Winter is coming
Winter has not yet officially begun, but the weather conditions in Kensington Park yesterday left little doubt. Autumn is now gone which means it’s time for the hardest, toughest, most glacial matches of the year.
A tepid sun offered some solace but it had not stopped the grass to freeze and turn from soft green to solid white. An icy pitch that would stop most players but not the Football Dads, who thrive in adversity and just keep playing, no matter what.
The two 7-sides team didn’t just play. They fought hard from beginning to end, giving it all and performing football so amazing that what happens in Qatar appears amateurish at best.
Playing with the Colours, Johannes scored his usual hat-trick leading his team to victory. This is a player that keeps delivering, week after week, year after year. The Dads hope will be a father sooner rather than later to co-opt him in their team for the Master Game. One of Johannes’ goals arrived with a phenomenal long distance shot that briefly touched the inside of the post before getting in, leaving for once no doubts about his validity. Paride in goal could just watch the ball go in as if it was a Netflix documentary.
The Italian goalkeeper was still shocked minutes later, when another long distance shot from Francesco arrived towards him. Paride seemed able to control it easily, instead the ball slipped through his gloves and somehow ended in goal, with Hannes ready to perform a final tap-in. Adding insult to injury, Paride suffered also an own goal, when Al passed him the ball with too much energy. More goals in action from Francesco, Giacomo and Hossam allowed the Colours to stay ahead for the whole match and win it with a 8-5 margin that sounds more comfortable that it was.
The Oranges fought hard and scored some magnificent goals. Khaled sent the ball in the net twice, first with an header and later with a shot from outside the box. Giancarlo also scored from distance, something we had not seen for a long time, but the best goal of the match (and a candidate for Best Goal of the Year) was scored by Romeo with a terrific volley on Giancarlo’s corner. The Rumanian confirmed once again his outstanding credentials as an all-pitch complete player, from defending to attacking, and left his final sign scoring the Golden Goal and bringing home the Man of The Match Award.
Excited and confident as his compatriots playing in Qatar for the Les Blues, Julien played a great match but was forced to leave the pitch after hitting the ground badly and falling on his elbow. Luckily, a quick check from our in-house surgeon Christian confirmed that there was nothing broken, or perhaps just a rib or two. Not enough to stop a Football Dad. Julien was soon back to finish his match in style.
After the match, there was time to exchange comments and predictions on the upcoming World Cup matches. The absence of Yassin had raised suspicions that he had been flown to Qatar to help Morocco against Portugal. It turned out they managed well without him.
“Watching Julien play in below-zero temperature with what looked like a broken rib was a real inspiration for me” tweeted M’bappe before starting his quarter-final against England. “I can only dream to be one day like him, and be able to join the FDs in London“.
COLOURS-ORANGE 8-5
GOALS
COLOURS: Johannes (3), Francesco (2), Hossam, Giacomo (2)
ORANGE: Romeo (2), Khaled (2), Giancarlo
TEAMS
COLOURS: Hossam, Thomas, Johannes, Sara, Giacomo, Francesco, Hannes
ORANGE: Paride, Julien, Christian, Romeo, Khaled, Giancarlo, Al