Wringing out the bandana
Would Dads have lost the last Master Game that badly if Yassin hadn’t been ruled out due to ankle injury ? We will never know, but one thing we know: the man is back, and the Dads can now look with some hope to MG9.
Today, in his first match after months of absence, Yassin played with a certain caution but proved he is fully recovered. The crowd was delighted as he showed plenty of moves from his repertoire, including his trademark dribbling, quick runs, artful assists and powerful shots in goal. A performance that helped the Bibs team control the match from beginning to end.
The final result (5-2) doesn’t lie. The Bibs team [Francesco, Hannes, Thomas, Hossam, Yassin, Sara] was prolific in attack and impeccable in defence. Within 25 minutes of play, the Bibs were ahead 4-0, having scored with four different players and having risked very little. A result that could have been even larger if Alessandro in goal had not saved few more goals.
The Blues team [Alessandro, Andre, Julien, Marco, Christian, Paride + Andre’s sons] struggled to figure out what was going wrong. They had all the right ingredients but seemed to lack concentration. Perhaps Marco, who was wearing a brand new AC Milan shirt, had his mind on the movida nights that expect him in Madrid, where he is soon going to study.
When the Bibs scored a fifth goal, the match seemed over, but the Blues had not given up. They continued to push, grew in intensity and found the net with Christian, shooting from the left side. Hannes refused to concede the goal, claiming the ball was directed outside the red posts. After frantic discussions and a detailed VAR review, the goal was allowed.
In an increasing humid heat, more July than September, the two teams continued to fight on every ball. Hossam had the easiest chance to score the sixth goal when he found himself with the ball one meter in front of goal. Instead of tapping it in goal he decided to turn around to try an improbable back-heel and missed it spectacularly. Incidentally, the same mistake made by Francesco last week. Is there a back-heel syndrome we need to cure?
With few minutes left to play, Sara and Thomas were forced to leave the pitch due to injury. Julien moved with the Bibs to restore parity in the number of players as the match entered Golden Goal territory. Both teams tried to secure it, but the Blues snapped it first.
Christian dribbled two men on the right side and put the ball in the box for Marco, who shot it in goal with power and precision, fixing the score at 5-2 (or “cinco a dos” as they say in Madrid).
Wringing out his bandana after the match, Hossam smiled when asked why he went for a back-heel. “It was an excess of confidence, true, but the win was already in the bag and I went for a crowd-pleaser!”
Bibs-Blues 5-2
TEAMS
Blues
Alessandro, Andre, Julien, Marco, Christian, Paride
Bibs
Francesco, Hannes, Thomas, Hossam, Yassin, Sara