The next tournament we won all of our games and made it to the finals, losing on Penalty Kicks. Shoganai. In the third tourney, we hadn’t lost and got eliminated again, by PKs in a lightning and thunder shootout… finishing third. In this last tourney, we finished 5th place… winning and, would you believe it, losing on PKs. In this tournament I feel vindicated. I had always been on the sideline during the penalty kick time and I had been practicing for months at both schools on perfecting my shot. This time around, I was on the field, eligible to shoot and readily accepted the call to shoot 3rd of three kickers for the quarter final match.
(This year's crew... only 4 foreigners, only two foreign-looking players! In fact, 5 of us from Fukuoka, 5 from Aichi prefecture, 2 from Mie and the sole Yokohama representer!)
A win would have put us into the semifinals. We shot first and scored first. They matched. We missed wide and then our goalkeeper made a save. Still tied 1-1. I went up to shoot. Didn’t make eye contact with the keeper, already had my spot in mind. Placed the ball on the spot, marched back seven steps- dead center. Ref blew the whistle, I side-stepped, like I had practiced. I still didn’t look up, but I noticed that the keeper froze… confused by my move… like I had anticipated. I approached the ball slowly and in rhythm… perfectly calculated steps. I struck the ball. I noticed it was a bit softer than I had anticipated, but I put it left. And high.
(Sam, Hiroshi and Matt relax at the onsen after the game)
Too high... The ball struck the under part of the cross bar while the keeper watched and then we all noticed in a silent moment as the ball bounced a foot in front of the line and then back towards me. Their next shooter scored and sent them into the semifinal match and us out of the tournament much earlier than even the last time. Fortunately, we got to play a friendly in an unofficial 5th/6th place match… and we didn’t lose that… so, we ended the tournament with a win, despite losing in PKs in the quarters.
(from L to R: Koji [hidden], Atsushi, Sam, Tera, Ma-chan, Samurai [whose name I still don't know], and Hiroshi hidden behind him)
I feel pretty good, however, and for many, many reasons. I had my chance to shoot that PK that was haunting my thoughts. I had practiced for the moment and had an opportunity to take it. I am not happy that I missed the shot, but I am happy that we didn’t have to play against a dirty team in the semifinal match. We had played them in a dirty game the day before and drew with them. I was pretty beat up (as were many players) so the early exit wasn’t necessarily bad, as a preventative measure against injury- especially against a team that had no class. I played defense… stopper and sweeper, which was a change for me. I don’t think I did too badly, but it was a rough time. I definitely got shoved to the ground unnecessarily and hit pretty hard by guys who were out to win, by hook or by crook. I gave a couple back, but I hadn't expected that I would have to hit people in order to keep myself safe.
(Getting ready to order the steak course)
I am happy with myself for taking punishment pretty well. And controlling myself and taking the hits allowed my team to hold the line and prevent scores from the other team. I got angry a couple of times, but I controlled my temper. And that was the greatest victory from the tournament for me. On a personal note, I was able to refocus my anger into correct and hard play despite my initial ideas of vengeance. I even apologized to a guy after a game because we had had some words and elbowing. His response, “you kicked me hard,” not “I’m sorry for pushing you to the ground when the play was over and your back was turned.” I flicked him off when he turned his back and his friends on the sideline laughed at him. He got his… in the semi game that we would have played against him, our team had to referee… and so I was a linesman. And, I watched as that guy scored a goal… that was what he wanted all tournament-long and he hadn’t gotten. And in the second half, I did my job and called him offside when he was offside. It was a close call, according to my teammates, but I put my flag up anyways. He didn’t get another goal then, but I also didn’t make a bad call. It wasn’t personal either; I had kept a tight line the entire game. So, I got my little bit of revenge, but not really because I was doing my job. His team won and my actions kept the game fair. He got his goal, I got my call and, later on, his team lost in the finals. Justice takes care of itself.
(Choosing the best value for the taste buds)
I deeply bowed, to the ground in fact, when I missed that kick. And my team may have been a bit disappointed by the loss. But everyone was pretty cool afterwards, “Don min, Debbito!” And, then, banged up and bloody, we made it to an onsen 温泉to clean up for the Kobe steak 神戸牛meal. I had put aside a lot of money for it and ended up with a cheaper course meal… and it was better than the last one. The show was impressive, the chef was a samurai and we were full for the Shinkansen 新幹線ride back to Kyushu九州.
(Samurai chef pepperin' up my meat! You shoulda seen him sling that grater around when he was done- it was awesome!)
Again, though the 5th place result is on paper, this was the best tournament for me. I reconciled even more ghosts and thoughts during this time. I saw a couple of friends who I met at the first tournament and not seen since. I kept my anger in check- letting it arise and then breathing it out. I got a chance at the PK I had been working on. I played defense despite my initial fear of failure in doing so.
(Yummy steak- 180g worth- with fresh garlic chips)
I had an opportunity to see some cool friends who I see only twice a year. I got that Kobe steak I had been saving for (kind of!) and it was more delicious, filling and amazing than I imagined it would be. To put into words the feeling of satisfaction and completeness is rather hard, but perhaps you understand a bit of where I am coming from. And writing it out now is the final step in this process of reconciliation and “full-circle-ness” (hehe)
1 comment:
well said! er...written!
it's been a pleasure playing and chilling with you these past 3 tournaments man! おつかれさまでした！
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