The Futsal Journey!!!!!!!! Part - 2 ('The Red Army Awaits!!!')

Next day, the overwhelming feeling of the previous night's victory still hadn't sunk in. On a personal front, scoring the winning goal of the match was unbelievable. I had already done countless imitations of that goal alone in my room. It wasn't the greatest goal but I am sure I could feel an inkling of what Zidane might have felt after scoring "that" goal in the Champions League Final. The narcissistic me had also practised umpteen celebration techniques in front of the mirror (to look more graceful next time in case the girls were looking :P ;) :P !!!

Such was the feeling within me, and I was sure, within the entire team. Next morning, Manvir had a spring in his step, Abhineet was as usual enthusiastic, Sumit tried to tell us numerous tactics, Abhro his cool nonchalant no-care-of-winning-or-losing attitude. Vishal (who had probably run the least :P) was as usual snoring away in his room towards 5 pm and down with sore legs as well. :D


Surprisingly, nothing much was discussed or dissected from the first game. Everyone looked serious and were probably waiting. Waiting for the 2nd Game ........ The match against the tournament favourites, Deepak's team, boasting of 5 college players. It would be a daunting task ..... And What a match it turned out to be...............


The draw by Falcon's team had thrown the group wide open. It was good because it meant we were top. However, we knew Deepak's team would come hard at us.

Abhineet decided again that we all should wear not only black but the same AH7 \m/ tshirt ....(Lucky charm eh?! :P) Though soiled and smelly, we all acceded his request. I was only hoping that they would wear some other colour.

We reached the basketball ground (yes, the matches were held on the basketball ground :-/). A huge crowd had gathered for this potential thriller. We didn't want to disappoint them. The other team had arrived too.Red was their colour then . F**king red COLLEGE jerseys eh!!!!

The toss was done. I won the toss again :) . Abhineet insisted on our 'lucky' side . I readily agreed. (By now, you must have realised I was just the captain in name whose job was to win tosses :P)

Then came the pre-match huddle. Manvir had advocated for it ever since the win. Cool ..no probs .. Being Captain thought I should say something important but 'All the best' was what I could muster. The twat, ooops, ref blew the whistle and ..........

FC Zuari vs Deepak's Team
Abhro(Fringes of College Team) Deepak (College Team Left Winger)
Manvir(then total li8 player..more of a runner) Aditya (College Team Striker)
Abhineet(better dancer than football player) Arish (one pro striker in Chem)
Vishal (Langda says it all) Arjun (Well had a college jersey on)
Arup (No Comments) Kisan (College player)

Sub Sub
Sumit (ulti li8..Berba mode :D) Arbab (pro 2nd yrite and bro of Arish)

There it is , the lineup spoke of the vast difference between the two teams. But we were not to be denied, were we?? :D ... Read on....

1st Half

2' - Cagey opening , loose passes were exchanged. Our lot looked much better sharper though I must say

4' - Still cagey, no half chances also so far. I was beginning to think this was one of those countless times when a game promises much but delivers so little.

5' - Manvir tries to stamp his mark on the game, shoots from distance, his wayward effort strikes Deepak and rolls out of play

5'2'' - Abhro is quickly out of the blocks to take a kick-in. But we lots are lazy !!!

5'4'' - Abhro shows his frustration at why not even one player is in an attacking position.

5'6'' - More out of anger, atleast that's what I thought, Abhro shoots on goal from the narrowest of angles.

5'6' '- Kisan thinks he has it covered.

5'7'' - The ball thuds against the post (made of bricks obv :P) and goes in. I still take time to absorb what just happened. Either ways, the entire team's on Abhro , the match is kicked into gear and the crowd comes alive!!!!

6' - The 'Reds' wake up . Deepak shoots but it's wide.

7' - Arjun clears another frail attack of ours. The ball bounces and running behind, I think whether to roll the ball out of play or keep it in.

7'2'' - Arish is closing in on me. I know that, still opt to turn and twist. I get caught horribly.

7'4'' - Arish puts a simple pass in the path of Deepak and he scores into an open goal .Talk about committing hara-kiri.

7'6'' - Completely knowing it was my fault, I was still moaning about how no1 fell back and track Deepak's run, especially taking out my anger on Vishal.(captain-like behavior eh :P) . Realised why they say 'Better safe than sorry'.

8' - The guys are down in confidence and the 'Reds' are completely dominating.

10' - I find it extremely disrespectful, that gifted footballers take so many shots from distance. Our goal was being peppered minute after minute with long shots.

12' - One of their long shots is blocked, however the ball breaks to Arish, who passes to Arjun, and he slides the ball home under pressure from me. Good goal I wud say :D .

13' - We have completely lost it. Knowing we have to go for it now, we are playing with a very high line, Vishal makes a seriously bad error, gives a weak pass to me. It's easily intercepted by Deepak; an easy pass to Arish later, the ball's nestling in the back of the net.(ok there was no net but feels better to write it that way!!!! :D)

15' - Cant wait for halftime, and there it comes.

It was time for a really inspirational talk. 3-1 down , it could get embarrassing. Or we could fight it out and get level. I could only think of Liverpool's comeback the previous night and kept reminding my team that we could still come back easily. (well had to say to instill some belief, didn't I?? :D)

2nd half

2' - Much positive start, keeping the ball well, and trying to create opportunities.

4' - Vishal has a pop from distance. just wide

5' - It felt as if they had decided to see out the game happy with the score. Negative play should be thrown out of sport I say.

7' - We were trying hard but it was painstakingly looking like an Arsenal team struggling to break through the sea of red men in an inveterate fashion.

9' - Suddenly, the ball breaks to Abhineet. He lashes the ball across and I somehow get my head onto it.

9'1'' - The ball crashes just wide of the post . I hold my head in dismay (and also because of the impact :P).

9'3'' - Kisan acknowledges my effort. Elsewhere, Manvir appeals for a penalty; the referee goes mad and awards it. It seemed to me he gave it against Kisan. Kisan looked absolutely flummoxed.

10' - There's a reason I called Abhineet our penalty expert. While we all were praying profusely, he coolly backheeled the ball into the goal without a hint of a fuss. Game On!!!!!!!!

12' - Now we all were pressing forward. Abhro crosses for Abhineet, just behind him.

13' - Vishal is in a mood for another harakiri; gets caught easily in possession and Arish misses a sitter.

14' - Manvir had another unsuccessful long ranger attempt. It was difficult to penetrate I tell you.

15' - The 'twat' (read : ref) blows the whistle early this time. Honestly, we didn't do much in the 2nd half but part of it was caused by the college-level red bus parked in front of us. 3-2 it ended then. Not such a thriller as the scoreline suggested.

To say we were disappointed was a mighty understatement :-/ . We had competed with them equally throughout the match but were let down by our stupid mistakes. All the adrenalin flowing after the previous win had dissipated with this loss. I tried to make them realise that all was not lost. We could still qualify from the GOD. That night after the shower, it was a silent team dinner in the mess wallowing in our defeat.
Afterwards, Abhro,Manvir and I went to watch the other match of the group. Bhaskar's team huffed and puffed but finally laboured to a 2-0 win over Falcon's team. We were pushed down to third in the group. Group of Death was definitely living upto its name.

So there it was. Win the final game and we were through. A win against Falcon's highly unpredictable team.
Returning to the hostel that night,I could only hope that our final match would not be as eventful as our first two had been. Won't be able to take another cliffhanger..........


PS - Well a longer post :P, and I frankly admit, may not be as good as the previous one. But hey I am no Peter Jackson or Christopher Nolan :D :P . But one thing that I can assure you is my next post will come out faster than Mohit writes his next :P :P

PPS - I, frankly, still have no idea why the penalty was given. Probably my head was still buzzing because of the bullet header moments ago!!!! :D. Ping Manvir on that front!!! He asked for it. :D

The Futsal Journey!!!! Part - 1

Well, after a certain hiatus (partly caused by my annoyance at forcibly having to remove my last post) I reluctantly begin blogging again. :D

It was February the 2nd when the intra-campus Futsal tournament was announced to be held, a week later. Now, obviously as a big fan of football, I wanted to make a team , a team which could go all the way, but friendship was what prevailed in the end!! :P (doesn't mean i didn't think it couldn't go all the way!!!). Let me introduce the the other team members.

Abhro - Easily the best technical player we had. Sprinting is seen to be believed and forges, I assume, a very good understanding with me (a.l.a Gerrard and Torress :D) . The number of one twos of ours that have resulted into beautiful goals is justt \m/

Abhineet - Most energetic player of the team. Never stops running.... gives 200% .... very handy player to have .... and oh yeah our Penalty Expert :)

Manvir - The (false :P) motivator of our team .... never partial in his criticism or praise of any move or player. The most I respect about him is his honesty. Runs a lot like a headless chicken tho :P , tries loads of solo stuff unsuccessfully tho always :D ... good shooter from distance.

Vishal - 'Langda' is a very dedicated player. He is the one who organised practice matches and was always up to play football at any time. Plays on adrenalin totally.... and on innumerable times fails to fall back in Ronaldesque fashion :D .. btw decent winger

Sumit - Potential to become a gud player. However always becomes lazy in matches .... tries to run his best but not his fault ... a player in Luca Toni or Berba mode :D :P .. overthinks sometimes


There it is, as coined by Sumit, the (in)famous FC Zuari. We were raring to go and then came the bombshell. Drawn in the Group of Death beside Bhaskar's team and Deepak (Lijaan's - the favourites) team, it was going to be an awesome week for sure.

1st MATCH - FC Zuari vs Bhaskar's team

Cool...what a way to kick off the tournament. Abhineet suggested we all wear black and we promptly agreed. Turned out they came out wearing black too. GR8 HMPHHHH I thought.

Manvir started with his usual pre-match motivational rant (oh w8 I was Captain :-/) ,Vishal his usual mad self, Abhro his usual super-cool demeanor and Abhineet as usall joined in with Manvir in attempts to scare s&*t out of the opponents.

The ref's Whistle blew(donno who he was but must be a twat...all refs are :D) and the Game started. Cheered on by the huge crowd who voiced support for both the teams, the match started to unravel.

2' - Manvir makes a hilarious attempt at a fake and cut , gets beaten easily and a mouthful from me :P

4' - Bhaskar shoots from distance - comes close.

6' - Abhro with the direct kick-in ..jjust wide...

Oh by the way ... matches were in halves of 15 minutes with kick-ins instead of throw-ins.

9' - Manvir, in his usual energetic self, kicks the ball way way wayyyyyyyyyyyy out of play, gets a warning

13' - Manvir, now over-energetic , kicks the ball even wayyyyyyy further .... i somehow save him from the booking :D

15' - HALFTIME

2nd HALF

1' - Cautious start by both teams

4' - The match finally implodes. attempted pass by Abhro breaks to Abhineet and he shootss ..... GOALLLLLLLLLLL for FC Zuari. Abhineet did wat he does best, danced his heart out while we congratulated him.

4'30'' - The team is still in party-mood when we get hit by a sucker-punch. Vishal gives the ball away cheaply, we are caught 3 on 2 ,Bhaskar passes it wide and an expert finish by some1 (dont rem their name). Game On!!!

4'35'' - Manvir starts ranting yet again , positively criticising teammates ,blaming them to have lost their concentration (oh w8 i was Captain right??? or was I now?? :-/)

6' - Our lot were playing like Headless Chickens. somehow we again catch ourselves in a 3 on 2 and Bhaskar shoots into an open goal.

6'2'' - Miraculously, it goes wide. *phewww*

9' - Slowly coming into grips with the game ... Draw wont be a bad result after all :-|

12' - Great tenacity by Abhineet results in him winning the ball , I shout for it vociferously, he squares it.

12'1'' - I somehow toe poke it.

12'4'' - Ball heading towards goal slowly but surely

12'6'' - Ball crawling innnnnnn slowly but surely

12'7'' - Its in!!!! GOALLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL!!!!!!!!! and I go absolutely deliruous, jumping with joy and high fives with anyone within five feet!!!!

13' - But we are FC Zuari ...obviously dont learn our lessons... I make a deplorable error ... somehow Vishal, tracking back, lunges forward and saves the day.

14' - err we forgot Sumit here... time for a sub ..Abhro volunteers

15' - Blow the whistle refff ...btw he wont (as i said all refs are twats!! :-/)

15'30'' - Manvir isn't happy wid the ref ... he wants to make it more difficult for us to win ... with one mighty kick ,the ball's into the bushes and Manvir in the ref's book ... yellow card... have to see out the match with 4 men then....

16' - still waiting for the whistle and Sumit's first touch

16'30'' - Bhaskar shoots narrowly ....and i mean narrowly wide .... wud hv been quite a story

17' - Ref reluctantly blows the whistle and there it is ..... the First win for FC Zuari....

A team huddle results ..... we have done it ... won our first match .. What an evening ... btw long way to go yet..

The team go have a bath and all of us assemble at the mess for dinner. Manvir starts with his usual congratulations, hip-hip hurrays and detailed analysis of the match (I surely have to be acting captain or smthin :P) and the news that the favourites had drawn against the so-called minnows (Falcon's team) made the victory all the more sweeter.......... Top of GOD after Day - 1 .... and on top of the world ... couldn't wait for the 2nd match to start!!!

PS - I kno i kno ..a very long blog ....apologies to those who hated it :P ... and tho I think it can fit under dramatized fiction 90% of the stuff is probably true neways :D :D

Is The Treble Practically Possible??

This is a question which will haunt most football fans around the world. So is it really possible?

Well, first things first in recent history I can remember only two teams who have done a treble of sorts. One is obviously Manchester United and their famous treble of 1999. But ask any ardent Manu fans and they'll only tell you how lucky they were to win all the three trophies.
With 2 games left in the premier league, Arsenal had a 2 point lead over Manu,but while Manu won Arsenal lost to a late headed winner by Hasselbaink in a 3-2 thriller at Elland Road. That gave the Red Devils the one-point cushion which they were able to maintain till the end.
In the FA cup semi-final against Arsenal,after being down to 10 men,first Schmeichel saved a Bergkamp penalty in extra time before a sensational solo goal by Ryan Giggs gave them victory in the semis and ultimately the final Talk about luck!!!
Finally i dont think anyone needs reminding of the CL final in 1999 where Bayern did everything to win and to deserve to win but sadly,it wasn't their name on the trophy.

Leaving Manu aside,many people often forget the cup treble of Liverpool in 2000-01(do correct me, am not sure about the year). Now i have no hell of an idea how they won the Carling(then the Worthington Cup), but i do remember their FA cup and UEFA cup victories.
Again in the FA cup final,Arsenal had again probably deserved to do everything to deserve the victory but a 1-0 lead is never ever enough. A late Michael owen double crashed the Gunners' hopes and Liverpool were the winners of the FA cup.
In the UEFA cup, Liverpool down Spanish outfit Alaves 5-4 after extra time. It was one of the most see-sawing matches of football which required luck to win and Liverpool had that.

So, there you go....we all know luck does play a big part in football, but for a club chasing a treble, you not only need luck but loads of it!!! Ultimately the team with the most luck goes on to win most trophies. So the Abhramoviches can spend as much as they want and still come up short(as we just recently saw) if they have no luck at all...

Look at United....but for that late header by Tevez against Blackburn and that late,late,late,lateeeeeeeee header by him again against Tottenham coupled with Heskey's late header against Chelsea, and John Terry's infamous slip in You-know -where, we might have been looking at different Premier League and CL winners.

Maybe its time to worship Lady Luck rather than spending millions on players!!!!!!WHAT SAY??!! :D