The Man Who Saved The Day
At the end of the match, other than the traditional Man of the Match award there was another important presentation. Alberto and his son were given a medal for being the only non-players related spectators from beginning to end of a FDs and FKs game! Alberto, visibly moved, commented ‘You guys are a different league: I have not yet figured out which one but definitely different!’ The main takeaway from this is that our game is becoming increasingly addictive to the wider audience: that’s the way global franchises develop.
They could have not chosen a better day: sun was shining, the game balanced to the very golden goal and a vast array of skills and strength on display, all performed at unreal speed.
The Colours made it clear from the start that they wanted to win easy and fast by deploying together both Yassin and Johannes. And the rest was not bad either, with Alessandro in goal, Hannes and Thomas in defence, Julien in midfield and Francesco as a lone striker. Nobody knows how much it costed to assemble such a team but everybody knew it was openly in breach of the financial fairness rules set by Fifa but fans could not care less, rather thrilled to see such goal machine in motion.
Fear is not in the FDs dna: the Orange Team was vibrating at the idea to cause a major upset and bookmakers sensed that by keeping the odds fairly aligned. Orange team prepared to face the Colours mounting tide: Tony L was back in goal while Massimo stood at the centre of defence, Mo returned to the game and was given the unpleasant task to stop Yasin when approaching the goal, The problem with such tactics is that Yasin can be and score from everywhere. As such Ben and Giancarlo tried to help in midfield while Hossam patrolled the right side.
All of the Orange attacking firepower tested on the fresh and fast legs of Adam who kept in apprehension the Colours’ defenders all match long. Khaled was requested to defend, create and finalise at the same time.
The game was a rollercoaster with Yasin and Johannes leading the score only for Khaled and Adam to level back. The Colours went again ahead with a stunning play that sent the crowd to their feet: Johannes crossed from the left side, Francesco sent it to Julien with a first-touch volley only for the Frenchmen to it the ball with power and precision to score. Few minutes later it was time for the Oranges to shine: Massimo went deep on the right wing and crossed the ball in the box. Khaled did not hesitate it and sent in goal with a spectacular bicycle kick.
The Orange never managed to get in front thanks to an incredible sequence of saves by Alessandro. As the players and the fans felt that the game could have gone on for days after 100’ of non stop game with the score at 8-8 it was only natural to put it down to the golden goal to tell the winners from the losers. It was Yasin, who else?, to bring victory home with a tricky shot from the edge of the box. Both set of fans were somehow relieved as they could not take it anymore.
The Man of the Match had many claimants: Johannes and Yasin justified their default inclusion with another game full of goals, assists and tireless runs. Yasin is now back in full form after the injury that made him to miss the MG8, the FDs Waterloo. Watching him today gives FDs renewed hope for a recovery in the next MG. Khaled once again showed to be a complete player at ease in every part of the pitch. Adam was the thorn in the Colours’ defence able to cause constant problem to one of the strongest defence in football history.
But today few players owed so much to their number one who saved the day. With a normal goalkeeper against them the Orange would have won by a considerable margin but had to swallow defeat because of Alessandro’s saves. ‘Primo non prenderle’ (First do not concede): that the first rule in Italian football.
By the way I could not see Italy-England: does anyone know the score?
COLOURS-ORANGE 9-8
GOAL
COLOURS: Yasin (4), Johannes (3), Julien ( 2)
ORANGE: Khaled (3), Adam (3), Ben GiancarloTEAM
COLOURS: Alessandro, Hannes, Thomas, Julien, Johannes, Yasin, Francesco
ORANGE: Tony L, Hossam, Massimo, Mo, Ben, Khaled, Giancarlo, Adam