The Start of Something Beautiful

This was not something new, it had been done before. All the more reason for it to be bigger and better. But would it be? Maybe the date was too late in the year to have nice weather. Was there going to be enough teams? More importantly, was there going to be enough quality teams? Venue owners cancelled, teams turned in paperwork late and trophies were shipped to the wrong location. These were all signs that did not bode well for a successfull tournament.

The day of the tournament however brought a crisp autumn morning that welcomed the tournament day. The sun was shining brightly, countering the chill in the air. It had been raining for days and the sodden fields were proof of the weather that had gone. The players made their way to the pitches as captains confirmed their fields, groups and start times. Almost everyone that strolled around the open park was a player. There were no fans, because no one could have foretold the footballing spectacle that was about to unfold.

The ten teams were divided into two groups of five. Group A consisted of the Wise Men, the FIFA Caliphs, the Nashville Kurds, Banadir United and Stratford United. Group B was made up of the Destroyers, Nomads, FCGCT-I, FCGCT-II, and Memphis United. The tournament was a round robin with each team in a group playing the other teams once. The top two teams from each group would advance to the semi-finals. The the first place team from one Group A would then play the second place team from Group B and vice versa.

Group A found a skillful and pacey Banadir United finishing bottom of the group, even below Stratford United which arguably offered the least in terms of quality -- but the most in terms of poor attitude and behavior. The FIFA Caliphs were anything but -- excessive individual play and a lack of intelligence saw the Caliphs denied a birth in the semi-finals by the stately Wise Men The Wise men defied youthful exuberance and creaking bones to establish themselves among the noteworthy of the tournament. Group A was unquestionably dominated by the Nashville Kurds. Organized, disciplined and efficient, they strolled through the group stages looking like men playing against boys. They dispatched the opposition with such a sense of purpose, a place in the finals seemed inevitable.

Group B also saw one team standing head and shoulders above the rest. FCGCT-I strolled through the group stages with a swagger that had most picking them for a place in the final. Other than the Destroyers, who were apparently there to make up the numbers, Group B offered a lot more quality in footballing terms than Group A. Teams such as Memphis United bears mentioning. A young team with boundless potential, whose undermining flaw was too much silk at the expense of steel. FCGCT-I and FCGCT-II offered all the necessary ingredients of champions, power, pace and technical superiority. Both were worthy semi-finalists.

The semi-finals had FCGCT-I facing off with the Wise Men, a game in which age finally told. Even on the best of days, the Wise Men would have never had enough for the swash-buckling men from Guinea. The Nashville Kurds took on FCGCT-II in the other semi-final which turned into an ill-tempered affair. FCGCT-II quickly found themselves two men down, making the Nashville Kurds passage into the final even more comfortable.

The finals proved a compelling encounter between what was decidely the two best teams in the tournament. FCGCT-I and the Nashville Kurds provided more of what they had delivered in the previous rounds -- miserly defenses and free flowing attacking play Alhassane Balbe pulled the strings in the midfield for FCGCT as Souleymane Demba constantly performed raids up and down the wings. The Nashville Kurds gave as good as they got, defending in numbers and attacking in numbers. The pacey Remezan Abdullah was apparently nuclear powered -- full of running he was a constant terror to every defence that had the unenviable task to trying to contain him. The Kurds were able to attack with such menace as in their goalkeepr, they had Vafa Atefi, the outstanding player of the tournament.

But all good things must come to an end. The final whistle found the teams deadlocked with a 1 -1 scoreline. Penalties would decide the outcome. The tension was palpable. In hind sight, most people would have paid to watch the drama of the past day unfold. As both keepers excelled, FCGCT found themselves with the better finishers... and thus the trophy. As autumn sun began to slip over the western horizon, it was clear that this was the start of something beautiful.


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