“Good evening, viewers,” Emilia Vasquez said while facing the cameras within the ESPN Studios. “Welcome back from that exciting match, where Juventus put up an impressive performance to defeat ChievoVerona by four goals to one in their first fixture of the season. With me here in the studio are three gentlemen, namely Alessandro Costacurta, Joshua Morales, and Charles Adams. They are our pundits today, who will help us analyze the just-concluded game. But before we delve into the analysis, let’s start by watching an interesting video. We’ll be right back.”

No sooner had she completed the sentence than all the screens in the studio started playing the video. One glance was enough to tell all present that it was a replay of a studio debate between Emilia Vasquez and Charles Adams. The two of them were discussing the top transfers of the previous summer.

“Mark my words,” Charles Adams’ mellifluous voice reverberated around the place a moment later. “Zachary has a high chance of becoming a flop at Juventus.” The pundit then went on to explain why Zachary would find it a challenging task to adapt to the highly intensive Italian Serie A football. He spoke with total conviction until the short video ended a minute later.

A numbing silence descended upon the studio after the cameras focused back on the pundits. A few seconds passed, and then just suddenly, the other pundits, aside from Charles Adams, started laughing. Their shoulders shook as they doubled over with hilarity for the next few seconds.

“That was quite interesting,” Alessandro Costacurta said while stealing glances at Charles Adams.

“Emilia!” Joshua Morales was the next to speak as he tried to smother his laughter after a few more seconds. “I didn’t know that you were such a ruthless lady. Always remind me not to offend you in the future.”

In response, Emilia just smiled before turning towards the cameras. “That was a replay of Charles Adams, one of our very own pundits, declaring that Zachary would become a flop at Juventus. Regrettably, he couldn’t have been more wrong, as Zachary was quite impressive during his debut game today. The young playmaker scored the third goal for Juventus before providing an assist that resulted in Carlos Tévez’s late goal.”

She paused for a moment and turned towards the pundits. “Charles!” She said. “Do you still believe that Zachary will become a flop at Juventus?”

Charles Adams maintained his poker face and replied, “I wonder why everyone is so excited. Zachary has only played well in a single game against a weaker team. But that doesn’t prove anything in the long term. We must wait and see how he fares in Juventus’ upcoming matches before judging whether he’s a successful signing. If he can continue playing as he did today, I’ll swallow my previous comments and apologize to all the viewers for my erroneous analysis of his potential.”

Emilia nodded and turned towards another pundit in the studio. “Alessandro!” She said. “What was your take on the just-concluded game?”

“It was one-sided,” Alessandro Costacurta replied. “From early on in the first half, Juventus was the better team. They controlled the game pretty well by relying on their fluid passing. As a result, they dominated the proceedings on the field of play and created many chances on goal. I’m really not surprised they won the match by four goals to one.”

“According to you, who would you rate as your best players in Juventus’ squad during today’s game?” Emilia asked.

“Carlos Tévez is, of course, at the top of my list,” Alessandro replied. “He was impressive on the striking line and scored a hattrick today. In my books, he’s the best player for Juventus. The second player on my list is Andrea Pirlo. The deep-lying playmaker was as impressive as ever against ChievoVerona. He was involved in three of Juventus’ four goals on the night. The third and final player on my list is Zachary Bemba. The young playmaker made quite the impact after stepping onto the pitch late in the second half. He scored the third goal before setting up Carlos Tévez for another. I believe the Juventus executives must be smiling after witnessing his phenomenal debut today. Their 80 million Euros didn’t go to waste.”

Emilia beamed and nodded. “Let’s talk about Juventus’ fourth goal for the night. We all witnessed how Andrea Pirlo found Zachary with that well-timed pass over the midfield.”

“That was quite the goal,” Alessandro chimed in. “If you watch the replay, you will notice that Zachary started sprinting towards Chievo’s box immediately after Pirlo received the ball. So, I’m sure that Zachary was aware that his teammate would spot him and link play with him as long as he made a well-timed run across the field. His trust paid off, and as expected, Andrea didn’t disappoint. The Maestro’s long-range pass made its way to Zachary, who, in turn, set up Carlos for the fourth goal. The whole counterattack is a testament to Juventus’ team chemistry on the pitch.”

“Thanks for your analysis, Alessandro,” Emilia said. “Juventus will have a two-week rest before facing off against Udinese Calcio on Saturday, 13th September. Then, three days after that, they will play their first Champions League game this season against the Swedish side – Malmö FF. And then, four days after their Champions League game, they will travel to the Lombardy region in Italy to face off against AC Milan in their third Serie A fixture. That’s quite a busy schedule.”

“Indeed, it’s quite a busy schedule,” Joshua Morales agreed. “But Juventus should be able to handle it since they have great depth in their squad. For instance, phenomenal players like Patrice Evra, Simone Pepe, Sebastian Giovinco, and Fernando Llorente didn’t get a chance to step onto the pitch today. If Coach Allegri uses them well in some of the easier fixtures, then Juventus should be able to handle the schedule.”

**** ****

After the game, the Juventus squad immediately left Verona on the team bus and headed back to Turin. On arriving at the Juventus training center, the players and technical staff enjoyed a late team dinner while celebrating their victory against Chievo. They finished their victory meal in only thirty minutes and parted ways soon after to return to their respective homes for the night.

Zachary, on his part, returned to his room at the J Hotel as he didn’t have a home in Turin yet. He was still full of energy since he had only played the last fifteen minutes of the game. So, he spent an hour or two in bliss, tangling with Camilla before descending into the sweet and welcoming slumberland.

The following morning, he woke up early, at six, and went through his morning exercise routine. He spent thirty minutes performing yoga poses to quicken his post-match recovery before washing up and enjoying an early breakfast with Camilla on his room’s balcony. All the while, a smile never left his face while chugging down his food and drinks. His spirits were still flying high as his mind replayed some of the crucial moments of his performance during the previous day’s game.

“You’re smiling a lot today,” Camilla remarked from across the table after taking a sip of her coffee. “You must be in a very jubilant mood.”

Zachary smiled and said, “How can I not be when my gorgeous and charming girlfriend is having breakfast with me?”

Camilla beamed. “Liar! You must be recalling yesterday’s game.”

“I swear I’m not,” Zachary lied through his teeth, without any change in expression. “It’s just that I can’t contain my emotions while looking at your pretty face. I always find myself smiling.”

Camilla’s smile brightened, but she didn’t say anything in response.

“When is your flight?” Zachary asked.

“In the afternoon,” Camilla responded. “It will depart from Turin International Airport at 3:00 PM.”

“That means we still have a few hours together before you depart,” Zachary remarked as he knifed and pierced a piece of bacon. He gracefully placed it into his mouth with his fork before lifting his head to face Camilla again. “Since today is my day off, we could spend the next few hours touring around Turin. What do you say?”

“A trip around Turin would surely be nice,” Camilla responded with a smile. “Let’s do that.”

“Okay, a trip it is,” Zachary said. “I’ll get Angelo to act as our driver and guide on this trip. Let’s see for ourselves what Turin has to offer.”

Zachary spent the rest of the morning moving around historical sites in Turin with Camilla. While enjoying the company of one another, they visited several famous museums, cathedrals built during medieval times, and extravagant palaces, among other attractions. They didn’t miss out on touring any fascinating sites since Angelo was quite a good guide.

Of course, a sizeable number of Juventus fans approached Zachary for autographs on several instances while he was on tour around the city. And since he couldn’t just shrug them off, he was forced to take a few minutes to sign their keepsakes before returning his attention to Camilla. He was already experiencing how hard it was for footballers to enjoy private lives in Italian cities such as Turin. He even started entertaining the notion of hiring a few bodyguards to keep away the enthusiastic fans while moving around Turin in the future. Otherwise, he might never get a moment of peace to enjoy himself while within the city.

The minutes quickly turned into hours as Zachary enjoyed his time with Camilla. They did everything that couples do together, including having meals, taking photographs, and even making out in an empty old building. They went all out to have a pretty good time until they said their goodbyes at the Turin International Airport at 3:00 PM. They could only cut their blissful time together since Camilla had to return to Norway that very afternoon.