The power of the Kids

The date of the next Master Game has not been announced yet, but this morning on the pitch there were rumours that it could take place in early June, just few weeks from today. The mere thought of a new inter-generational clash sent shivers down the spines of all players. Inevitably, the two teams were assembled to play Dads against Kids.

Being more fashion-conscious than their Dads, the Kids asked permission to play without bibs. Andrea was sporting a brand new Sevilla shirt, memento of a recent trip to Andalusia, and would have not tolerated to hide it behind a bib. Their request was accepted with paternal love. Dads are usually more relaxed about dress code and, considering the inevitable loss of vision due to old age, they actually prefer playing with bibs as the flashy colour makes it easier for them to recognise their teammates.

As soon as the match started, paternal love was thrown out of the window and replaced with the usual wickedness and malice that  characterises Dads’ approach to football parenting.

Playing with an extra man, the Dads easily dominated the first half. They enjoying greater ball possession and pressed high, making it hard for the Kids to build their play. With Francesco active as assist man, it was Hossam to score twice, with one more scored by Hannes, while the Kids only netted one.

After the break, the match restarted in a similar fashion, but soon the wind changed. The Kids were able to increase the pace of their game right while the Dads showed the first signs of tiredness. The center of gravity of the match moved dangerously close to the Dads’ goal.  Adam, Endy, Andrea, Johannes were all over the place testing Massimo and Hannes’ defense skills and Alessandro’s goalkeeping to the limit.

By the end of the second half, Kids had managed to score four consecutive goals bringing the score to 5-3. Dads had a chance to change the destiny of the game with the Golden Goal but the Kids scored that one as well, completing a legendary remuntada.

“There is a lot to learn from today’s game” said Hossam after the game. “Our youngsters have enormous level of energy and in the long run can outperform even the best Dads’ team. We’ll need a very long bench for the Master Game“.

Collecting the Man of the Match Award, Adam was more cautious “Today we played well but we were also lucky, at least two of our goals came thanks to a deflection. Dads team remains amazing and we will never have an easy life against them”.

DADS-KIDS 3-6

TEAMS

DADS: AlessandroC, Hannes, Andre, Massimo, Thomas, Julien, Hossam, Christian, Francesco

KIDS: Giacomo, Andrea, AlessandroR, Johannes, Adam, Sara, Endy, xxx

GOALS

DADS: Hossam (2), Hannes (1)
KIDS: Adam (2), Johannes (2); ….