WHEN I missed a Liverpool FC’s match, it is due to the non-existence of any satellite broadcast (I missed 4 weeks of matches while I was in the USA last month) or if I’m on the road, which was seldom in a given season (I usually arranged my travel in accordance with the match schedule).
But last Saturday, it was due to extreme fatigue and multiple body-ache after a long day of football. Yes, I missed the big win by Liverpool on Fulham. But I managed to watch the reruns on Sunday.
It all started on Friday evening. My weekly futsal with my close buddies started at 11.30pm and lasted for an hour. I slept at about 3am.
The next morning, I woke up at 7.30am. I have to get ready very early to drive to Kuala Lumpur city to participate in the Utusan Malaysia’s inter-department football 9-aside competition.
The format was that all the participants were to be pooled randomly in a team as to ensure every one gets a fair chance to compete. Myself were slotted in the Senior 2 team, probably due to my age…
There were six teams altogether and divided into 2 teams via a round-robin format. Meaning, we get to play 2 matches of 20mins per game. On the paper, the seniors are the supposedly the weakest of all. Me and my team were modest. We aimed to win `at least’ a match. That’s all.
Many thought we will be the source of many goals for the opponents. Based on our age, the legs would probably go burst in the 15th minutes. Or lost all of our breath due to heavy smoking. Those assumptions were notorious among the participants, including myself! Hahaha….
But in the first match, we managed to draw with the youngster. This some how built our confidence to a level of…. outrageously-unthinkable of, by any standard. We aimed to win the second game, which was technically our last game.
Then something happened. The other team in our group was defeated. It gave us an interesting proposition. We only need to draw to qualify for the semis. But the opponent scored first. It seems we are ready to close the shop. However, the youngster seems to lose their breath much earlier than us. Funny that they failed to emulate us who had played with extra caution as not to do any short passes but focused on long passes with three forward ready to run to the goal post. And we scored the equalizer.
- And we got through to the semis!
Our celebration was huge and humorous! Mostly due to the fact that me and teammates were so modest and never thought of advancing from the group stages.
So in the semis, our opponent was the best team from the Group A (we were 2nd in the Group B). They won both games in the group stages. We drew both games. See the disparity? We did. With a huge laugh!
They started the match with fire. The forward was quite a striker. He is lighting-fast and no match for our defenders (average age: 45yrs old). He got his team to lead 1-0. But again, the youngsters a bit naïve. We the seniors ran but always bear in mind not to over-run, simply because we don’t want to collapse of heart-burn on the pitch. And we managed to retain our spirit and most importantly, our last remaining stamina. We got the equalizer and at the dying minute, scored the winning goal. I celebrated the win as if LFC won the European Cup.
In the finals, we were actually no match for the youngster. In fact, it was the same team who fought us in the first match in the morning. We were beaten 0-2. No problem. Me and my mates fought well. My header was only inches swayed, then my indecisiveness saw the ball wasted.
There was one moment I managed to fool my defenders and I can hear the spectators groaned when they saw me running for about 20 yards in a similar Fernando Torres’s style. But as my age proves to be my reality, my breath was just not sufficient enough to accommodate me the necessary boost to reach the penalty box. I had to stop running and lost the ball when I can’t feel oxygen in my lungs. And another round of roar came from the crowd. Obviously they were watching a funny football game in me. Hahaha…
I reached the office at about 5pm and I had to swallow painkillers to enable me to start my night shift. I think I slept for half an hour due to massive headache and exhaustion. At 9pm, I drive home. And I reach home an hour later, it was straight to bed. Thus, the Liverpool vs Fulham match at 1am, is never in my schedule. Too tired…
However, it was one hell of a day. I get to share a good fun day with my office-mates and let the youngster identify with me, that I can beat them and go to final. Regardless of my age or my status. It’s all about athleticism and a sheer determination to win. Nothing is impossible in football.
YNWA!
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Any vacancy?
the football team or the newspaper? :))
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