Continuing from where I left off in the last post. It was Superleague time! This was the tournament which Christ organized for all the stand out players of the Pedagogic League.
A pool of around 400 plus players was now brought down to a mere 120 or so.
Majority of the big name players of the Nightswatch were selected for this, but surprisingly, Tushar's name wasn't included. The coach was apparently not impressed enough with his game. Mind you, this lad poured his living heart out onto the pitch and lay it all on the line for the team. I recall Jana making repeated efforts to reason it out with the coach to give Tushar a second chance. But that didn't work out.
Obviously, I wasn't for this in any which way. I told Tushar to sneak in from the back and join the group of 120. Come on, it was Tushar. Being the honest fellow he is, he initially declined, but I'm a really persistent guy so you can guess what happened. So there I was, sitting right at the back of the entire group with my roommate Tushar K Chand. And why we were sitting at the back was so that we wouldn't be spotted by any of the team captains except Jana. All the captains of all quarterfinalists of the Pedagogic League were now the new captains of the Superleague.
Now I know that I had played well, but I didn't know that I had played that well that other captains had noticed me. Honest to God (if there is one), I had never gotten into Christ football with the intention of being the best. I was just another player thoroughly enjoying his football. I was hoping that Jana would pick me again because I don't think that kind of understanding would have been formed again with another player.
Chilling at the back, I suddenly heard a loud roar, "AAANKIITT!" Instantly, I knew this had to be Neerman, a centre back from Mauritius pursuing his masters. My first reaction? I hid. What else could I do? Luckily for me, another player whose name in no way sounds like Ankit stood up and walked towards Neerman to which Neerman pointed him back to the group and told the HOD of the Sports Department who he wanted. I realized I couldn't hide anymore, so I got up and greeted my new captain. Disappointed, of course, but in a way, excited for what the future held.
I managed to get Tushar, Aayush, Mohit as well as Satvick to join me on the same team. (All four are now my flatmates by the way.) Neerman had assembled a squad which was extremely decent but the problem was, we didn't gel well enough. Rather, we didn't get the time to. But that's just an excuse. We were named the Pirates.
I was first picked for the second tournament in a span of two weeks. This time, not via luck, but hard work. We had another senior University player called Mahesh in our squad. Mahesh was one of the most hardworking players I have ever seen on a football pitch, whichever position you play him in, he would bring his all, the emotion, charisma he brings to the game is reminiscent of Cristiano Ronaldo. I went on to develop a very nice relationship as well as understanding with this man.
Matchday 1: It didn't start off well for us, Mahesha got red carded in the first minute itself for whacking Mukul on his calf for nutmegging him. He then went on to push the ref a bit which wasn't bound to serve him well either. Instantly, we were under immense pressure being a man down. I expected Neerman to lead from the front but he was also mentally disturbed as Mahesh was our most experienced player. I knew I had to do something, and that'ss when I took matters into my own hands. I started shouting, screaming, directing, instructing, you name it, I did it. I covered the entire field by myself, running up to support the attack to helping Satvick and Neerman at the back. Unfortunately, they managed to take advantage of the extra man by scoring two in quick succession. We pulled one back but that wasn't enough. The match ended 2-1 and even though I was complimented by almost everyone who watched the game, I didn't care, I was furious.
Matchday 2: Mahesha apologized for his wrongdoings and was permitted to grace the pitch again. This proved to be a major confidence boost for the team. I remember Mahesh came up to me personally and apologized. With our differences aside, we played the team which were destined to finish first in the tournament, the best team on paper, the all-stars. As soon as the game started, I made a darting through the centre of the field towards their goal. Advancing, I beat player after player. I faced two extremely strong defenders ahead, I 'megged one, carrying on my run, I then 'megged the other centre back as well and now was in on goal. And that was it, everything was set for me to finish when I blatantly skied the ball 5 stories high. And from there, the opposition grew from strength to strength, eventually scoring a goal. We managed to equalize through Abdel but that didn't prove to be enough as they created a beautiful goal which was unstoppable. Barcelona of 2011-12 would be proud of that move. We lost, but they deserved the win.
Matchday 3: We were up against the team which went on to win the entire league IBFC. Led by Shlok, they stamped their authority early on during the match by absolutely outclassing us with very intricate football. They had an extremely physical side and we did manage to give a really good fight but that was never going to prevent the inevitable. They scored one, then another. Both goals could have been prevented, but it was their day, everything went right for them. We had quite a few chances in the second half. I tried my level best to spur the team on to make a comeback but it was never quite enough. Shlok had created a really formidable side. We did put a fight after Aayush created this beautiful chance out of absolutely nothing, picking up the ball in the centre of the park and playing Varun in on goal who as expected finished the move very well with a goal. That remains to be Aayush's best assist ever, come to think of it, his only assist ever. :P
We had lost all three matches of the group stages. *Poof* Blew up the dream of winning two tournaments on the trot. Unhappy, of course, we went back home and didn't return to the football pitch. Not even to witness the rest of the tournament or even the final.
I was in college one day, heading back to my room after classes had ended when I received a text saying 'You were named best player.'
Rubbishing that thought, I carried on back to my room for a good afternoon nap. When I woke up, my phone had around 6 messages from different people congratulating me on being named the best player. I couldn't believe it, I told myself that the coach or someone must have made the statement that Ankit was the best player during the closing ceremony and that's what all the fuss is about. That's when Jana pinged me stating I was named best player of the Pedagogic League as well as the Superleague and that he had collected my trophy on my behalf and that I should come to the pitch to collect it. This was the first time ever in Christ football history that a first year was awarded the best player award for both, the Pedagogic and Superleague.
I was really surprised, I didn't feel my performance deserved it. Pedagogic? Probably. But even Superleague? No. We lost in the group stages itself.
As I made my way to the football field, I noticed how many people started recognizing me and congratulating me. I didn't expect this. Once I had reached, I was greeted by quite a few people, everyone was shaking my hand, I felt noticed, I felt special. The next person I met was Jana who handed over the trophy to me and said: "Don't doubt yourself, you deserve it."
The coach, Arun sir, then met me and told me that I was exactly the kind of player who he was looking for and that he would now select players for the university team who suited my style of play.
What? Where was all this coming from?
I went back home and sat by myself and thought. Looking back, in hindsight, I realized that yeah, I did play well, I gave my everything. Every time I walked out onto the pitch, I didn't think of my own personal gains, I was solely concentrating on winning the match for the team.
And that's when I learnt that if you are willing to lay it all out on the line for the team, hold nothing back, work your face off and express yourself on the pitch, you will be able to play the best football you have ever played.
After all, football is a team sport. And the name on the front of the shirt, the name of the team, matters more than the name at the back.
A pool of around 400 plus players was now brought down to a mere 120 or so.
Majority of the big name players of the Nightswatch were selected for this, but surprisingly, Tushar's name wasn't included. The coach was apparently not impressed enough with his game. Mind you, this lad poured his living heart out onto the pitch and lay it all on the line for the team. I recall Jana making repeated efforts to reason it out with the coach to give Tushar a second chance. But that didn't work out.
Obviously, I wasn't for this in any which way. I told Tushar to sneak in from the back and join the group of 120. Come on, it was Tushar. Being the honest fellow he is, he initially declined, but I'm a really persistent guy so you can guess what happened. So there I was, sitting right at the back of the entire group with my roommate Tushar K Chand. And why we were sitting at the back was so that we wouldn't be spotted by any of the team captains except Jana. All the captains of all quarterfinalists of the Pedagogic League were now the new captains of the Superleague.
Now I know that I had played well, but I didn't know that I had played that well that other captains had noticed me. Honest to God (if there is one), I had never gotten into Christ football with the intention of being the best. I was just another player thoroughly enjoying his football. I was hoping that Jana would pick me again because I don't think that kind of understanding would have been formed again with another player.
Chilling at the back, I suddenly heard a loud roar, "AAANKIITT!" Instantly, I knew this had to be Neerman, a centre back from Mauritius pursuing his masters. My first reaction? I hid. What else could I do? Luckily for me, another player whose name in no way sounds like Ankit stood up and walked towards Neerman to which Neerman pointed him back to the group and told the HOD of the Sports Department who he wanted. I realized I couldn't hide anymore, so I got up and greeted my new captain. Disappointed, of course, but in a way, excited for what the future held.
 |
| Pirates! |
I managed to get Tushar, Aayush, Mohit as well as Satvick to join me on the same team. (All four are now my flatmates by the way.) Neerman had assembled a squad which was extremely decent but the problem was, we didn't gel well enough. Rather, we didn't get the time to. But that's just an excuse. We were named the Pirates.
I was first picked for the second tournament in a span of two weeks. This time, not via luck, but hard work. We had another senior University player called Mahesh in our squad. Mahesh was one of the most hardworking players I have ever seen on a football pitch, whichever position you play him in, he would bring his all, the emotion, charisma he brings to the game is reminiscent of Cristiano Ronaldo. I went on to develop a very nice relationship as well as understanding with this man.
Matchday 1: It didn't start off well for us, Mahesha got red carded in the first minute itself for whacking Mukul on his calf for nutmegging him. He then went on to push the ref a bit which wasn't bound to serve him well either. Instantly, we were under immense pressure being a man down. I expected Neerman to lead from the front but he was also mentally disturbed as Mahesh was our most experienced player. I knew I had to do something, and that'ss when I took matters into my own hands. I started shouting, screaming, directing, instructing, you name it, I did it. I covered the entire field by myself, running up to support the attack to helping Satvick and Neerman at the back. Unfortunately, they managed to take advantage of the extra man by scoring two in quick succession. We pulled one back but that wasn't enough. The match ended 2-1 and even though I was complimented by almost everyone who watched the game, I didn't care, I was furious.
Matchday 2: Mahesha apologized for his wrongdoings and was permitted to grace the pitch again. This proved to be a major confidence boost for the team. I remember Mahesh came up to me personally and apologized. With our differences aside, we played the team which were destined to finish first in the tournament, the best team on paper, the all-stars. As soon as the game started, I made a darting through the centre of the field towards their goal. Advancing, I beat player after player. I faced two extremely strong defenders ahead, I 'megged one, carrying on my run, I then 'megged the other centre back as well and now was in on goal. And that was it, everything was set for me to finish when I blatantly skied the ball 5 stories high. And from there, the opposition grew from strength to strength, eventually scoring a goal. We managed to equalize through Abdel but that didn't prove to be enough as they created a beautiful goal which was unstoppable. Barcelona of 2011-12 would be proud of that move. We lost, but they deserved the win.
Matchday 3: We were up against the team which went on to win the entire league IBFC. Led by Shlok, they stamped their authority early on during the match by absolutely outclassing us with very intricate football. They had an extremely physical side and we did manage to give a really good fight but that was never going to prevent the inevitable. They scored one, then another. Both goals could have been prevented, but it was their day, everything went right for them. We had quite a few chances in the second half. I tried my level best to spur the team on to make a comeback but it was never quite enough. Shlok had created a really formidable side. We did put a fight after Aayush created this beautiful chance out of absolutely nothing, picking up the ball in the centre of the park and playing Varun in on goal who as expected finished the move very well with a goal. That remains to be Aayush's best assist ever, come to think of it, his only assist ever. :P
We had lost all three matches of the group stages. *Poof* Blew up the dream of winning two tournaments on the trot. Unhappy, of course, we went back home and didn't return to the football pitch. Not even to witness the rest of the tournament or even the final.
 |
| Best Player! |
I was in college one day, heading back to my room after classes had ended when I received a text saying 'You were named best player.'
Rubbishing that thought, I carried on back to my room for a good afternoon nap. When I woke up, my phone had around 6 messages from different people congratulating me on being named the best player. I couldn't believe it, I told myself that the coach or someone must have made the statement that Ankit was the best player during the closing ceremony and that's what all the fuss is about. That's when Jana pinged me stating I was named best player of the Pedagogic League as well as the Superleague and that he had collected my trophy on my behalf and that I should come to the pitch to collect it. This was the first time ever in Christ football history that a first year was awarded the best player award for both, the Pedagogic and Superleague.
I was really surprised, I didn't feel my performance deserved it. Pedagogic? Probably. But even Superleague? No. We lost in the group stages itself.
As I made my way to the football field, I noticed how many people started recognizing me and congratulating me. I didn't expect this. Once I had reached, I was greeted by quite a few people, everyone was shaking my hand, I felt noticed, I felt special. The next person I met was Jana who handed over the trophy to me and said: "Don't doubt yourself, you deserve it."
The coach, Arun sir, then met me and told me that I was exactly the kind of player who he was looking for and that he would now select players for the university team who suited my style of play.
What? Where was all this coming from?
I went back home and sat by myself and thought. Looking back, in hindsight, I realized that yeah, I did play well, I gave my everything. Every time I walked out onto the pitch, I didn't think of my own personal gains, I was solely concentrating on winning the match for the team.
And that's when I learnt that if you are willing to lay it all out on the line for the team, hold nothing back, work your face off and express yourself on the pitch, you will be able to play the best football you have ever played.
After all, football is a team sport. And the name on the front of the shirt, the name of the team, matters more than the name at the back.
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