4Play Season III(The Tournament)

(Continued from previous posts)
The keenly awaited event came. The moment of reckoning for 4play came, which would witness the culmination of one month of rigorous practice, which often left us  rain-drenched, mud-smeared,bruised and sprained. And this time, 4Play was with proper jerseys and football apparels.  We had got ourselves Brazilian yellow jerseys. Thus, like a bunch of canary birds, the team took to the field, with a lot of anticipation and hope.

4Play v.Blitzkrieg

Our first match was against 'Blitzkrieg'-a first year team. But this time, that fact didn't make us complacent. The thrashing handed out to us by another first year team in our debut game was still fresh in our minds. Once bitten, twice shy. So we were circumspect.

The tournament was happening at a new venue-the army sports ground at Khadki. And it has to be said that it was not at all conducive for the game. With its uneven, bumpy surface, the ground resembled a freshly ploughed paddy field. The only good thing about the ground was that the ground had proper goal posts with nets, which prompted one player to cheekily remark that the goalie would not have to strain a lot to fetch the ball. Whether finding solace at the presence of goal nets is indicative of fatalism or criminal casualness, would be another academic debate. Anyway, that summed up the mindset of the team-charged up for the game, but not bogged down with expectations.

The goofy goalie

The game started very sedately,and leisurely went on like an afternoon siesta. But I was really nervous for the initial moments. Never before has a football game given me tense moments. It was the first time I was playing a proper match as a goalie. A goalie's job, although physically less demanding, can be mentally strenuous. He is the solitary guard of the honour of the team. When his comrades are making advances, he encourages them, cheers for them. When the opponents advance like an unruly wave, he coordinates the defense to set up a formidable fort which could dissipate the attack. His mind has to travel with the ball and has to use all possible means to ward off danger. The shots could come from anywhere, in any form,even from his trusted comrades also. He is the sentinel on the qui vive, who cannot afford any minor folly; a clumsy move, a casual fumble, an act of indiscretion- that could prove fatal. He is the ultimate repository of the hope of the team.  And his solitariness makes his mistakes more conspicuous. Its a tough task, remarkably carried out by luminaries like Fabien Bartez, Oliver Kahn, Buffon, Iker Casillas etc. And I was called to be in that league. 

But, I couldn't do justice to that calling. It was my goof-up which failed our team in the first match. The match was going on quite uneventfully for the first ten minutes. Contrary to our speculations, our opponents turned out to be quite mediocre. But one impulsive act of mine-that turned out to be fatal. One of their attackers was proceeding through the left wing. Then I was afflicted with the 'goalie's dilemma'-whether to charge ahead to intercept the advancement or to stay back and react accordingly. To be preemptive or to be reactionary. On an impulse, I decided to charge ahead. I managed to intercept the ball. But instead of trying to pick up the ball, I tried to kick it. But the kick turned out to be a dud. The presence of grass also impeded the motion of the ball. The opponent got the ball. I sensed danger. There was no one guarding the goal post, except a defender who was not very reliable. And one of the opponents was strategically positioned in front of the post. The other player crossed the ball to him. I ran parallel to the projectile of the ball. I almost mouthed. "No. don't score now. Wait till I come. There is no heroism in scoring in an unguarded goal post". I lost the race against the ball. And they were not in look for heroism. With a tender header, he put the ball into the post, breaking our hearts.And that goal was like an albatross around my neck. It pricked me throughout the game(pricks me even now).

But we were resilient in our counter-attacks. But, we could not finish it clinically. I also made amends for my folly with some decent saves.  However, goal was eluding us. As our strikers reached the goal post, they fizzled out. On many occassions, our opponents outpaced us. It could be that, those eighteen year old kids, with less alcohol and nicotine in their veins, had more vigour and stamina.  For the first time, being in the twenties seemed like being old. 
Rainbow's Cameo 

However, its not that we were tensed and dejected during the game. While the match was in progress, the monsoons clouds gave way to sun, thereby causing the blossoming of a resplendent rainbow in the sky. And some of my team mates, instead of being involved in the game, detached themselves from it to indulge in the grandeur of the rainbow.  Further, they were drawing the attention of the other involved players to it and they also gazed at it with deep awe and admiration. For a while, most of the 4players were bewitched by the nature's portrait. Its quite understandable, when one is not capable of being a Messi or a Ronaldo on the football field, despite the best efforts. But, to be a Wordsworth or a Keats on the football field, when one ought to be a Messi or a Ronaldo, that is something beyond reason. However, that was in harmony with the theme of 4play-'Celebrate,don't compete'. And they were taking it to a different level. Thus unmindful of the result, 4Play continued to play, celebrating each moment of it, and we lost the game 1-0. The best result produced by 4play.

4Play v. L.O.L- The Napoleon's Waterloo
Our second match was against L.O.L(Legends of LMAO). They were also like us only, a hotch-potch team comprising football illiterates. But, they had managed to upset Blitzkrieg, and it meant that if we defeat them with a margin of two goals, we could advance to the semi-finals. Thus, for the first time, 4play had a reasonable chance of advancing to the semis. And our Napolean(Joe) was sure that we would win. He also assured us that he would score goals to help us win.

But before the match, I had an ominous thought. LOL had an orange jersey, like the Netherlands team and we had a Brazilian yellow. And the match was like a virtual quarter-final. Would this be like the quarterfinal match between Brazil and Netherlands in FIFA World Cup 2010, where Brazilians were defeated. But I was quick enough to dispense such thoughts. It would be a crime to assume ourselves as the Brazilians and a severe crime to assume LOL as the formidable Dutch. 

We had adopted an attacking strategy for the game, since we had to win at any cost. But some of our key players-Rishav Dutt, Siddharth Basu and Shaabaz Navaz-were badly injured and  were not available for the game. That made our defense very weak. We were very attacking in the first half and produced many near chances. But a stupid free kick conceded by us in the second half ruined all our hopes. Jayant Dahiya of LOL, took a powerful kick which went way above the defense wall and I misjudged the trajectory. The ball landed right behind me and dashed into the net. That seemingly innocuous shot caused a lot of despair. A sense of dejection gripped the team. And they capitalized that interim lethargy on the part of 4Play, and Shodhan Babu scored the second goal within five minutes. 

That woke us up from our dejection. We fought back. The resurgent wave of our strikers constantly lashed out at their goal post. But,the impenetrable fort formed by GP Singh and Anshul Mangla stoically weathered our attacks and that much coveted goal did not happen.  As though the pain was not enough, they scored one more goal; that was the coup de grace. And it came from Andy, my ex-room mate, also a clumsy football player who took advantage of the unguarded goal post. In my attempts to prevent their bombardments, I had lost balance and had fallen flat on the ground. Before I could regain balance, he caressed the ball that had leisurely rolled onto his legs, into the goal post. That was the third goal.No, the third nail. With two nails struck on each palms and one on the foot, the crucifixion of 4Play was complete and there was no scope for any resurrection. When the final whistle went, our opponents LOLled at our predicament. We too LOLled at the dark comedy-the ones who came with the hope of scoring two goals are going out conceding three goals.

That was the end of the tournament for us and a sense of void gripped us.  The football tournament and the practice session were a good way to escape the mundane concerns of life like placement, job,assignments,moot courts etc. All good things in life would end soon. And for many of us, this could be the last football match of our life.Very soon, most of us would be doing dignified slavery in some corporate law firms or practicing disguised unemployment in the sleepy corridors of some court and we don't know if that uncertain future would be gracious enough to grant us an opportunity to play the game again. Though 4Play didn't present us victorious moments, it provided us many good memories which are worth cherishing for ever. The sheer pleasure in kicking the ball, that is something inexplicable. That such a simple act could be a source of immense satisfaction is testimony to the inherent beauty of life. Anyway, for the time being, its the end of football game for many of us.

The 4Play Squad 2010: From top left- Himanshu Agarwal, P.J.Joe Paul,Nikhil Ranjan, N.C.Raghav Chakravarthy, Eeshan Chaturvedi, Ganesh Sangeeth, Manu Sebastian(GK),Neelanjan Pal Chaudhary, Aniruddh Thakur, George Mathew, Anuj Kapoor, Ashwin Panicker(C). Also(not in the image)-Rishav Dutt, Siddharth Basu and Shaabaz Navaz.

"Laughing at the face of defeat requires a lot of courage"-Napoleon

(THE END)

P.S- Due to some unfortunate events happened during another match, the tournament was subsequently called off, thereby leaving it truncated.