Spring is coming
The park police remained distant today, careful not to spoil the atmosphere of the match. With so many fans around the pitch, it is now clear to them that the Football Dads are the highest attraction of the park, and they would soon be out of a job if we moved our football elsewhere.
A dry, sunny day, with blue sky and temperature above 10 degrees is something to cherish. As the rigours of the Winter seem to leave space to Spring, all players felt rejuvenated and ready to give it all. The stage was set for another epic showdown.
The Colours team started with rare intensity, moving the ball with the grace of the Royal Ballet and the precision of a Swiss watch. They were not just playing football, they were painting a masterpiece with every stroke of the ball. Johannes orchestrated the play like Mozart on a good day, setting up dangerous attacks, and cutting the Oranges defence like a Japanese knife on a piece of butter.
Served with delicious assists, Jonathan scored what looked like the easiest hat-trick in the history of the Football Dads. Here is a man that scores goals like he’s swiping right on a dating app.
Contributing to the Colours’ domination was a very inspired Andrea, playing with the precision and elegance of a young Kakà. When he scored with a beautiful long-distance shot the crowd went wild and somewhere, a Colours fan just named their newborn after him.
The Oranges, not to be outdone, continued to attack with the fury of a toddler denied candy. When they earned a penalty, Francesco stepped up for it, only to send it wider than the Grand Canyon. But the seasoned Italian didn’t let this miss affect him and redeemed himself moments later scoring with a tap-in, after a first save by Hannes.
Nizard and Federico joined the party – Nizard with a sneaky goal that slipped by the keeper, and Federico with a header so majestic, it could’ve been in a shampoo commercial. However, despite their zest, the Oranges were still behind.
A group of fan had been watching the match with so much passion that eventually they could not resist asking (begging?) us to join. After a rapid consultation, three of them were exceptionally allowed into the pitch and assigned to the two teams. Unfortunately, none of them brought us a new country (they were from India and Argentina, two nations already well represented), but they did bring added energy (not that it was needed).
Eventually, with a couple of more goals scored on both sides and the Colours still solidly ahead, the match entered Golden Goal territory. For the second week in a row, it was Francesco to oblige. Left (for once) unmarked in the box, he received a corner kick from Nizard and scored with a decisive header.
The Man of the Match Award would have been well deserved by both Jonathan and Johannes, or in fact anyone from the Colours team, but the jury assigned it to Andrea, still in awe for his goal and some of his plays.
The three rookies were instructed to be at the pitch by 10am if they want to play again. But some pundits wondered whether we were being too open to new players. Do too many people dilute the quality and pace of our game? Should we accept only players from new Nations? Hard questions to answer.
In the meantime, we celebrate another beautiful game (and no injuries, always a plus!). The next one will be officially in Spring. Stay tuned.
COLOURS-ORANGE 7-4
TEAMS
COLOURS: Hannes, Paride, Johannes, Thomas, Julien, AndreaR, Jonathan, Rookie #1, Rookie #2
ORANGE: Hossam, Bijan, AndreaM, Francesco, Nizard, Riccardo, Chetan, Federico, Rookie #3
GOALS
COLOURS: Jonathan (3), Johannes (2), Julien (1), AndreaR (1)
ORANGE: Francesco (2), Federico (1), Nizard (1)
