(Continued from the previous post)
As stated in the previous post, Team 4 Play, taking inspiration from the Captain's words,set out for its first official match. The match was scheduled against 'F.C.Mofuz', a team comprising first year students. That fact it self augmented team's confidence.On the D-day, we reached the ground, well before time. But our opponents had not arrived. As per the rules, the teams have to report fifteen minutes before the start of the match, and in case of any default, the other team would be deemed to have won the match. This further encouraged us. There were no signs of the 'Mofuz' turning up. We started pressurizing the organizers for getting a technical victory. Given the kind of argumentative players we have(we have the sort of players who argue with the referee over the definition of 'foul'), such belligerent sessions were very much expected. But the organizers didn't budge as they were too keen to have the match conducted and they started contacting the 'mofuz' team.
Finally, they turned up;not the entire team, but some seven or eight of them. We again resumed the arguments on a different technical point. The rules specify a minimum number of players to be present on the ground and as they were not meeting the requisite numbers, they should not be allowed to play. But all our protests went unheeded. They were permitted to play. The match time was reduced to twenty minutes to compensate for the lost time.
Finally, they turned up;not the entire team, but some seven or eight of them. We again resumed the arguments on a different technical point. The rules specify a minimum number of players to be present on the ground and as they were not meeting the requisite numbers, they should not be allowed to play. But all our protests went unheeded. They were permitted to play. The match time was reduced to twenty minutes to compensate for the lost time.
Thus we started off against an undermanned team, in a very complacent manner. But as the ball started to roll, all the players, who were like belligerent lions while arguing with the organizers, got transformed into timid lambs, letting the depleted opponents to take control of the game. Within five minutes of the game, they managed to penetrate the practically non-existant defense line of 4 Play and scored a goal. That caused the further disorientation of the team. All players got oblivious of their respective positions and flocked around the ball,like houseflies sticking to jackfruit. Defense,midfield,forward-all got merged into a single entity which constantly tried to stick to the ball. In one sense, that was a kind of 'total football', inasmuch as no one assumed any specific role, except that of clearing the ball anyhow. But even the 'total football' tactic didn't work, and our opponents made merry by disturbing our goal net. It may sound incredible;but its true that in that match that goal keeper ran more than the strikers as he had to constantly move up and down to fetch the ball. By half-time, we had conceded three goals;and the team was completely demoralized.After the practise matches, which were mostly matches amongst ourselves, most of the players had assumed a delusion of being great players. It was the first time that they were facing a quality opposition. Leave that, they were even players in the team who were touching a football for the first time in life. Such was the state-of-affairs of 4Play.
In the second half, the opponents were ruthless. They bombarded the goal net with shots. After conceding the sixth goal, the captain, in sheer frustration, shook the goal net vigorously. That was a very historic scene. Like the image of Roberto Baggio crying in anguish after missing the penalty shot against Brasil in 1994 and the image of Vinod Kambli weeping after the 1996 World Cup match at Eden Gardens against Sri Lanka got abandoned, this image of captain rattling against the goal-net was very poetic. After that, our opponents were more considerate. They didn't score anymore goals. The final score line read 6-0.
But we were not disheartened. We proudly upheld the spirit of the game. As Pierre de Coubertin said 'the important thing in life is not the triumph but the struggle...'. And that was the only thing which we did-struggle!.After the game, we ran around the ground and chanted the team anthem maniacally . At least, in the post match histrionics, we surpassed our opponents. The loss resulted in our elimination from the tournament. Thus 4 Play ejected out of the tournament, quite prematurely.
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(To be continued)
In the second half, the opponents were ruthless. They bombarded the goal net with shots. After conceding the sixth goal, the captain, in sheer frustration, shook the goal net vigorously. That was a very historic scene. Like the image of Roberto Baggio crying in anguish after missing the penalty shot against Brasil in 1994 and the image of Vinod Kambli weeping after the 1996 World Cup match at Eden Gardens against Sri Lanka got abandoned, this image of captain rattling against the goal-net was very poetic. After that, our opponents were more considerate. They didn't score anymore goals. The final score line read 6-0.
But we were not disheartened. We proudly upheld the spirit of the game. As Pierre de Coubertin said 'the important thing in life is not the triumph but the struggle...'. And that was the only thing which we did-struggle!.After the game, we ran around the ground and chanted the team anthem maniacally . At least, in the post match histrionics, we surpassed our opponents. The loss resulted in our elimination from the tournament. Thus 4 Play ejected out of the tournament, quite prematurely.
************
(To be continued)
Disclaimer: This is not a matter-of-fact reporting of events; but a recreation of them from memory, with a bit of artistic exaggeration.
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