The day strikers turned defenders and locked the score to an unsually low 3-2 for Colours. Latest on MG12

In Football it has happened few times before that prolific strikers and attacking midfielders turned into defenders, preferably central or sweeper: the latter is an old fashion position Kids have no memory of. It was the ultimate defender playing few meters behind the central one. Strikers had to face him once they got rid of their marker but were less likely to be caught in off side. Such role, called ‘Libero’ in Italian, was later abandoned when AC Milan’s Sacchi introduced the in line defence to trick opposition into off side. The likes of Gullit, Mattheus, Koeman at the peak of their career decided to retrench and direct the match from the back. By doing so they make the best use of their declining energies for the good of the clubs and granted themselves a longer lasting career.

But when players like Matteo and Nizar decide to do that, like they did today, the reason is only tactical and aimed at balancing the game which saw, among the 25 players an abundance of strikers. In fact , both Nizar and Matteo are experiencing a sustained, explosive growth in their respective performances and the peak is nowhere to be seen.

Did the experiment work? Well, suffice to say that more than a few commentators said that after watching their performance today they could not help but thinking that ‘Liberi’ like Beckenbauer and central defender like Cannavaro, both Balon d’Or, are perhaps overvalued, without denying their value and achievements.

Both Matteo and Nizard commanded authority and strength, aerial prowess, tactical acumen, space awareness while never wasting a ball, knowing where and how to feed strikers by anticipating their moves. It was not a coincidence that the score today was unusually low as strikers found the wall both thick, tall and wide.

Surely the presence of iconic players like Hossam and Bijan, not to mention Thomas on a mission from Munich, made their job easier but there is nothing easy about fighting FDs and FKs.

The match was really balanced for a long time after the start: Oliviero took sometime to adjust his aiming but fans knew it would only be a matter of time before he found the net, till then well guarded by Tony L, back from a long injury to test his conditions ahead of the MG12. When asked in the post match interview what he will do to be sure that he will not miss MG12, Tony calmy reply: ‘I’ll do whatever it takes!’, a quote echoed by Mario Draghi in a slightly less dramatic situation.

Colours seized the momentum taking full advantage from the fact that on the opposite Orange strikers were firing blank as Alessandro was in its recurring mood to send back whatever was thrown to him. The Colours attack has the full range in terms of frontline: from experienced Francesco and mobile Adam to prolific Oliviero, to finish with young, entrepreneurial Arman who was at the right time in the right place to tap in a vagabond ball not cleared by Orange defence and beat his own Dad.

You could tell by the Orange immediate reaction that they were not happy with the result: Davide had a couple of opportunities, Matteo moved forward, Daoud would not accept a second consecutive no-goal game, while the rest of the squad brought forward the centre of gravity and put Colours’ defence under immense pressure.

In one of these fast and furious assaults, Al from the right side put in a fast, low ball in the Colours’ box, away from Alessandro range only for it to hit Nadir and terminate in his own goal. It was most unfortunate as until then, and after, Nadir had an excellent, dynamic game worth anyway of a MOTM nomination.

As the clock was ticking Orange needed someone who could turn the tide. Yet again they found it in Daoud: despite having this rare ability to argue both with teammates and opponents, he never loses focus and desire. He stopped a ball well outside the box and before anyone could interfere with , he unleashed a deadly shot who brought the game to parity: 2-2

The ensuing golden goal saw the two sides fighting to the last ditch until Johannes decided it was time to go home as winner by planting a shot into the Orange roof to seal the score at 3-2 for the Colours.

It was not the kind of game with goals every other minute: nobody scored more than one goal, a rare event in games often in double digit figures from both sides. Perhaps the proximity of MG12 introduces, if possible, an extra element of nervousness as everyone is desperately trying to secure its place in the starting XI. Anyway, today was opportunity for low scorers, read defenders and keepers to shine and stake a claim for the coveted MOTM trophy.
It was reassuring to have Tony L back in goal but today the safe pair of hands were those of Alessandro who had a huge impact on the final result with reiterated saves and brave dives on the hard terrain. After catching many balls Alessandro set his hands, deservedly so, on the Man of The Match trophy and looks forward for more silverware in the MG12.

Talking of which, here the latest on the MG12.

There are around 30 players registered, 20 of which (including families) are staying behind for the lunch at the pub chosen by Francesco.

As for transport, most of the people without cars will be given a lift by those with spare seats but realistically not everyone. Once we’ll have final numbers we’ll let you know so you can make your own arrangements.

Uber is the simplest solution: it takes 1 hour and costs 90£, 20-25£ each for a car of four. Public transport is not viable as it requires more than 2h to get there.
Please register if you haven’t done it yet and want to play. Link below

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSccpqmZuzVTrcjeyHumfOCR1MukFQCrbFGMsrdnJVWUpL-vjg/viewform

COLOURS-ORANGE 3-2

GOALS

COLOURS: Oliviero, Arman, Johannes

ORANGE: Nadir (og), Daoud

TEAMS

ORANGE : Tony, Hossam, Riccardo, Matteo, Thomas, Jonathan D, Julien, Andrea M, Al, Forteza, Smayan, Davide, Daoud

COLOURS: Alessandro, Bijan, Anton K, Nadir, Nizar, Johannes, Jonathan R, Adam Giancarlo, Oliviero, Francesco, Arman