Cypriot besiktas 6- Golden Codgers 1
Deus non irridetur. Quae enim seminaverit homo, haec et metet. You can't fool God. What a man sows that he will ripe.
The God of football did not show his benign face two days ago , when the Codgers faced the Cypriot Besiktas away from the comfortable home pitch of Sakarya. There -at the University pitch- the God of football could set his trap: he gave to the pitch surface the shape of an old rag, he turned the ball in a bouncing trap and seemed to laugh at the players by making the goal bigger for the opposition and smaller (the Codgers hit the bar for three times and missed four chances by inches) for the heroes. The titanic effort of our modern Ulysses ended up in a hopeless effort in the vagaries of a match which never looked as friendly. Only Ahmet- perhaps because the cream he put on repelled men as well as god- managed to tame the beast and scored one goal. But then the darkness fell upon the Codgers in the shape of 6 goals sounding as a well deserved punishment. Not even the great Can -who was playing his last match for the Codgers for he signed a contract with the professional MTG Magusa (good luck, we will always be your first fans!!!!)- could dispel the enchantment of the defeat casted upon the Codgers.
Will the spell ever be broken? Will the God of football be appeased with this defeat? Will the return to the well-known and friendly pitch of Sakarya be enough to be again victorious? Next thursday will bring with it the answer to all these questions....
Friday, 8 October 2010
Thursday, 7 October 2010
THE TIME IS NOT OUT OF JOINT ANYMORE...
A long summer of despair and separation, of no ball bouncing on the grass, of waka-waka without Amin shooting or Ravi twinsting and turning is on the verge of being put behind our back. The Codgers are back; the news will elicit joy and envy on both side of the Atlantic, a proof of our growing success, if not as footballers, at least as foot-bohemiennes.
Good news is that the Codgers are still here and ready to play; old faces, old friends: some will be sitting on on their parkbench like bookbend far away from Cyprus (from Qatar to Connecticut); others will fly the flag of the Codgers entering the pitch with new streght and vigour. Once more unto the breach, my friends! Can "El Gato", Ahmet the "Padrino" Usta, Ersan and Ersoy "the lethal Twins", Amin "the Machine" Momeni, Luca "The Sultan" Zavagno and Ali "The Prince of Persia" Levjardipour, will do their best to have fun and to run after the ball with the passion of the long-lost boyhood. Indeed, to borrow a quote from the recent Nobel prize for Literature,Mario Vargas Losas, playing football is like "writing a book: for one hour or so are totally cut off from the rest of the world, submerged in your obsessions and memories".
Long Life to the Codgers!!!!!
Good news is that the Codgers are still here and ready to play; old faces, old friends: some will be sitting on on their parkbench like bookbend far away from Cyprus (from Qatar to Connecticut); others will fly the flag of the Codgers entering the pitch with new streght and vigour. Once more unto the breach, my friends! Can "El Gato", Ahmet the "Padrino" Usta, Ersan and Ersoy "the lethal Twins", Amin "the Machine" Momeni, Luca "The Sultan" Zavagno and Ali "The Prince of Persia" Levjardipour, will do their best to have fun and to run after the ball with the passion of the long-lost boyhood. Indeed, to borrow a quote from the recent Nobel prize for Literature,Mario Vargas Losas, playing football is like "writing a book: for one hour or so are totally cut off from the rest of the world, submerged in your obsessions and memories".
Long Life to the Codgers!!!!!
Sunday, 20 June 2010
IRANIAN ARRANGEMENTS FOR RAVI'S FAREWELL
GOLDEN CODGERS 18- EHL 13
The ball turns, the world turns, friends are coming, friends are leaving, but there is absolutely no question, however, that friendship -as the world today- revolves around a spinning ball. It is the passion we shared that brought us to play together for an entire semester; it is the idea that football is a joy for the eye as well as a feast for the body and the spirit that led us to toss around a pitch in all weathers. Now we are challenged by the good memories that Ravi's departure for the States (and tomorrow Matthew and Will's ones) sadly triggers on us; but we must keep in mind the amusement the different styles, expressions of the personality of each player, elicited during the last few months. In days of uniformity and obligatory conformation diversity is felt as more than necessary; and nothing can summarize it better than the last goal of Ravi with the Codgers: Amin to AliReza form Iran who sprinted in zig-zags on the field and set the "glide from Connecticut", who smoothly placed the ball in the goal reminiscing of Truman Capote' In Cold Blood. "IRANIAN ARRANGEMENT FOR RAVI" was the lucid prose Amin used to comment the outstanding goal. A real homage to football, a celebration of its multicolor and peaceful lights and the celebration of friendship and his beauties. No shadows this time: and not only because of the last hurray the Codgers managed to shout on the pitch; but more than ever for the happiness of the cheerful moments spent together.
The blogger speaks not only for himself- I hope- when saying that we played because we were and continued to be; we will always be in that pitch if not in flesh and bones, in sun and shadow; each in its style affirming the right of being different but also equal in friendship. In waving goodbye to all the Codgers there is sadness and melancholy, but nevertheless the unfathomable joy a German theologian found in all children: "I wouldn't explain happyness; I'd toss a child a ball and let him play".
The ball turns, the world turns, friends are coming, friends are leaving, but there is absolutely no question, however, that friendship -as the world today- revolves around a spinning ball. It is the passion we shared that brought us to play together for an entire semester; it is the idea that football is a joy for the eye as well as a feast for the body and the spirit that led us to toss around a pitch in all weathers. Now we are challenged by the good memories that Ravi's departure for the States (and tomorrow Matthew and Will's ones) sadly triggers on us; but we must keep in mind the amusement the different styles, expressions of the personality of each player, elicited during the last few months. In days of uniformity and obligatory conformation diversity is felt as more than necessary; and nothing can summarize it better than the last goal of Ravi with the Codgers: Amin to AliReza form Iran who sprinted in zig-zags on the field and set the "glide from Connecticut", who smoothly placed the ball in the goal reminiscing of Truman Capote' In Cold Blood. "IRANIAN ARRANGEMENT FOR RAVI" was the lucid prose Amin used to comment the outstanding goal. A real homage to football, a celebration of its multicolor and peaceful lights and the celebration of friendship and his beauties. No shadows this time: and not only because of the last hurray the Codgers managed to shout on the pitch; but more than ever for the happiness of the cheerful moments spent together.
The blogger speaks not only for himself- I hope- when saying that we played because we were and continued to be; we will always be in that pitch if not in flesh and bones, in sun and shadow; each in its style affirming the right of being different but also equal in friendship. In waving goodbye to all the Codgers there is sadness and melancholy, but nevertheless the unfathomable joy a German theologian found in all children: "I wouldn't explain happyness; I'd toss a child a ball and let him play".
Monday, 31 May 2010
Puskas, Yashin and a middle-age man bicycle kick..
Golden Codgers 11- TTDpt 13
The Codgers lost again. But the commentator today prefers to focus on the the sky above the grey clouds of defeat, and describe three moments of great football; two poems and a scherzo which were written on the pitch of Sakarya in last night match.
The first moment happened when Ravi decided to use the ball as a pen and note down a compassionate and moving kick with his right foot after receiving the ball from Luca at the right edge of the box. Puskas, the mythical Hungarian striker in the 50's world cup, mirrored in the cannonball Ravi shot which landed in the upper right corner of the net, while the keeper was unable even to gaze it.
The second sonnet was written by the Codger's keeper, Can, who trapped and shredded any projectile moving his body as a spider edging on the webs of its net. Yashin, the giant goalkeeper of 60's USSR, was believed to deflect the ball with a glance while remaining motionless; Can, to the contrary, liked to blink his eyes like the wings of a butterfly literally flying from post to post to hypnotize the opposing striker.
Losing with a smile is the main characteristic of the Codgers, their coat of arms...and a smile was painted on everybody's faces when Will commented upon a brave but goofy bicycle kick performed by Luca, the medievalist of the group: "Very good...for a middle-age man...".
A sentence which epitomized the essence of the football as played by these scholars, gentlemen and fans of good football; now that the season is over and the team is going to disband, with almost all the players leaving for other challenges and other countries, only the good memories will be left. The laughs and the cries, the goals and the saves, the losses and the victories will all stay with us forever; as will the twists and turns of Ravi whose testimonial, the last game with the Codgers of the Poet navigating in a Drunken Boat, will be tomorrow at 9. Tears will be shed and dropped on the pitch; but the spirit of the Codgers will never abandon him or us. Forever. A friendship bound in football with the pleasure of a game played together and the 'irreparable melancholy we all feel at the end of the game'.
The Codgers lost again. But the commentator today prefers to focus on the the sky above the grey clouds of defeat, and describe three moments of great football; two poems and a scherzo which were written on the pitch of Sakarya in last night match.
The first moment happened when Ravi decided to use the ball as a pen and note down a compassionate and moving kick with his right foot after receiving the ball from Luca at the right edge of the box. Puskas, the mythical Hungarian striker in the 50's world cup, mirrored in the cannonball Ravi shot which landed in the upper right corner of the net, while the keeper was unable even to gaze it.
The second sonnet was written by the Codger's keeper, Can, who trapped and shredded any projectile moving his body as a spider edging on the webs of its net. Yashin, the giant goalkeeper of 60's USSR, was believed to deflect the ball with a glance while remaining motionless; Can, to the contrary, liked to blink his eyes like the wings of a butterfly literally flying from post to post to hypnotize the opposing striker.
Losing with a smile is the main characteristic of the Codgers, their coat of arms...and a smile was painted on everybody's faces when Will commented upon a brave but goofy bicycle kick performed by Luca, the medievalist of the group: "Very good...for a middle-age man...".
A sentence which epitomized the essence of the football as played by these scholars, gentlemen and fans of good football; now that the season is over and the team is going to disband, with almost all the players leaving for other challenges and other countries, only the good memories will be left. The laughs and the cries, the goals and the saves, the losses and the victories will all stay with us forever; as will the twists and turns of Ravi whose testimonial, the last game with the Codgers of the Poet navigating in a Drunken Boat, will be tomorrow at 9. Tears will be shed and dropped on the pitch; but the spirit of the Codgers will never abandon him or us. Forever. A friendship bound in football with the pleasure of a game played together and the 'irreparable melancholy we all feel at the end of the game'.
Sunday, 30 May 2010
A LOSING STRETCH? CHASING CHICKENS SOMETIMES MAY BE HELPFUL
GOLDEN CODGERS 25-EHL 28
During the '24 Olympics, the journalists wanted to know the secret that allowed the Uruguayan players to cast witchcraft turning the rivals in stone and leading them to crushing victory against the opponent of the hour. Through an interpreter they revealed the formula: the players trained by chasing chickens that fled making S's on the ground. True or not the news made to the newspapers all over the world.
Maybe the Codgers won't need to chase chickens but they need to find a way through the swamp of enemy legs and ringlet of feet which yesterday- condemned them to the fourth defeat in a row against the EHL boys. It is true that occult forces are plotting against the Codgers since to Michael (who recently become the proud father of Ara...BEST wishes to him from all the team) and Amin (two papers to be ready by Monday threw a span in the Machine's wheels), who were already lost to the cause, one should add the pulled hamstring of Ahmet who injured himself when the Codgers looked in control (leading by two goals). Limping towards the net, courageous as it is, is not the best way to trouble the EHL defense. The result was the deluge of goals which thundered into Can's net, nullifying the efforts and the goals scored by Will (4), Luca (3), Ravi (10) and Ahmet (8). The damage of another loss could not simply be averted. And the witches of losing still fly over the head of the Codgers. What to find the road to the victory again? Maybe following the chickens could help....
During the '24 Olympics, the journalists wanted to know the secret that allowed the Uruguayan players to cast witchcraft turning the rivals in stone and leading them to crushing victory against the opponent of the hour. Through an interpreter they revealed the formula: the players trained by chasing chickens that fled making S's on the ground. True or not the news made to the newspapers all over the world.
Maybe the Codgers won't need to chase chickens but they need to find a way through the swamp of enemy legs and ringlet of feet which yesterday- condemned them to the fourth defeat in a row against the EHL boys. It is true that occult forces are plotting against the Codgers since to Michael (who recently become the proud father of Ara...BEST wishes to him from all the team) and Amin (two papers to be ready by Monday threw a span in the Machine's wheels), who were already lost to the cause, one should add the pulled hamstring of Ahmet who injured himself when the Codgers looked in control (leading by two goals). Limping towards the net, courageous as it is, is not the best way to trouble the EHL defense. The result was the deluge of goals which thundered into Can's net, nullifying the efforts and the goals scored by Will (4), Luca (3), Ravi (10) and Ahmet (8). The damage of another loss could not simply be averted. And the witches of losing still fly over the head of the Codgers. What to find the road to the victory again? Maybe following the chickens could help....
Thursday, 27 May 2010
THE WORLD AT THE CODGER'S FEET...AND THE FEET OF THE CODGERS FOR RAVI
Last friday, football at its finest was seen at the Sakarya pitch, where the Codgers challenged a selection of the best (available at that moment...) players in the world; it was a real feast of colors, friendship and goals, 10 all scored by the Codgers who literally annihilated the Rest of the World Selection (bolstered by Luca due to the defection of Ahmet and Fatih) which included players from Italy (Daniele and Osea), England (honorary) (Marios), Cyprus (Petros) and Tirkey (Ersan). Ravi and Amin got the lion's share scoring 5 and 4 goals each, whereas Will provided the cream on the top of the cake hitting the net with a slimy and wry shot with his deadly left foot.
It must be mentioned, however, that Can bolstered the Codger's victory with two or three saves that could really go down in history for beauty and class.
But new and more challenging moments are waiting for our heroes in the next few days; the Codgers' schedule is quite full indeed:
Friday 28 May 22 o'clock- Sakarya Pitch EHL Boys-Codgers
Sunday 30 May 20 o'clock- Sakarya Pitch Turkish Translation Dept.-Codgers
Tuesday 1 July to be announced- Sakarya Pitch RAVI FAIRWELL GAME
Stay tuned for the chronicle of all these game, and for the pictures of the unbelievable game against the Rest of the World.
It must be mentioned, however, that Can bolstered the Codger's victory with two or three saves that could really go down in history for beauty and class.
But new and more challenging moments are waiting for our heroes in the next few days; the Codgers' schedule is quite full indeed:
Friday 28 May 22 o'clock- Sakarya Pitch EHL Boys-Codgers
Sunday 30 May 20 o'clock- Sakarya Pitch Turkish Translation Dept.-Codgers
Tuesday 1 July to be announced- Sakarya Pitch RAVI FAIRWELL GAME
Stay tuned for the chronicle of all these game, and for the pictures of the unbelievable game against the Rest of the World.
Friday, 21 May 2010
TRAVELLING AROUND FOOTBALL IN 6 NATIONS
Special exhibitor match for the Codgers today at Sakarya's pitch. For the first (and last) time, our heroes will face the Rest of the World (a team including players and former players...from Italy, Cyprus, England and Turkey). If we included our heroes in the picture, we are going to follow in the steps of Philias Fogg and travel the around the foot-ball in 6 nations...See you at 18!!!!
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