Superleague & Best Player

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.

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.

DFI- Making My Mark.

First and foremost. Hope you have a brilliant 2016 ahead!

Germany seems like a distant memory now. It has been 6 months since I landed in India. And boy oh boy, do I miss it.

My Schedule. Find my name.

Carrying on from where I left off, my second week was much better because I had got adjusted to the surroundings, the climate and the physicality. I had finally started playing at a decent level. Not good, not satisfactory but decent. I remember this one training session with the U-23's where I played really well. I bossed the center of the park. I was going in for challenges, I was running constantly and making quick incisive passes. Even though I was being pushed around and thrown on the ground, I got back up and went for more. I had this hunger in me. This hunger to do well, to do my parents proud even though they didn't know what i was doing, to give it your all.

As I entered the third week, the coaches started noticing me and rightfully so. I was playing well and enjoying my football. Our bulletin board which had our schedule informed us that we would be playing a match in the next few days. India vs Germany. At first I thought it would be only us Indians against the U-23's. Later I found out that the German team was filled with coaches and the U-18's. Fortunately, our "India" team consisted of U-23 players from SA, China, Croatia, Peru, Russia and Germany.

What a sight!

The dressing room! Aaaahhh!

Before the game, we had visited the home of Bayern Munich, Germany and 1860 Munich., The Allianz Arena. The first stadium i went to didn't disappoint me. It was truly stunning. Right from the outside to the museum inside. The European Cups, Bundesliga shields and the DFB Pokals were just a mere 30 Cm from
me. Only glass separated us. My hopes of lifting them later in my life still lingers. The ground was brilliant,
 i really don't have words to describe how classy it was. To all the Bayern supporters, it is a must that you visit the home of the Bavarians at least once in your life. extend your bucket list.

Life Goals!

Have to watch a match here.

Moving back to matchday, there was a proper dressing room meeting with full kits and a team list and formations. Sadly, I was keeping the bench warm. I did feel a little embarrassed as the rest of my fellow Indians were playing. The first half was played, the score was
2-2.

Haslreiter sir then brought me on at half time. Surprisingly at left back. I had never played the position before. Next thing you know, I got the ball and I made a run from our defensive half to the final third and had a shot on goal. The solo run didn't pay off, but it boosted my confidence a lot, especially when the fellow foreigners started appreciating my effort. I went on to have two more shots on goal, one which nearly went in. In the end, I wasn't tired. I could have played a lot more, this fire had ignited. A little too late in the month, but nevertheless.

I had hit my peak form.

DFI - The Beginning

A 6 hour flight is pretty boring. But flying in this posh Etihad aircraft made it alot more entertaining. As soon as we landed in Munich, Jaineel and I were really pumped. It was really hard to contain our excitement as soon as we walked in for immigration. But we were also scared about immigration, considering we might not clear it. 

Need i say more? 

Fortunately, we did. Afterwards, we were waiting at the airport for Eric sir and the other lads to land at Munich from Paris.

The first thing that caught my eye was how clean Germany was. Spotless. Our journey from the airport to Bad Aibling took around 2 hours. 

Part of the DFI campus

Once we reached the academy, we were taken to our rooms. Mine was on the top floor which had no fans, one window and two bunk beds. My roommates were Franko(21), Shaurya (15) and Varun(17). The campus was amazing, it was a kind which actually made you feel like a pro footballer. Dressing rooms, laundry room, bistro, one Astro turf training pitch, a 4th Generation Football field, a grass pitch and an indoor football turf and a gym! It was literally paradise!

On my first day of training, it was raining. It was extremely cold, hard to breath at first but I gradually got accustomed to it. 

The 4-Gen Turf!

We did a few drills for our ball control and we failed miserably. Güler sir and Steven sir weren't impressed. On our second day, we were made to play against the U-17s and U-19s. As I had mentioned earlier, I played in the centre of the park. I was pushed and shrugged off everytime I tried to tackle anyone. But I did make a few good runs and that was the only highlight. Days passed and I stuck with my decision.

The Bistro

During our stay there, we went to Bad Aibling quite a few times. There was a volksfest in town and our somewhat caretaker/elder brother Julian took us for it. The food! Ahhh! Nutella crepes and nutella churros! Burgers of every meat! And n number of men and women enjoying their classic mugs of beer. Also, there were games like dashing cars and darts which made me enjoy my early childhood again.

Ah, it was the stuff of dreams.

My Friends

I had woken up quite early. I prayed to God and asked that he bless my family, dear friends and myself. I looked at my cupboard and decided to look through all the material i had collected over the years. I found this sheet of paper. It had the names of three players. Namely, Shaunak, Anindya and I. I then found many thin sheets with many all of our names on them. Later, I realized that all those thin sheets were ballot papers. They were of the elections for the post of Captain in Red Phoenix Football Club. And then it all started. A flashback into my past of my many friends.

I had the best group in the world a guy could probably ask for. I had become very emotional when i thought about all my friends and how we had been separated. I remember the guys who i had the most fun with. Anirudh, Anindya, Vidur, Shaunak, Jenson, Shashank, Aniket, Amartya, Aayush and many countless more. I had what one could call the best childhood. Filled with ups and downs. Football and friends gave me the perfect childhood.We started playing football in the garage space between two buildings. It was fun. Everyday with your friends, laughing, fighting, playing hide and seek, having the time of our lives. Gradually after uncountable complains from families about the ruckus and damage to the vehicles we created, we were asked to leave the garage space. We then went to Apollo ground.

Apollo ground is a football and hockey field. Vast, green and always crowded. We somehow managed to find someplace in the corner. We used to organize tournaments amongst ourselves. 1 on 1 and penalty tournaments. The dimensions of our field were 30 yards by infinite yards. Based on the results of the penalty and 1 on 1 tournaments, a ranking table used to be made. The guy who topped the table the most was Anindya. I must say, in his heydays he was the best. Fast, strong, respected, amazing shot power and master of juggling the ball on the thigh. After him came Aniket and then Shaunak. Both tall monsters. Shaunak was the best goalie i have ever seen. He has this aura about him. Tall, strong and athletic when needed to be. Aniket was lanky and a stick figure. But his game spoke for itself. He was the dead ball specialist. Jenson was my favourite player. As a right winger he had everything needed and was always my first choice.

 Anirudh and Vidur were my really good friends. They were with me through thick and thin. They both would do anything to get the ball, something i admire a lot. Shashank and I used to have frequent fights but when we needed each other, we were always there. Aayush was my best bud in eighth. We were always in trouble and a visit to the principal was always on the cards. Amartya and I got really close later on during tenth standard. He was a music freak, can sing anything and had a taste for all kinds of music. Gaurang was another heavy metal music freak. By far the best guitarist i have ever seen. And last but not the least, Niranjan. Also known as Dopey. One of the most funny people i have ever met. He would make us laugh even without trying to.

In eighth standard, my friend Aayush and I were called to the principal because we corrected a teacher and then laughed like crazy. She had repetitively misspelled a word many times. We corrected her from time to time. She eventually got very flustered and complained to the principal. Next thing you know, Aayush and I were standing in the principals office trying to spell " parents " out correctly. That didn't go to well.. And to top it off we were trying to control our laughter. We ended up laughing about it almost everyday hence.

I loved playing football with my friends. There was always this assurance that you can do whatever you want and no one can blame you. So one would play seriously or just for fun. I must say, even though we were young we had a HUGE ego and attitude problem. For instance, I was in seventh standard. We used to play football in the volleyball court. Everyday a few seniors would come and chuck us out and start playing. It wasn't right. So one fine day I got the nerve and guts, walked up to a senior named Tanmay and gave him a piece of my mind. Told him you cannot throw us out everyday and a few abuses flew out from here and there. He was so agitated that he picked up from my collar and  banged me against the iron bars. It was upsetting during those days but now it's just a memory which i laugh on.

My many friends and hundreds of memories lit up my childhood. I thank God and all these friends for giving me the chance to have such memories.