The Thomas gambit

The effect of Thursday’s torrential rain after two months of drought was barely visibile, with scarse patches of green in an otherwise yellow turf. A timid sign of encouragement that we might soon be back to ‘normal weather‘, assuming there is such a thing in Britain.
Seven players showed up for the match, including Giancarlo, aka Agent 060, in a rare appearance between a secret mission to Alaska and the upcoming challenge to face Scylla and Charybdis, while there are rumours that Elon Musk is begging him to accept a place in his next rocket.
Unhappy with the odd number of team members, Victor rapidly scouted the park for an eight player and found it in Raul, a fellow brazilian that rejoiced with joy at the idea of playing with the FDs. The two cariocas (see top picture) joined forces with Toni and Giancarlo, all wearing Blue. Facing them was a confident all-white team composed by Francesco, Johannes, Thomas and Chetan.
The Whites started the game with a strategic play known as the “Thomas gambit”. Essentially it involves Thomas getting the ball, slowly moving past the midfield undisturbed, and suddenly shooting in goal with the utmost precision. The trick was repeated a couple of times, much to the Blues’ bewilderment, giving the Whites a solid 3-0 advantage.
Once the Blues were able to figure out what was happening, they established control of the game and moved ahead with an intricate web of passes. The Whites retracted in defence, playing a traditional “catenaccio”, but ready to launch counter attacks once they got the ball back.
The Blues’ play proved effective. Raul was quick to take advantage of Francesco’s blunders not once but twice, stealing the ball from him and scoring cynically every time. “In nomen omen” tweeted Gary Lineker, suggesting comparisons with spaniard legend Raul Gonzalez Blanco. Victor found the net a few times, and could have scored more if one of his shot had not been deflected by Toni, effective both as forward for his team and defender for the other one.
Undeterred, the Whites held the fort and used every opportunity to increase their goal tally with Johannes and Francesco, ultimately maintaining the lead. Several goals later, the score was set a 7-6 for the Whites. A narrow win in an entertaining match.
Collecting the MoTM award, Thomas said slyly “Opponents often underestimate me and leave me wide space in midfield. Well, I proved that I can be trouble“. He then proceed to friendly shake hands with all other players, smiling and looking at them in the eyes. His namesake Tuchel would be pleased….
WHITE-BLUE 7-6
TEAMS
White
Chetan, Thomas, Francesco, Johannes,
Blue
Victor, Toni, Giancarlo, Raul