FDs welcome the 64th Nation under a splendid October sun
The colours in Kensington Park speak for themselves: autumn is already here in all its glory, but the temperatures remain unusually tepid, making football even more enjoyable.
On Saturday, an intense 7-side match saw the Colours prevail 8-5 after one of the fiercest battle ever witnessed on the Royal ground, in a day that saw the addition of Romania as the 64th Nation. The Balcanic country was represented by Paride’s friend Romeo, a superb East European answer to Iniesta, although some saw drew comparison to his compatriot Gheorghe Hagi, often referred to as the “Maradona of the Carpathians”.
Romeo played a major role for the Colours, who also benefit from a uber-intense performance by Massimo. His running watch clocked 8km which adjusted for his ferocious sprinting up and down the field today is equivalent to 25km of the average jogger.
The match saw also the return of Chetan from professional cricket pastures and trading commodities on the high seas, and the much cheered comeback of young Al following a broken leg to magnificent saves for the Bibs.
Man of the match award goes jointly to Tony S (Bibs) and Paride (Colours). Tony returned from 10 days of intense diving and swimming in Sharm El Sheikh to machine-gun a hat-trick in 20 minutes of play – that’s a higher per minute conversion rate than an elite premier league footballer. Phenomenal all round performance by the colours but once again Paride was a deciding factor saving a penalty from the lethal Yassin and countless other strikes on goal.
Among the many guests of the day was Chetan’s son Vir (meaning brave in Hindi), top pictured, already signed for the Football Kids. There was also a surprise appearance from the one and only Giancarlo, just returned from the Himalayas looking tanned and younger than ever — encouraging news for Dad’s prospects in the next MG.
Final Score: 8 (Colours) – 5 (Bibs)
Bibs: Tony S., Al, Christian, Yassin, Adam, Sara, Hossam
Colours: Chetan, Paride, Massimo, Johannes, Khaled, Julien, Romeo