moves of a mediocre 7-on-7 football player

the warm up...

strap around the shin guards and slip on the long socks. as soon as the spikes, toes, kicks come on you get up and do a few hops just to show that you're ready for football. an important part of the warm up is noticing what other players are doing i stand silent and notice the goal-kickers; those who will probably never take a shot on goal during the match but love to slide one in before. then come the trick-passers; who dance around the ball before giving it a simple push knowing well that during the pace of the game such skills are better left to the pros. some prefer to be the force kickers; those that chose an exceptionally distant position from the post simply to display their strength at kicking the ball. a focused mediocre player like myself ofcourse, i like to practice crosses and passes; im generous that way. i do try the odd shot at goal though, for those defining moments when i dream to shine.

the teaming...

perception reigns supreme here. first the perception of each player about how good he is. second the perception of other players about how good the others are and finally the perception of those choosing the teams about how good each player is. i start from the top as i stand there looking at those warming up. simple rule, divide the strikers, then the goalies, then the defenders and try and fit myself in with enough defenders and few strikers to make sure i end up being an attacking mid-fielder.

formations...

So how really do you form your structure with 6 people? (goalie excluded) you point the direction to the strikers and ask everyone else to jump back to defense as soon as the team loses the ball. experience shows, that most people will not come back for defense. with the amount of organizing that i do, i could easily be stubborn and say 'hey i wont fall back, ill play my preferred position' but when your team is down a few goals, you do whats best for everyone. you set the center and set the wings. i mostly walk close to the right wing man, and whisper to him 'after kick off, make a run for it for the space between the midfielder and the left winging back'. much like full scale football, you defender center, right and left; your midfield should ideally be positioned at one wing (because of the lack of people) and one center to receive the ball; and your offense should be center with wings at the right and left for the cross.

kick off...

When you kick off, ive noticed more often than not that one of the hard hitters of the ball will receive it and try a half-line shot towards the unsuspecting goalie; i always scream to my goalie to be aware of this. if you receive you send one player to, basically, "bug" the opposition by following the ball like a guided missile; forcing them to pass quickly and hopefully make a mistake and lose possession.

game in play...

All i can recall, is the game in flashes:

the long ball collected at the chest, scaring the defense and guided with an overpowered shot over the downsized goal

the flawless short passing between 1 midfielder and 2 strikers somewhere close to the right line; losing eventual possession when one starts dribbling too much or works himself into a corner

the beautiful curving corner landing straight onto to head but missing the goal

the constant need of almost all players wanting to score a goal (dont we live in the world of work specialization here boys?) including the goalie!

the long run for the ball behind defense causing panic but losing the ball with the first touch

the brilliant knees-bent shielding by a defender eventually sticking a foot out to either trip the attacker (seemingly unintentionally) or dispossess him

the constant blaming of others for mistakes you make yourself and totally ignoring your lack of brilliance

the clever first touch taking the ball away from the defenders

the stupid first touch giving the ball to the defenders

the stinging pain when the ball hits you hard where you cant rub it where it hurts

the almost goal just before the light goes out and the chacha runs to switch on the generator and restore the lights

the rain which makes the ball heavy and the movement slow

the goal...yes the goal; in whatever way and at whatever time. the passing, the crossing, the dribbling, the tricks and whatever the hell else it takes for someone to push the ball through the net. even though not many people celebrate it during our games, it just seems too much i guess, but the feeling inside is one of achievement and satisfaction like no other.

the take-away's..

What i look for in a game might be very different from what other people do. i guess thats the same with everyone. mentioned earlier, the most common craving is that of a goal. some people gauge performance of theirs or their teammates by the number of goals scored. this however, seems too basic and inaccurate as not everyone on the field should technically be looking to score goals.

what i look for is first of all a good work out and a good even competitive game. the worst games are when one team thrashes the other; even if it is our team doing the thrashing. personally, i look forward to receiving and completing good passes; creative passes and purposeful passes. sadly, in our game nobody really looks at assists; passes that directly lead to a goal. i like to make short passes after a defender has come close enough to pass me once i no longer have the ball. i also like to give lofted passes over the head of a defender.

i also look forward to making unpredictable sudden runs along the right or left wing giving my strikers an extra person to pass to before making a shot on goal. it doesnt always work because i lack very good ball control but it does increase the pace of the game and makes the defenders think twice about all pushing forward.

its extremely satisfying to disarm an attacker. its very simple the way i see it, do not engage the attacker too soon, if you do he could just as easily change lanes or perform a cut-back and leave you standing there. bend your knees, keep jumping on your feet and stepping out in fake movements to make your attacker guess which side you'll commit to. then either make him pass by denying him a part of the field or make that crucial decision to commit your leg to a tackle that will hopefully dispossess him.

i also love taking corners. contrary to normal practice at our "stadium", i like giving lofted balls for a header rather than grounder one for a powerful shot. ironically, much like every other activity on the field except defending most strikers like to take the corner themselves to try and angle the ball in. directly.

i dont know all the take away's, but i do know what the give-away's are. at the end of the game one of the toughest things is to actually collect the money we owe to the groundsman. ironically, you somehow always end up giving something from your pocket. at the end of the day though, it alway seems worth it. we head to the market and sit around chatting about the game over sodaa's.

see you next week...