I AM LEGEND - the comeback is complete

"Might never be able to get back to my magical best, but still assure you that i'l never give an opponent defender an easy game on the pitch"
This was how i ended my previous post:) and it didn't take me 72hrs after making that statement, to prove what i actually said. Sandy was still not hundred percent fit, nor was Sandy at his magical best. But Sandy led arguably one of the best teams he's ever played for to glory. Team ANTI VIRUS(the story of the origin of that name is explained later) went on to win the McDowell Futsal Friendzy and become the best team in Bangalore out of a total 100 odd teams. It was not a team filled with extraordinary talent, but it was six guys who gave it their all and played for each other throughout the tour that led to this triumph. It was what you call a complete team effort:) But none of this would have been a reality after we almost returned on the day of qualification rounds without taking part after looking at the 700 odd footballers flocking the BRV ground to prove themselves;)
It was around 10 days before the tournament that one of my Budweiser cup teammate asked me if you would play this tour, but i was unsure cos i thought playing without being fit might just hamper their chance of winning the tour with me being a liability:( So initially rejected the offer. But after playing for the office team and scoring four goals in my return match, i just got a feeling that i might just be able to pull it off. So agreed to play. But it so happened that all my Budweiser mates were not convinced that i was fit enough to play, so i had to step back out again:(
Somebody's loss is someone else's gain;) At the same time some of my college juniors were bugging me asking if i was playing this tour and if they had a chance to play in my team. So an idea struck my mind and sandy just thought, "why not make my own team and then go play". And thats exactly what i did. Didnt take too much time to organize a team with six out of seven guys i had in my mind for forming the team, accepting the offer immediately. Thats how the fairy tale begun;)
Now next step was to register online. So for this i also needed a team name which was funky. Asked for a few opinions from teammates and friends, got a variety of replies from blitzkrieg to trojan. thats when somebody told virus, i just tweaked it a little bit and made it ANTI VIRUS. It was indeed a different name and it added a jazzy outlook to it when it was on the newspapers the next day after our victory.
On the day of qualification we arrived at the ground at around 8am in the morning. A overcast morning with a slight drizzle and trust me we were in no mood to play then. But when we saw the number of ppl who had come for the competition we literally planned to walk out of there and go to someother ground and play some good footbal there than waste our time here. There were ppl of all ages, young, old. Loads of school and college kids. I myself was looking old in front of all these kids. After a long and hard thought we finally decided to go ahead and participate in the obstacle course which looked pretty interesting with the top 32 teams with best timings qualifying for the finals the next day. So after the verification and all the other formalities were complete we went ahead with our obstacle course. It went on pretty smooth with just a few bloopers with Cisa handling the ball even though we were instructed not to use our hands. Finished it in 99 seconds which was a really good timing. And when the results were announced in the evening we were more than relieved to know we had qualified for the finals:)
Had to do a little shopping since studs were not allowed for the matches. Tried Ramya's brothers shoes which were a little too big for my tiny foot:( so went ahead and got myself a white canvas shoes for 140 bucks, just like the ones i used to wear in school on saturdays;) Looked pretty funny but comfortable nevertheless:) at the end of the day the 140 bucks turned out to be a very good investment.
The day when 32 of the best teams in bangalore go head to head to decide who the best in bangalore is;) Have still not introduced my team yet. Let me do that first.
Vivek Easwaran aka kullu, one of the young kids on the block. Have played football for the last few years with him and know he's an immensely talented kid even though his under the bench activities have hampered his game a bit;) This is a guy who might just be the worthy hire to Sandy's throne since he's joined cmrit now:)
Mahesh Krishnappa aka Mash and Abhishek AS aka Cisa, two guys who are running the show now with respect to footbal in Cmrit. Again my juniors from college who are great footbalers and i had recognized their talent long ago. This really helped me hand pick each individual whom i felt will fit into the team.
Robin Chentamara, my colleague from work. I know he has a very big heart when it comes to playing football. And trust me he just proved that with a fearless mindblowing performance. Brother if only both of us replicate this performance of ours for Capgemini, that team will win a lot more matches;)
Maad... not many people know his name is Sunil. If i trust one guy to stand like a monster and protect my goal at all times, thats this guy. Have seen him chalk out some brilliant displays in the past, this one was equally good. When people were talking to me about the size of the goal post and the fact that goalkeeper might not be able to use his hands, i just had a simple answer which more than answered all their queries, " I have MAAD on goal" ;)
First match was against UAFA(we assumed it stands for united arab football associations). None of the players looked indian, they were all from the middle east. So finally sandy was leading his team in a big tournament after long and i was not even sure i would last a single match with this still damaged leg of mine. But the team pulled off a good performance winning the match comfortably 5-1. Kullu and Mash scoring two goals each after Robin opened the account. Sandy had 3 assists out of the 5. Very unlike sandy(who's normally a selfish bitch in front of goal). Dont remember passing so much when i had the goal at my mercy ever in my life:D But i am a senior player now, and i do have to set an example to the younger generation:P Frankly speaking it was a very matured performance from me, for once not looking to play for the crowds and for once not looking to bask in all the limelight. Just proves one thing Sandy, you are a bloody OLD man now:) All the while in every single huddle before our match all i was telling the guys was to forget about winning and just to enjoy your game:) The minute you get desperate to win, the pressure on you to perform mounts immensely, Rajesh just told me before we started the day. And it was indeed pretty true.
Second match also was a walk thru against a team named Josephites united. Scored early and then killed off the game with some good ball possessions. Won it 3-0 with me scoring twice and Mash adding the third. Even though we guys upfront were doing all the scoring the guys doing the mopping work behind were simply outstanding. Robin was sliding into every single tackle and then next moment up on his feet and chasing the ball again. Never seen him this aggressive in any of my office matches. Cisa was following the ball everywher when its with the opponents intercepting almost all attacks and shifting gears from defence to attack in a flash. And Maad was sound and secure on goal just doing the neccessary.
Next was the quarter-finals against a team named One Touch. We literally tore them apart in the first half. I remember hitting the post almost thrice in the first half myself but we just could not find a breakthrough:( 0-0 at halftime was anybody's game. But some sheer brilliance from Mash with a magical long range effort opened the floodgates. We went on to score three more with Mash completing his Hat-trick and kullu adding the fourth from my assist after i twisted and turned past the entire opposition and squared an inch perfect pass which he duly converted. I was just feeling myself regain my magical touch and for the first time in the tour,celebrated slightly aggressively after the goal was scored responding to the constant support of my Budweiser team mates who were cheering us all the way.
Semis was a fiery affair. It was an ASC team which looked extremely good. We watched one of their games and they slotted in ten goals in fifteen mins against their helpless oponents. And in the quarters they defeated my Budweiser team. So it was sort of a revenge encounter for me and i delivered in stlye. Won the match convincingly with a 2-0 scoreline with me netting in both the goals in the first half. A clinical performance by the team. This was actually our most important match since we were assured atleast a prize money of 20,000 whatever the outcome of the finals:)
Finals was a cat and mouse affair with both teams being cautious in the beginning. It was against a strong Murphy Town team which played aggressively but we took the lead when Kullu backhealed my through ball into the net. After that Maad pulled off a string of excellent saves to deny the opponents the equalizer and then against the run of play Kullu scored the team's and his second goal to literally kill the game. They did manage to score a consolation goal towards the end even though it was highly controvertial. But we held on to a famous win. We were officially they best team in Bangalore and returned home with a fat pay cheque of 30,000 for our efforts over the weekend. ANTI VIRUS had literally swiped all the other teams off and reached the pinnacle of glory.
It was definitely my greatest win till date since the level of competition was hundred folds of what we had in the Budweiser tour. But we defied all odds to be crowned the champions. Supposed to represent Bangalore region at the national finals in Kolkata but canceled that cos of the semester exams for most of the engineering boys. Murphy Town boys who were gutted after their defeat were overjoyed when we asked them to participate in the finals in our place.
We were all over the papers the next day:P had become celebrities overnight, specially the ones in college. Robin even gave an interview for TV9:)
All in all it was a one of a kind experience. We were the underdogs throughout and we used that tag to our maximum advantage. I still dont really understand what i blabbered before every match to the team in our team huddle, but one thing was clear and evident. We didnt come here expecting to win the trophy but just to enjoy ourselves playing some good football and we managed to do that in style. Thats all i kept reminding them and they definitely didnt let their captain down. A big thanks to Rajesh who came along with us even though his team didnt qualify, and supported us throughout the day with his valuable advise when we guys needed someone to point out our mistakes. Hats off to all you guys. It was an honour playing with you guys. You guys really played with your hearts on your sleeve. Get your passports made soon;) We'l be headed to Old Trafford soon because next edition of Budweiser cup in not too far away:)
And on a personal front. I guess my comeback is now complete:) But never expected it will be with this big a bang:P
Definitely my most mature ever performance on the football pitch;) 4 goals and 7 assists in the tour is not bad either;) Hopefully this rich vein of form continues, i guess i have another good two years in me;)