Young lions roar loudly
Football Dads returned en-masse to play their iconic matches on Saturday, after the desertions of the summer breaks led to few weeks of cancellation (and inevitable fan despair).
A very balanced 7-side match saw the Oranges prevail 8-7 with only the Golden Goal (a penalty gained and converted by Francesco) to separate the two teams.
It wasn’t plain sailing for the Oranges with Massimo and Hossam struggling initially to get the most from their teammates.
Arriving late on the pitch, Bijan in particular seemed distracted and lacking focus, checking his phone every two minutes.
“What the hell are you doing?” shouted Massimo with a tone that commanded attention. The truth was revealed: Bijan had his mind on the online queue to purchase the much coveted tickets for the Oasis reunion.
“I am making progresses” replied Bijan, “Now I have only 32,482,907 people ahead of me”.
The whole team then had a quick strategy meeting to decide how best to manage the situation. They voted to keep Bijan in the team and aim for two objectives: winning the match AND securing tickets. The rotating goalkeeper was then tasked to keep an eye of the queue and update Bijan regularly, allowing him to dedicate his mental energy to the game.
AndreaM also started playing better after getting a reprimand from Massimo who accused him to have his mind on another planet. That’s the power of true leaders.
Goals arrived in succession from both sides A precise header by Francesco on Massimo’s corner was followed by another brilliant header from Daoud on the other goal.
The Oranges were more dangerous creating chance after chance. Nizar and his son Ziyad played on the left wing with telepathic understanding, while AndreaM, Ishant and Jonathan all played as attacking midfielder with precision and creativity. However they had in front an Alessandro in stellar form and could not convert often.
Initially ruled out due to injury, Johannes had decided to play anyway, but did it in a restrained way to avoid further damages. Unable or unwilling to perform his signature box-to-box runs and to defend aggressively, he took more of a Pirlo role, dictating tempo and passing balls with geometric precision. Perhaps a hint of what’s to come in the next few decades.
Talking about age, it was amazing to see not just Ziyad but also his brother Khaled and Julien’s son Rafa playing as consummate veterans. A breed of “young lions” that already promise wonders.
With two more weeks to go before the epic Master Game, things could not look brighter.
ORANGE – COLOURS 8-7
TEAMS:
ORANGE: Massimo, Hossam, Ziyad, Nizar, Francesco, AndreaM, Jonathan, Ishant, Bijan
COLOURS: Alessandro, Johannes, Hannes, Julien, Rafa, Khaled, Daoud,