In order to boost readership, exceptionally for our readers only and today only we have two commentaries at the price of one! This could have made your weekend if only we published it yesterday…Well, it will make your week then.
Davide, after volunteering to take throws, corners, free kicks, penalties, cut the grass and pruning the trees, has made his writing skills available for the commentary.
FDs commentaries involve many aspects of human knowledge: from sport to art, from poetry to science and else: you surely remember that the ‘Law of Yuv’, a gift to humanity, was discovered on this very pitch! As such new writers are required to start at a young age to master the disciplines and Davide fits the bill.
We welcome his enthusiasm to give a fresher perspective from the other consummate household writers on the beautiful game which, like nothing else, unite people.
From Davide==> FOOTBALL IN THE FOG
Today was the first winter day in Hyde Park as the grass was hard like every winter. The defence was one of the top defence ever with Massimo, Johannes and Riccardo. Those defenders were like watching the era with the combined 3 of Sergio Ramos, Pepe and Marcelo at Real Madrid.
The score was 8-4 to the oranges and the goals for the oranges were done by Ferruccio, Jonathan L, Riccardo, Ram and 4 goals by Oliviero and especially his Golden goal so probably 5. For the colours Morteza scored an absolute Haaland hat-trick and Francesco with his iconic goal. Unfortunately Davide had 2 or 3 opportunities but he played incredibly well and created an assist. The other assists were by Jonathan L (2) and Oliviero as well.
Football in the fog (ish)
From Giancarlo==> ‘Ollie & The Rookies’ rock ‘n roll Colours (8-4) to give Orange emphatic win
There was an unusual mist today but fortunately the stands were designed so that everyone, from those at touching distance from dugouts to fans in the remote corner upper seats, could have a satisfactory view of the game which, as always, did not fail to reward the onlookers. Anyway, so that fans know, anyone buying a season ticket gets a complimentary fog-proof pair of glasses, designed by Luxottica with lenses from Essilor. As a disclaimer they are not sponsors yet though they would love to but we justran out of advertising space.
The game saw the return of Giancarlo after a long and persistent knee injury: as a precautionary measure he was placed in goal. Bookmakers were invited not to take advantage of the situation and, in hindsight, that would have been a dumb move as he ended up on the right side of the duel. Despite speculation to the opposite, Giancarlo’s 20 years long contract is not under discussion: as a measure of goodwill to the CLUB he owes everything to, the Italian has asked not to be paid until he is fully fit. This can materially benefit the company’s profit & loss account…
Colours hit the ground running and after a 15’ stalemate they took the lead: Francesco, from the touchline lobbed the ball over the Orange defence to meet Morteza for a fine, angled header which gave Giancarlo no chance.
Orange reacted like those who possess the inner strength to direct their own destiny wherever they want to. They had no weak department: Giancarlo was protected by Massimo who in turn had Johannes in front of him and Kaan on the side: a Banham triple lock no striker would dare to unlock, let alone succeed. In Midfield you were spoiled for choice: there were two Rookies, Ferruccio invited by Massimo and Riccardo by Oliviero. Proper Rookies score and debut and they both obliged. They further strengthen the Italian contingent: this bodes well for Master Game 13 if it is again Italy v Rest of the World. Ram needs no presentation while Davide, Oliviero and Jonathan L were in the firing line with plenty of ammunitions to spare.
Oliviero brought a new Rookie, Riccardo: they terrorized Colours’ defence from start to finish.
Until half time the MOTM podium was occupied by Alessandro with his serial great saves which kept Colours in the game, followed by Morteza with its clinal finishing.
From then on ‘Ollie & the Rookies’ band decided to play at a different tune. It could have easily been the name of a rock ‘n roll band in the seventy raging England with its wild music, attracting youngsters from every corner: what it was instead today was a trio of ruthless strikers scoring six (four Oliviero and one each for the two Rookies). This no mean tally was further complemented by an outstanding goal from Jonathan L (JL): he let a ball outside the Colours’ box bounce in front of him and then with his right foot of his, using the outside part, unleashed a stunning shot which swerved right, just outside Alessandro’s reach to inflate the net near the post. A ballistic masterpiece. That is the kind of striker that should be man-marked in any part of the field, regardless how far he is from goal. JL has already shown us that distance is not a relevant parameter for him when it comes to scoring goals. We all remember his lob shot goal from within his half.
Massimo brought Ferruccio: the Italian Rookie score on debut and was instrumental in the Orange comprehensive win.
Colours soon after the first goal by Orange dominated the field and Oliviero emerged as the undisputed leader taking his tally to three goals, one of which with his idle left foot, and also setting up up Ferruccio for his debut goal.
In a ‘the winner takes it all’ mode, Oliviero went on to score also the golden goal setting the final score at 8-4 after Francesco took one back for Colours.
The Man of the Match award was a formality and, to save energy on data mining, the overall process was spared by giving the trophy straight to Oliviero, even before taking the shower. The Italian on the day proved to be the finished article: he scored with both feet, he assisted, he ran, he paused, he dribbled and much more. Had he been asked to cook a pasta he would have probably embarrassed the likes of Gordon Ramsey and Carlo Cracco…
The comment of Mr Pozzo, the President and owner of Udinese, the football team of the place (Udine) Oliviero is from, best summed up the day: ‘I’ll never forgive myself for not signing Oliviero in the first place. Now we simply cannot afford him: besides any FD quitting the theatre of dreams in Kensington Gardens is unheard of’.
It was a joyous day where even leaves felt compelled to depart the trees to land on the holy ground where action and poetry combine to create a unique show and anything can happen.
ORANGE-COLOURS 8-4
GOALS
ORANGE: Oliviero (4), Ferruccio, Jonathan L, Riccardo, Ram
COLOURS: Morteza (3), Francesco
TEAMS
ORANGE: Giancarlo, Massimo, Kaan, Johannes, Ferruccio, Davide, Ram, Riccardo, Oliviero, Jonathan L
COLOURS: Alessandro, Bijan, Anton, Al, Jonathan D, Nadir, Jonathan R, Aurian, Francesco, Morteza