Bend it like… Behkam
With 25 players on the pitch, including two rookies, the match started with a few unhappy subs on the side. To my memory it’s only the second time that this happened in the history of the Football Dads.
Week after week our franchise grows like bamboos in a tropical forest. The reasons for our recruiting success are clear: the appeal of our Club is getting stronger every day, and our long-standing ‘open door’ policy ensures that every player is given a fair chance to play ball with us.
We will see what happens in the next weeks in terms of attendance, looking ahead to Spring and Summer, when better weather and the perspective of playing the Master Game might attract even more players. Some creative solutions have already been proposed, including the idea of hosting parallel matches or create a Sunday match. Stay tuned for updates.
Yesterday, however, the huge turnout turned out to be a blessing in disguise, as the match was so intense that subs were needed within minutes. Quite soon every available player was at play and benches looked empty.
Playing in goal for the Unbibbed, Paride had done some incredible saves, including one on a penalty kick, but injured his shoulder during one of his dive and was forced to go out.
His team had got an early lead, but was already feeling a strong pressure from the Bibbed, determined to take control of the game. With Paride off, the Unbibs resorted to using non-professional rotating goalkeepers and readjusted their defense under Massimo’s leadership. But the Bibs smelt blood and moved ahead with more ferocity than a white shark in the Indian ocean. The goal for the 1-1 inevitably arrived thanks to Jeremy.
Few minutes later Johannes showed that luck rewards the bold. After winning the ball in midfield, instead of going for his usual side-by-side run he surprised everyone by shooting towards goal from the distance. A masterpiece of ballistic that went straight into the net.
Now down 2-1 the Unbibs realised they could be more effective by playing on the wings. Marco and Andrea combined brilliantly on the left side, while Sara, Alessandro and rookie Behkam had fine moments on the right, helped by Ben and Khaled in midfield. But their possession failed to generate the chances they needed.
The Bibs got momentum back and went ahead in full forces, pressing the opponents in their half with such an intensity that there was barely time to breath.
For entire minutes the ball danced in the Unbibs box. “I can’t see anything” shouted Massimo, his view obscured by the crowd of players fighting in front of him and by blood coming out of his own nose (thanks to a bad kick from Sara). Countless corner were kicked. Dozen of shots missed by few inches. Eventually, it was Yassin to score, followed by Diego (4-1).
Match over? Not yet. Marco had been on fire throughout the game and wasn’t ready to let it go. He scored the 4-2 with one of his signature distance kick. Soon later it was Andrea to shine, as he made possibly the best assist of the year serving a marvellous ball to Jeremy G, who obliged scoring another, reducing the gap to just one goal.
The 4-3 didn’t worry the Bibs, who found wide grassland in front of them.
Francesco had come close to scoring several times, including two near-miss headers, and was in full hunger mode. The right occasion arrived in the form of a through ball that found him alone in the box. He quickly delivered one of his signature PaoloRossi poacher move, using the left foot to stop the ball and the right one to put it in goal. Simple and effective.
Soon after, it was Christian to score with a beautiful shot that went straight in the upper corner of the goal. A classy one, from one of the most unassuming but highly talented players.
Down 6-3 the Unbibs now had a mountain to climb, and very little time to do so. They gave it their best shot and deservedly scored two with Giuseppe and Behkam, but the Bibs also scored one ensuring the lead remain wide enough (7-5). The match continued in search of a Golden Goal. After 15 minutes of play, with both teams exhausted, the two captains agreed it was ok to stop the match and called the day.
The Man of The Match award was awarded to Massimo, for the stoic way with which he led his team and for refusing to succumb to an injury that almost broke his nose.
The two rookies went home pleased with their debut. Ash from Bangladesh had a good match in midfield, while Iranian Behkam proved he has nothing to envy to the more famous David.
“Playing a full match in my debut and scoring one goal. This is a dream come true” said Behkam after the match, promising he will bend the ball better in the next match.
The last words came from Alessandro, Andrea’s brother, technically not a rookie, but back to play with us after years of absence. Sporting a Barcelona neck warmer and a brand new pair of boots he had a good game but at times appeared to be overwhelmed by the agonism and the speed. “I am not sure some of the players are even legal” he said pointing to Yassin, “I have never seen anything like that on my Playstation. Are you sure he is from planet Earth?“.
BIBBED v UNBIBBED 7-5
GOALS:
BIBBED: Johannes, Diego, Yassin, Francesco, Christian, Jeremy T
UNBIBBED: Giuseppe. Marco (2), Jeremy, Behkam,
TEAMS:
BIBBED: Al, Diego, Julien, Zac, Ash, Giancarlo, Yassin, Shaquir, Johannes, Jeremy T, Francesco, Adam,
UNBIBBED: Paride, Thomas, Alex, Massimo, Ben, Behkam, Andrea, Khaled, Alessandro, Federico, Jeremy G, Sara, Giuseppe