… and then there were none
Diego’s farewell match before his move to Madrid was always going to be a memorable one. The Argentinian played with the utmost intensity and went very close to score in two occasions. He couldn’t get on the scorecard but he managed to win the game with his Orange team (4-2) after 90 minutes of an exciting and hard fought match.
His team had an international flavour, sporting 10 different nationalities. On the other side, assembled with a core of Italians, the Colours team could count on the long-awaited return of the Desario trio: Davide played center back next to Paride, while his sons Bernando (“Bernie”) and Gregorio (“Greg”) took positions in midfield and on the right wing. This was Davide’s first match after almost six months out on an injury. Those who expected to find a rusty player where gladly surprised to see he had fully recovered.
The other prodigal son (actually a Dad) was Victor, back in London after a long hiatus in his native Brazil with his infectious energy and trademark carioca moves.
The match started as a well-balanced 10-side game, with the two teams sharing an equal amount of ball possession. The Colours got an early lead when Vance headed the ball in goal after a series of rebounds in the box. Few minutes later, the arrival of Diego F created an opportunity for the Oranges. They were quick to point out that according to rule #47 of the Football Dads Rule Book, if the number of players is odd, the team who is down in the score gets the extra player. It turns out that suffering a goal was a blessing in disguise, as Diego F brought order and stamina to their play.
Diego had debuted with us in March, impressing with his skills despite wearing sneakers, and had not been seen since then. But the allure of the Football Dads is hard to resist. He still had sneakers on (really?), but again his contribution was outstanding. Playing with a numeric advantage, the Oranges got closer and closer to Alessandro’s goal and scored three times in succession, one of which with Yuv, a marvellous curved shot from the distance that would make Roberto Carlos proud.
The Colours kept fighting back. Bernie, Andrea and Greg put a number of great balls in the box that Francesco and Giacomo (not on their best day) failed to convert. The match remained open and everyone knew that it could swing at any moment.
As time passed by few players left including Thomas, Yuv and Giacomo, who had a flight to catch. Teams were reshuffled several times. In one of those changes, Yuv’s twin brother moved to the Colours, who took a good 10 minutes to realise he was actually a different human being (the clue was in the glasses). Diego F also moved to the Colours, in what many predicted would have been a game changer. The Colours became more confident and dangerous. Francesco stopped a ball in midfield, opened up for Greg on the right wing, who crossed the ball in the box where Diego was quick to convert. Talk about a decisive player.
Down 3-2 the Colours sensed the opportunity to get even and possibly win the match. Few more players left the pitch, making everyone wonder whether the match was a football version of immortal Agatha Christie’s novel “And Then There Were None“. The mystery (in this case the name of winning team) was solved with a Golden Goal scored by Julian, bringing victory to the Oranges team.
The Man of the Match award went ex-aequo to Andrea and Bernie. Despite being on the losing team they played an impressive match. Bernie was a commanding figure in midfield, resembling a perfectly mixed combination of a young Pirlo with Verratti and Jorginho. Mancini is already taking notes. Andrea showed how he is not only a lethal attacker but also a formidable tackler and defender, going back and forth on the pitch to chase the ball in every occasion.
“This is not a farewell” said Diego after receiving a guard of honour from his teammates, “I will be back as soon as possible, and let me know the date of the next Master Game”. Who knows? Perhaps it will be played at the Santiago Bernabeu.
