventus defender who happened to have just arrived at the scene, scoffed. "Do you think this is rugby or American football? When have body slams become a thing in football?"

Gabi shook his head. "That wasn't a body slam from José María. He just went for the ball and overpowered Tevez while at it. Period. Why are you trying to make something out of nothing?"

"Leonardo!" Andrea called out to his teammate. "Ignore the idiot. We need to prepare for the free kick. Don't waste time arguing with petty people."

On hearing that, Leonardo Bonucci chuckled and said, "Pirlo! You're right, as usual. I don't know what got over me to argue with an idiot. But I have learned my lesson. I won't do it again."

"Good." Andrea Pirlo gave him a thumbs up.

Leonardo smiled and took a few steps to approach Pirlo's position. Glancing towards Zachary, who happened to be standing over the ball, the defender asked, "Is he going to take the free-kick?"

"Yes," Andrea Pirlo replied. "The guy almost never misses, even during training. He's the perfect man for the job."

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"True!" Leonardo agreed. "But this free-kick is almost forty yards from goal. Will he be able to find the target from such a long distance?"

"Honestly," Pirlo said, "I'm not sure. But when I talked to him, he said that he wanted to have a go at the goal. So, I let him be."

"Eehh!" Leonardo Bonucci exclaimed. "Pirlo! That's not like you. Isn't it better to have him deliver a chip behind the defensive line and into the box? I feel that that's the only way we can score from a free-kick at such a distance."

Andrea Pirlo sighed and shook his head. "Let's not talk about this anymore. Zachary hasn't disappointed us since arriving here. Let's give him the benefit of the doubt."

"Okay," Leonardo agreed.

-----

In the meantime, Zachary had just finished positioning the ball on the free-kick spot. Sucking in a deep breath to calm himself down, he took a few steps back and started observing the goings-on before him.

The referee was still organizing the wall, which happened to have only two players. Most likely, the Atlético Madrid keeper thought there was no need for a long defensive wall since the free-kick was almost forty yards from goal.

As Zachary's gaze kept roaming around, he noticed more details. He noted how Atlético Madrid had set up the defensive backline in front of their box and far away from their goal. It was as if they were most afraid of runs from the other Juventus players instead of Zachary himself. And most likely, they thought that Zachary wouldn't go for a shot but would try to link up with his teammates to make something out of the free-kick.

"Aren't they taking me too lightly?" He pondered with a smile. But with a single shake of his head, he cast the thought out of his mind. He then took a deep breath and activated the Dead-Ball Specialist Juju while awaiting the referee's signal.

A few more seconds passed, and the referee finally finished organizing the players in front of the box. Then, after taking a strategic position, he blew his whistle and signaled for Zachary to take the free-kick.

"Whoosh!"

Zachary went into action right away. Taking a deep breath, he made an angled run toward the ball while emptying his mind. A few long strides allowed him to arrive in front of the ball, and he drew his leg back before swinging it down to smack the ball dead in the center. For that moment, Zachary didn't bother with tricks but just hit the ball with raw power. So, there wasn't anything fancy with his technique, but just leg strength on display.

"Whoosh!"

The ball took off like a surface-to-surface missile just fired out of its launcher. Its white and black surface glimmered under the bright floodlights of the Juventus stadium as it tore through the air like a lightning bolt. And before the keeper could react or even move an inch, it ricocheted off the crossbar before bouncing into the back of the net.

"Sarò dannato!"

"Che diavolo!"

Andrea Pirlo and Leonardo Bonucci, the two players who happened to be near Zachary, exclaimed as their eyes widened with surprise. They were so shocked, and they turned to glance at Zachary as if he was a monster in human skin.

Zachary, on his part, just smiled and raised his arms to celebrate in response. He'd successfully converted a 40-yard free-kick to score an equalizing goal for Juventus during the 76th minute. He felt giddy with excitement and thus couldn't stop his heart from going on a wild caper in his chest.

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