‘Gremlin’ Yassin leads Colours to victory despite Orange’s heroic efforts
“I apologise” said Yassin after the match, when the post-match statistics showed that he had run for only 6.4 km throughout the match, “next time at least 10 km“.
Such strong self-criticism is not unusual among Football Dads, who strive for nothing less than absolute excellence. Still, Yassin should be pleased with his performance today. To paraphrase the famous Pirelli/Carl Lewis advertising, “running is nothing without control” and his control today was better than ever, resulting in two goals and few assists, leading Colours to a solid victory despite Orange’s heroic efforts.
What was more interesting about Yassin’s run was the familiar shape of his path. Thomas was quick to point out that if you rotated it 90 degrees, the image became identical to that of a Gremlin, a mischievous folkloric creature capable of incredible things (see top photo) . Others noted resemblance with Pikachu, a Pokemon with powerful electrical abilities. Either way, that might explain why Yassin is often able to do on the pitch things we humans struggle to even comprehend.
The match was very intense and somehow balanced, although the Colours, who played with an extra man, were quick to get ahead scoring two goals in the first 15 minutes. After a number of failed chances, the Orange reduced the gap with Julien, but the Colours scored again two goals, getting to a more comfortable 4-1.
Playing with gusto and energy the Oranges launched a new offensive, pressing high and creating chance after chance. Eventually, two unstoppable long-distance shots from Marco and Julian allowed them to get back in the game. With the score on 4-3, and momentum with the Oranges, the match was still open.
The crowd sensed that the match was reaching the pinnacle of its drama. Oranges and Colours fought on every ball. Suddenly, during one of the frantic Orange attack, Al blocked the ball inside the box with his two feet in a way that is not allowed by football rules. Francesco stopped play and blatantly demanded a penalty, but not everyone was convinced. After consultations with the VAR room it was decided that Al’s felony should be punished with a 2-touch free kick. Not a penalty but still a great chance to get even. While everyone was preparing for a strong shot Julian surprised everyone (including his teammates) lobbing the ball for Marco. A good idea on paper but not properly executed. The Colours’ defence was ready not just to intercept the ball but also to launch a ferocious counterattack and score a fifth goal, effectively stopping Orange’s dream of a remuntada.
When Sara went out for injury, the Colours decided it was wise to retreat in defence to bring the match to their natural conclusions. A logical move where you have TonyL in goal and defenders such as Hossam and Andre. The strategy proved effective as both teams managed to score a few times setting the final score at 9-6.
Among the spectators was Florian Schwegler, a rising star among German journalists and tv personalities. “I thoroughly enjoyed every minute watching. Great entertainment and some impressive individual talent.”, he said politely after the match adding a special praise for his German friend “Thomas’ goal demonstrated great skill and cool blood in front of the empty goal”.
Diplomatically, Florian didn’t disclose the reason for his presence but throughout the match he was spotted taking notes and making phone calls to his producer, possibly discussing the creation of a new docuserie on Football Dads for the German-speaking world. With stars like Thomas, Hannes, Julien and Johannes it would be an amazing show, certainly more interesting that the one Amazon Video created for Tottenham and more recently for Juventus.
After the match some of the youngsters were found googling “what is a gremlin?”, a question that made the elders smile. Of course the Kids were not around in 1984 when the movie came out, while all Dads can certainly remember the experience of watching it at a cinema. In the same year we had Ghostbusters, Karate Kid, Terminator, Beverly Hills Cop and Once Upon A Time In America. Those were the times…
COLOURS-ORANGE 9-6
GOALS:
COLOURS: Victor (3), Yassin (2), Ben (2), Thomas, Hossam,
ORANGE: Julian (2), Marco (2), Julien, Diego.
TEAMS:
COLOURS: Tony L, Arman, Al, Andre’, Christian, Hossam, Sara, Ben, Yassin,
Thomas, Victor
ORANGE: Alessandro, Tom, Paride, Diego, Giancarlo, Julien, Julian, Marco, Francesco.