Classic Pizza, Old Friendship, New Players
“I have knee pain. My doctor suggested I use some collagen cream” said Paride.
“Cream?” replied Tony S. “We can do better than that. Give me your address and I will send you plenty of collagen to drink. What else did the doctor say?”
“He said I have to stop football for two months”
“Really? And what are you going to do?”
“I am going to get another doctor”.
This is the type of conversation that was heard on Thursday, when a group of Football Dads and Kids met for a pizza-based team-bonding evening in the upper room at RossoPomodoro in Fulham.
The place was familiar. This is the same room where two years ago the Dads met for their annual AGM and to unveil the launch of the website. Since then a lot of things happened (including a nasty pandemic) but one thing has not changed: the friendship and comradery between Football Dads. In fact, it got even better as in the last two years we welcomed an influx of amazing new members that further elevated the profile of the Club.
The dinner was an easy and informal affair, no speech or big announcements, but there was something to celebrate. The Club has now officially entered the third-generation, with Anne Lilley, daughter of Kid (now also technically a Dad) Tom and grand-daughter of Dad Thomas. A joyful event both for the Artmann family and our Club. It might take a couple of years before Anne Lilley plays her first match but the seed is planted. A new line of FD-branded baby clothes is being created to mark the occasion.
Food was excellent, as you can expect from a true Italian pizzeria. Appetizers included delicious “pizzelle” (small bites of fried pizza covered with tomato, mozzarella, parmigiano and basil, as good as it sound) and fried calamari, followed by perfectly cooked pizza. As this was the official “World Italian Cuisine Week” (“Settimana della Cucina Italiana nel Mondo”), the menu offered some unique specialties, among which was the never-tasted-before “Pizza ai 4 Pomodori” (pizza with four different tomatoes). An explosion of flavour. An instant classic.
Video highlights of previous games and plenty of photos were projected on the large screen in the room, generating hilarity and emotion. (was Sara really so young in our first Master Game?). There was also time to watch the preview of Francesco’s secretive new documentary “Wembley Deception: How Italy Ruined England’s Most Long-Awaited Party By Winning Euro 2020“. Unlikely to be seen on Netflix any time soon.
Youngsters Luca and Giacomo were in attendance, as well as Leo who joined us late after his saxophone lesson. Unfortunately his sax remained in the case, despite several requests to play for us his moving rendition of “Patricia” from the late Art Pepper.
He did however play two days later, contributing to the victory of his Colours team, beating the Orange with an indisputable score of 9-3.
It might be hard to believe that, but the match was actually very balanced for the first half, with both team scoring in successions. On the 3-3 Francesco (who had earlier netted a spectacular Salah-goal) missed an easy opportunity to bring the Oranges ahead for the first time. From that moment on, the match swung as Colours took complete control, scoring six times in rapid succession. But assadas
The day saw the long-awaited return of Tony S, who played for the Colours and as usual stood in the middle of the box. His impact was felt. He didn’t score but as every defender was busy containing him, his teammates found plenty of space to put the ball in the net.
Giacomo in particular was devastating, scoring four times from every angles. This is an unassuming player, without the physique-du-role of strikers such as Lukaku or Ibrahimovic but with a subtle art, that of being in the right place at the right time. A true sense of position that meets a lethal touch, something that reminds us of a certain Pippo Inzaghi. He brings home the Man of the Match Award, beating by an inch his team-mates Johannes (who scored three) and Julien, who scored a spectacular goal with a long-distance shot.
The day will be remembered also for the debut of two rookies: Gabriele, who chose to play near Hannes to learn everything about defence and Daniel M, who delighted the audience with a Brazilian-style sombrero goal.
Too bad cameras were off today. We would have loved to rewatch all this again and again and again.
COLOURS v ORANGE 9-3
GOALS:
COLOURS: Giacomo (4), Johannes (3), Leo, Julien
ORANGE: Lorenzo, Daniel M, Francesco
TEAMS:
COLOURS: Tony L, Tom, Gabriele, Hannes, Arman, Johannes, Julien, Khaled, Leo, Giacomo, Tony S, Thomas,
ORANGE: Alessandro, Andre’, Charlie, Chetan,Hossam, Diego, Yassin, Lorenzo, Giancarlo, Daniel M, Francesco