Bavarian talisman changes course of match twice
“I thought we had it, how on earth did we lose it? This was the thought in Victor’s mind, as seen in the top picture, taken seconds after the match ending.
The Brazilian striker was right to be puzzled. In the second half of the game he had put down one of his best performances of the season, scoring four goals in succession, one of which with an irreverent back-heel that left the fans screaming. His strike had allowed his team to get the lead in the game after having been four goals down, only for the destiny of the match to change again in a heart-breaking finale.
His Orange team included Paride, Hossam, Christian, Daoud, rookie Arsalan, and an injured Thomas. The German icon was unable to run properly but was deemed fit enough to play, and he did it with aplomb and composure, contributing his usual precision in moving the ball. However, the lack of pace took a tool on his team, and despite the extra man the Oranges struggled to lead the match against a better organised Colours side.
Playing with only six players, including Alessandro in goal, the Colours had a solid rock defense with the Foglia father-and-son duo Federico and Giacomo, authors of an impressive performance. Johannes ensured the usual coverage all over the pitch, running back and forth for miles, while Francesco and Yusuf provided the needed attacking pressure upfront.
Within the first 20 minutes, the Colours scored three times in Paride’s goal. For the first two goals they were helped by a deflection. The third one came when Johannes arrived in front of Paride but instead of shooting sent a delicious assist to Francesco, who converted it with a precise shot on the upper angle, avoiding a desperate attempt from Hossam to catch the ball with his hands, hoping to get a penalty for hand ball rather than conceding the goal.
After another 20 minutes, with the Colours still up with a 3-goal lead (4-1), Hannes suddenly arrived on the pitch with his bike, arousing enthusiasm from the fans. The Bavarian is well know for his punctuality but his flight back home had been delayed 3 hours by the airline. Another player would have probably given up but not our German panzer, who bought a pair of boots in the airport and rushed to the pitch to make the last half hour of the match. Simply seeing Hannes, and confident that he was going to join their team, was enough to breathe new life in the Oranges team, who scored immediately and launched their remuntada, netting 4 goals in succession to lead 5-4.
The Colours had recruited Thomas to compensate the number of players, but were struggling to adjust. However, when Thomas was forced to quit, things changed again as Hannes had to remove his bib and changed team.
In a crescendo of emotions, the two teams battled on every ball and scored repeatedly. Playing in all-attacking mode, the Oranges sent Paride in the box on every corner kicks but were unlucky. He went close to score in a couple of occasions with his headers, but was punished when the Colours scored with a very quick counter attack, eventually winning the match 9-8 at Golden Goal.
The Man of The Match Award was hard to assign. Inspired by his encounter with the Arsenal team the previous day, Francesco had a very fine day, creating havoc on the right side and scoring twice. Daoud continued to impress with his amazing skills, literally creating chances from nothing. Federico was a rock in defense. Ultimately the award was assigned ex-aequo to Victor and Hannes. The Brazilian deserved recognition for his prolific output, the German for his determination to play despite every difficulty and for having a terrific impact on the match on both teams. Call him a talisman.
A special trophy, the “Injured Players of the Match Award” was assigned to the other Bavarian Thomas, whose dedication to the Football Dads is second to none. Get well soon!
COLOURS-ORANGES: 9-8
TEAMS
Oranges: Paride, Hossam, Christian, Daoud, Arsalan, Victor, Thomas, Hannes
Colours: Alessandro, Federico, Giacomo, Johannes, Francesco, Yusuf, (Thomas), (Hannes)