Clean sheet in the heat

The premises were not encouraging.  Climate was far from ideal, a torrid heat very rarely seen at this latitude, and the Pond pitch was full of holes so large and deep that you could easily put Paride inside one and there would still be space.

Keeping their cool, the 15 players in attendance carried on the necessary pre-match rituals, mounting the big goal and negotiating team compositions. The result was a Colours team composed by three Italians (Andrea, Francesco, Paride) and three Germans (Hannes, Johannes, Thomas) and augmented by rookie Cena.

They faced an in-form Alessandro whose goal-keeping for the Bibs was impeccable, as was Hossam’s defending. Ahead of them was a quartet composed by veterans Sara, Julien, Bijan, Nizard, further strengthened by another rookie, Hossam’s friend Tim, who had a very respectable first performance. An Englishman married to an Italian, Tim seemed to possess the best qualities of both worlds, showing the prowess of an Azzurro and the stamina of a White Lion.

Ahead of the kick-off, the Colours were scratching their heads about how to contain such a highly competent bibbed team buzzing with goal-scoring talent. Their task seemed to be complicated by Paride’s desire to play outfield rather than in goal, forcing them to use rotating non-professional goalkeepers. That put added pressure on Hannes, tasked with frustrating the bibbed attackers and preventing them to come anywhere near the goal, while taking the game consistently into the other half. Luckily for the Colours, this tactical decision turned out to be a winning move.

The match had started with a bang. Receiving the ball at kick-off, Johannes made a quick run and scored, surprising both his opponents and his teammates, some of which had hardly realised that the match had started. This was likely the earliest goal in the history of Football Dads, and pundits were quick to draw comparison with Leao’s goal in Sassuolo-Milan in 2020 (“the fastest goal in Serie A history”), although the Brazilian winger had a much easier task playing on a professional pitch rather than on the Pond.

Taking a goal so early in the game was a wake up call for the Bibs, that immediately closed their ranks and found the right concentration to fight back. For a long time the match stayed open, with both teams unable to move the score, while frequent water breaks ensured that the player stayed hydrated. As time went by, however, a certain Colours’ superiority became evident and eventually it came to fruition, with a sequence of goals. Somewhat surprisingly, the Colours won by a large margin, while keeping rare clean sheet (5-0).

Commenting after the game, Nizard attributed the loss to the (too small) size of the pitch which in his view impacted negatively runners like him over allegedly slower folks like Johannes. Independent observers remained unconvinced by his argument and assigned Nizard the MOTM award (Moaner Of The Match).

As for the Man of the Match award, the jury agreed that it had to be handed to Paride, who today showed that he’s not only a magnificent goalkeeper, but also a great defender and a formidable scorer.  One beautifully headed goal after a Johannes corner, and one tidy shot for the golden goal, proved his prowess in attack, while his defending was so ubiquitous and ruthless that the Colours were not punished for his absence from goalkeeping, even keeping a clean sheet. Last but not least, Paride contributed to all players’ healthy nutrition by providing his trademark post-match bananas.

Ultimately, despite the scorching heat and the terrible pitch, it was a very entertaining game whose scoreline belies a hot contest of which the outcome could not have been predicted. The hot weather will soon be gone and should it happen again there might be ways to avoid it (although Hossam’s suggestion to start the match at 5am to beat the scorcher seemed a bit extreme and was rejected by the Board). As for the holes, we trust Chief Gardener Thomas to do his magic and make the Pond pitch look again like the Nou Camp.

In the evening at Stamford Bridge, with several FDs among the crowd, the Chelsea Legends beat the Bayern Legends 4-0. The Bayern guys looked as if they had come straight from the Octoberfest, and averaged about 10 years more than their Chelsea opponents.

As if it had been scripted, John Terry scored, and after one minute on the pitch, Gianfranco Zola played an absolutely delightful chipped pass that resulted in an inevitable 3:0. Gianluca would have been proud, and Gianfranco proved that there is no age limit for magic. Just stay awake! Or, as Adrien would have put it:”Focüs”!

COLOURS-BIBS 5-0

BIBS: Nizard, Bijan, Julien, Hossam, Sara, Tim, Alessandro

COLOURS: Francesco (1), Andrea, Johannes (1), Hannes, Thomas (1), Paride (2), Cena, Raphael