Friday, 14 May 2010
A TALE OF BRAVE PASSION AND THE RULES OF THE GAME
Golden Codgers 32-EHL 33
The match played by the Codgers- after one week of almost-no-football purgatory- was highly expected to bring the heaven of victory after a ruinous spell of devilish losses. Instead, the game will go down in history for two main episodes which should remind the reader of the past of football. Indeed, in its modern form football comes from a gentleman’s agreement signed in a London tavern in 1863. It was only in the 1872 that the Referee mad his appearance for the first time. Until the the players judged and sanctioned the fouls committed on the pitch; yesterday the spirit of those glorious day has been highly missed on the pitch where the fans witnessed a harsh and unfriendly game. Indeed, the match sometimes resembled a scene of a butchery with Will’s parts ungenerously grabbed and hooked like raw meat, harsh tackles hitting down Luca and stubborn pushes aiming at pinning Ravi down all flying like crows. The match became so uptight that the unanimous pledge for a referee came out almost unanimously from both sides; men were shooting down with wet powder but the Codgers battled like lions, even coming back from nine goals behind almost to make the gladiatorial fight even, but eventually succumbing again for one single goal.
As always happens however, an heroic tale includes and unfolds another epic story: among the seven heroes, the pride of place gallantly belongs to Codgers’goalkeeper , Can, who injured his right wrist badly, but nevertheless decided to keep on defending the goal (literally) single handy. Here, the people who are too young to remember, must be reminded of the impression left by Beckenbauer in 1970 World Cup battled to the final minutes of the semi-final against Italy with one arm in a sling; like Can he will be committed to memory as going from mutilation to the splendour of football!
The match played by the Codgers- after one week of almost-no-football purgatory- was highly expected to bring the heaven of victory after a ruinous spell of devilish losses. Instead, the game will go down in history for two main episodes which should remind the reader of the past of football. Indeed, in its modern form football comes from a gentleman’s agreement signed in a London tavern in 1863. It was only in the 1872 that the Referee mad his appearance for the first time. Until the the players judged and sanctioned the fouls committed on the pitch; yesterday the spirit of those glorious day has been highly missed on the pitch where the fans witnessed a harsh and unfriendly game. Indeed, the match sometimes resembled a scene of a butchery with Will’s parts ungenerously grabbed and hooked like raw meat, harsh tackles hitting down Luca and stubborn pushes aiming at pinning Ravi down all flying like crows. The match became so uptight that the unanimous pledge for a referee came out almost unanimously from both sides; men were shooting down with wet powder but the Codgers battled like lions, even coming back from nine goals behind almost to make the gladiatorial fight even, but eventually succumbing again for one single goal.
As always happens however, an heroic tale includes and unfolds another epic story: among the seven heroes, the pride of place gallantly belongs to Codgers’goalkeeper , Can, who injured his right wrist badly, but nevertheless decided to keep on defending the goal (literally) single handy. Here, the people who are too young to remember, must be reminded of the impression left by Beckenbauer in 1970 World Cup battled to the final minutes of the semi-final against Italy with one arm in a sling; like Can he will be committed to memory as going from mutilation to the splendour of football!
Thursday, 29 April 2010
THE BAR THAT DISPELLED A MIRACLE
Cypriot Golden Codgers 13-EHL 14
Football moves in mysterious ways. It may happen that when you face a though and merciless opponent, you spend almost 70 minutes desperately trying to score a goal and watch all your effort being crushed by the keeper or by the defensive wall; it may happen that –no matter how disciplined and organized your defense is, no matter how feline and good the reflexes of your keeper are- you conceded 14 goals; it may happen that you lose a player (Will Dusty Spates) due to a very bad injury with ten minutes to play while trailing behind by four goals; it may happen, at that moment, that even your hard-core fans leave the stadium.
But it is then that almost sparkling from nowhere, when you are in despair, the duty of losing gets miraculously overturned and instead of shrinking back into the box begging for no more balls to hit your net, you went on attack: passion, spirit, childish irresponsibility and a strong belief in team-power. It is then that the Codgers did not start playing equal against equal, no –they played as the big guys against the little. The EHL were in flight and the Codgers in ecstasy. Amin, Ravi and Luca managed to fill the gap and at the very last minute Can saved a certain goal, Matthew cleared and Luca triggered Amin the Machine, who had almost nobody between him and the goal. The shot was powerful and accurate, the keeper beaten but the ball collapsed against the upper bar slipping away while the whistle was blown, leaving the Codgers wondering why they dared to sin against a secret spell that obliged them to lose.
Football moves in mysterious ways. It may happen that when you face a though and merciless opponent, you spend almost 70 minutes desperately trying to score a goal and watch all your effort being crushed by the keeper or by the defensive wall; it may happen that –no matter how disciplined and organized your defense is, no matter how feline and good the reflexes of your keeper are- you conceded 14 goals; it may happen that you lose a player (Will Dusty Spates) due to a very bad injury with ten minutes to play while trailing behind by four goals; it may happen, at that moment, that even your hard-core fans leave the stadium.
But it is then that almost sparkling from nowhere, when you are in despair, the duty of losing gets miraculously overturned and instead of shrinking back into the box begging for no more balls to hit your net, you went on attack: passion, spirit, childish irresponsibility and a strong belief in team-power. It is then that the Codgers did not start playing equal against equal, no –they played as the big guys against the little. The EHL were in flight and the Codgers in ecstasy. Amin, Ravi and Luca managed to fill the gap and at the very last minute Can saved a certain goal, Matthew cleared and Luca triggered Amin the Machine, who had almost nobody between him and the goal. The shot was powerful and accurate, the keeper beaten but the ball collapsed against the upper bar slipping away while the whistle was blown, leaving the Codgers wondering why they dared to sin against a secret spell that obliged them to lose.
Saturday, 24 April 2010
FOUND THE DEFENSE...LOST THE OFFENSE
Golden Codgers 18-ELH 21
The goal is football’s essence. A miracle, an excitement getting he crowd going wild, a punishment for the sinner which obliges him to repent, a struck of inexorable fate making the players sing from the chest. Yesterday, however, the Codgers lost their scores (literally) and went almost mute. In their orchestra there has been only one real tenor, Can, who showed –once again- his prowess to repel the attacks raining as cavalry strikes to earn the medal of Man of the Match. The Codgers’ keeper sowed panic among the strikers, even saving a penalty and keeping our heroes afloat. But if the sinks of the Codgers’ boat were impermeable, the decks were so full of water to render the cannons unusable. The only way to score seemed to undress (literally as Ahmet proved) the footballs shoes and barefootly ask for forgiveness to the Gods of Football. Indeed, the 1-3-1 tactic proved to be a nice anchor to which hang on, but when the strikers are not doing their job (Will 3, Amin 7, Ahmet 6, Seyit 2) gloomy days lay ahead. Ravi proved to be an asset to which the Codgers cannot truly renounce without losing half of their offensive power: the leading goal scorer was too much of a miss for our heroes. Can he rescue the Codgers from their three-losses-in-a-raw series? Can the impeccable organization and devotion to rational tactics be paired with the fantasy and the genial touches which set the goals in motion? Can the Codgers shine again and ceasing to invoke the evil spirit of defeat? Next Thursday the ball will reveal his secret answer by rolling once again over the pitch of Sakarya.
Long Life to the Codgers!
The goal is football’s essence. A miracle, an excitement getting he crowd going wild, a punishment for the sinner which obliges him to repent, a struck of inexorable fate making the players sing from the chest. Yesterday, however, the Codgers lost their scores (literally) and went almost mute. In their orchestra there has been only one real tenor, Can, who showed –once again- his prowess to repel the attacks raining as cavalry strikes to earn the medal of Man of the Match. The Codgers’ keeper sowed panic among the strikers, even saving a penalty and keeping our heroes afloat. But if the sinks of the Codgers’ boat were impermeable, the decks were so full of water to render the cannons unusable. The only way to score seemed to undress (literally as Ahmet proved) the footballs shoes and barefootly ask for forgiveness to the Gods of Football. Indeed, the 1-3-1 tactic proved to be a nice anchor to which hang on, but when the strikers are not doing their job (Will 3, Amin 7, Ahmet 6, Seyit 2) gloomy days lay ahead. Ravi proved to be an asset to which the Codgers cannot truly renounce without losing half of their offensive power: the leading goal scorer was too much of a miss for our heroes. Can he rescue the Codgers from their three-losses-in-a-raw series? Can the impeccable organization and devotion to rational tactics be paired with the fantasy and the genial touches which set the goals in motion? Can the Codgers shine again and ceasing to invoke the evil spirit of defeat? Next Thursday the ball will reveal his secret answer by rolling once again over the pitch of Sakarya.
Long Life to the Codgers!
Thursday, 22 April 2010
Sunday, 18 April 2010
THE "CLOCKWORK WHITE"
At 1974 World Cup they called the Dutch Team the ‘Clockwork Orange’, due to the spectacular precision of their precise organization: ”Everyone attacked, and everyone defended, deploying and retreating in a vertiginous fan […] an orchestra keeping so many simultaneous notes on the pitch” . Blaspheme comparisons aside the first half of Codgers game reminded to their fans the well-oiled wheels of a clock: in the shadows of a wonderful mid-spring sunset at Sakarya, it looked like the silhouette of the tactful Mourinho had been cast upon the Codgers’ players. 1-3-1 was the key-code, the signal which Radio-Codgers send to the sky: the outcome proved too much for the young and rampant Can’s seven. Perfect combinations between Amin “Machine” (4 goals) and Ravi (7 goals), amazing sense of position showed by Michael Best (2 goals, one with a stunning voleè after having dribbled a couple of defenders), the diligence in orchestrating the maneuver by Luca (1 goal) , an outstanding performance as main defender by Matthew “The Wall” (man of the match, the sand of Egypt worked miracles out of him….) and the usual “shieldy” prowess of Erdal in goal left the opposition speechless and hopeless: 14-4 the score at half-time.
The second half was close to pure academia with Ahmet replacing Michael and allowing the Codgers to play in a more relaxed mood resulting in a spectacular and enjoying 15-12 final-score which left everybody tired but happy (apart from a small injury for Can).
So, the new tactic proved to be effective and it will be tested again next Friday against the EHL boys, in another episode of this never-ending saga of rivalry and football. Will the 1-3-1 be enough to the Codgers to emerge victorious after three defeats in a row? Will the “Clockwork White” signal be sent again in the air of Sakarya? The answer will be soon provided from this blog in a week or so….stay tuned…same Codgers Blog, same Codgers (finest) hou
The second half was close to pure academia with Ahmet replacing Michael and allowing the Codgers to play in a more relaxed mood resulting in a spectacular and enjoying 15-12 final-score which left everybody tired but happy (apart from a small injury for Can).
So, the new tactic proved to be effective and it will be tested again next Friday against the EHL boys, in another episode of this never-ending saga of rivalry and football. Will the 1-3-1 be enough to the Codgers to emerge victorious after three defeats in a row? Will the “Clockwork White” signal be sent again in the air of Sakarya? The answer will be soon provided from this blog in a week or so….stay tuned…same Codgers Blog, same Codgers (finest) hou
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