‘We are kids.’ Diego wanted to rub his ears to make sure he was hearing Tricky right.
‘You are maybe.’
Tricky picked up his bag and moved away. Diego turned his back on him, shook his head and firmly pulled his socks up over his shin pads.
‘Don’t worry, Diego.’ Josie finished tying the laces on her boots. ‘Tricky sometimes forgets he’s playing for the Rovers and not Brazil. He’ll get bored with being the coach’s new puppy and go back to being normal again.’
‘Do you think it’ll be anytime soon?’
Jasper took his jumper off. ‘It took me six years to get used to the old Tricky; I’m not sure I can handle a new one.’
‘And what’s with the coach’s suit?’ Noggin lifted his blue-and-yellow, fuzzy-knit vest and hood over his head.
‘Not sure,’ Josie scoffed as Coach Riley stood with legs astride, his tie flapping in the wind. It looked like he was ready to coach from the sidelines of a World Cup match, not the soccer fields of the Western District.
Another of Coach Riley’s laughs floated over them before he slapped the official on the back and walked onto the field.
‘You think he’s at the right game?’ Nippy asked with a cheeky grin.
‘Leave him alone.’ Tricky had snuck up behind her. ‘He’s the guy who’s going to help us win the finals. Something we’ve never done under Wallace. Anyway, who says you can’t look good just because you’re a coach?’
Lil and Josie stared. Tricky’s fascination with Coach Riley was unwavering.
‘You heard him,’ Tricky continued. ‘There’s no point playing unless you have respect for your team-mates and your coach.’
‘Respect and sucking up are not the same thing,’ Diego muttered.
‘What?’ Tricky stood eye to eye with his friend.
Aamir and Jasper swapped confused looks.
‘You heard,’ Diego answered.
Tricky’s eyes flared and he shoved Diego hard in the shoulder. Diego went to hit him back, but Mugger stepped in and pinned his arms firmly behind his back before he could retaliate.
Coach Riley blew his whistle and motioned them over.
‘Coach wants us for warm-ups.’ Tricky smiled victoriously, happy to have snuck in the shove.
Jasper stared as Tricky jogged towards the coach. The others reluctantly followed except Jasper, who hung back to talk to Diego.
‘You okay?’
‘Sure.’ Diego laughed and tried to shrug it off. ‘I’ll get him back later like I always do. Better go.’
Jasper had never seen Tricky hit Diego before. Not seriously. They loved to argue and wrestle but up until now it was all in fun. They’d been best friends since kindy.
The warm-ups were tough, especially before a game, but no one dared say anything. As well as the usual stretching, jumping and flexing, he had them do short sprints, push-ups and a run around the far field three times.
The coach had his clipboard and when he’d finished taking notes, he gathered the Rovers around him, gave them their positions and one last pre-game speech.
‘As you know, there are only two more games before the finals teams are announced. You can win this and help secure your place, but only if you play with determination and courage. I believe you can do it, so get out there and don’t let me down.’
‘Play well, play fair and play as a team,’ Jasper added.
‘Sorry?’ Coach Riley tilted his head towards Jasper.
‘It’s something Coach Wallace says before every game. He’s been doing it for …’
‘This is my team now, Zammit, and I’d appreciate it if you left the speeches to me.’
Jasper’s face smudged red. ‘Yes, sir. I mean, Coach.’
The players quietly turned and walked onto the field. Aamir stepped beside Jasper. ‘I liked your speech,’ he smiled.
‘Thanks.’
But Jasper’s legs felt heavy as he made his way to his position. He’d become so used to Coach Wallace’s speech that starting any game without it didn’t feel right, as if they didn’t stand a chance of playing well unless it was said. He looked towards the hill and saw Aamir’s dad holding his camera alongside his cheering mother and sister. And beside them was Jasper’s dad with the same pre-game grin that made him feel like a champion.
At least it usually did.
He gave his dad a half-hearted, almost-smile.
Jasper could usually tell in the first few minutes of a game how the Rovers would play as a team. Nannu called it a team finding its ‘soccer feet’ – a rhythm or chemistry that allowed the Rovers’ practised plays to work better and their game to flow more smoothly.
Only today, there was none.
Nutmeg passed to Josie, who wasn’t ready, and it shot straight past her. Luckily Noggin was behind her and took the pass, but he accidentally fumbled the ball over the sideline. Jasper looked up just as Coach Riley dropped his clipboard to his side.
‘Sorry,’ Noggin mumbled into his chest.
‘It’s all right,’ Josie tried to buoy him up.
‘Go the Rovers!’ Lil let fly with her usual rallying shout as the players got ready for the throw-in.
The rest of the half was messy with loose passing and careless penalties that caused the Rovers to miss a few scoring chances. Jasper and Lil made a surge forward with a well-timed wall pass, but a tight Eagles defence kept them from scoring. Mugger made a great save of a lightning shot on goal by punching the ball over the crossbar, and Josie kept the Eagles striker out of action with solid marking, but the lone goal came when a loose kick from Angus bounced off Noggin’s head and sailed past the un-suspecting Eagles goalkeeper into the back of the net.
With the ref’s half-time whistle, the sidelines grew packed with parents handing out oranges and drink bottles and applauding the kids’ efforts. Coach Riley waited until all the fuss had died down before calling the team back onto the field.
His brow was speckled with sweat and his cheeks were red, as if he’d just gone for a big run. Jasper saw him give a careful glance towards the parents before turning his back on them.
‘This game has to get a lot better,’ he said through gritted teeth. ‘Wallace told me you were a good team, but I haven’t seen much of it yet.’ He looked down at his notes. ‘Nippy, you need to cover your opponent tighter. Mugger, that was a good save but you only just got there. Aamir and Tricky are doing well, but the rest of you have to start performing like you know how to play soccer.’ He looked at his watch. ‘You have five minutes to do some stretching and flexing and decide you’re a team who wants to win.’
Josie whispered to Diego. ‘I’ve heard better pep talks.’
Diego laughed loudly.
‘Anything funny?’ Coach Riley asked.
‘Nope.’ Diego slowly bent into a stretch. ‘Nothing funny here, Coach. I’m just getting ready to be a player who wants to win.’
Josie had to turn her back so she wouldn’t get caught smirking.
The second half started with the Rovers delivering the same sluggish, inaccurate play. They were also forced to watch the Eagles winger bend a corner kick to an unmarked team-mate, who guided in a faultless header that sent them and their fans into a cheering frenzy.
It was one-all.
Jasper turned back to his position and saw his mum and dad waving enthusiastically from the hill, but when Jasper lifted his hand, it felt like it was tied down with a lead weight.
It wasn’t until just before full-time, when Jasper intercepted a long pass, that the Rovers saw a chance to score. He sent a sharp flick pass just ahead of a charging Aamir, who ran on to the ball and dribbled forward. Eagles players were quick to close in, but he manoeuvred around one and sidestepped another before running headlong into a third defender, who had moved in for a block tackle. Aamir smiled while his feet carefully guarded the ball.
Jasper burst forward and tried to break free from his marker to back up Aamir, but he tripped and fell to his knees. He immediately stood up
but Aamir had seen Nippy sneak up uncovered on the sideline.
‘Come on, Rovers,’ Jasper whispered desperately.
Aamir gave Nippy his trademark wink before he sent the ball through the legs of his opponent – a perfect nutmeg.
‘Nice one, Aamir!’ Josie cried.
Nippy took the ball and looked up to see her options. Lil had found open space but was too far away. Tricky had outfoxed his marker with some very smart footwork and was heading towards the goal.
‘Over here!’
Nippy could have had a shot at goal from where she was, but Tricky was in a better position to score. With a strong side pass, Nippy kicked it directly to him and without trapping the ball, Tricky sent a one-touch shot screaming between two defending Eagles players and the goalkeeper’s hands, before it swung firmly into the net.
The Rovers didn’t need the ref’s whistle to tell them it was a goal.
Nippy and Aamir ran towards each other and were swamped by most of the other Rovers in a victory scrum. Mugger stood at the opposite end of the field, folded his gloved hands across his chest and nodded, while Tricky and Diego made sure they stayed well away from each other.
When the Rovers had pulled themselves away from their celebrations, Josie looked over to the sidelines, where Coach Riley was busy scribbling notes on his clipboard. ‘He’s obviously overjoyed. What do you think he’s writing?’
‘Not sure, but I’m guessing it’s not that I’m Player of the Match,’ Jasper sighed.
‘You tripped,’ Nippy said easily. ‘Don’t worry about it.’
‘The coach is writing down our strengths and weaknesses to know what we should focus on next week,’ Tricky explained.
‘Really?’ Josie frowned. ‘And since when did you become the coaching expert?’
‘Since I decided to take the game more seriously.’
‘Was that the same day you decided to become boring?’ Tricky’s loyalty to the new coach was getting on Josie’s nerves.
‘No. It was the day I decided to grow up.’ He spun on his heel and walked back to his position.
The rest of the Rovers fell quiet. Josie pushed her hair out of her eyes and tried not to look hurt.
‘Don’t worry, Josie.’ Nippy stared after Tricky. ‘I don’t know who that guy is either. Come on.’
The Rovers were back in front, but they knew that was no reason to relax. Feeling a boost from the last goal, they marked their opponents, protected their goal and gave the Eagles no more scoring chances. Finally the ref blew the whistle.
Lil, Nippy and Josie threw themselves at each other.
Jasper smiled proudly. They’d done it. It was a little late, but the Rovers had managed to find their soccer feet and advance closer to the finals.
The coach walked to the centre of the field and waited for the post-game handshake to end. ‘Over here, everyone.’ He paused, looking down at his notes, then lifted his head up and saw the fallen socks, grubby knees and fringes plastered over foreheads.
Josie swapped a puzzled look with Diego, wondering what was taking him so long. Diego shrugged.
After an extended sigh, he spoke.
‘The most positive thing I can say is that you won. You didn’t deserve it, but you won.’
Lil frowned. She knew they hadn’t played their best soccer, but it wasn’t quite the uplifting talk she was hoping for.
‘It was a scrappily played game, but you managed to pull through. Tricky, that was a brilliant goal. If only we could have had more like that. I want everyone to pay attention to his style. Maybe then we won’t have to rely on one brilliant play.’
Tricky! Jasper thought. He only scored the goal because Aamir and Nippy set it up.
‘And Zammit.’
Jasper looked up, worried that maybe he’d said that last bit out loud. ‘Yes?’
‘You promised me you’d give me your best. What was that?’
‘I fell. The toe of my boot …’
‘Your boot nothing. I don’t need excuses; I need you to play your best and so far I haven’t seen it.’
Jasper felt the air being sucked out of his stomach by a solid punch. ‘Yes, Coach.’
Coach Riley checked his clipboard. ‘The rest of you did okay but if we’re going to have any chance of being here for the grand final in three weeks, I need to see a lot more dedication and commitment.’
He threw his hands in the air. ‘After all, that’s what soccer is all about. Pelé said that there was no such thing as a “born” soccer player. They’re created from practice, sacrifice and, most of all, love of what you are doing.’ He stared at each of them. ‘Only players who know that can ever be any good. See you Tuesday.’
The Rovers slowly turned and walked towards their parents. All except for Tricky, who walked over to the coach and began asking for tips on how he could improve his game. Jasper watched Diego hang back, waiting to see if Tricky wanted a lift home like usual. He moved towards him but stopped, as if he’d decided against interrupting.
Josie shook her head at Tricky and walked off behind the rest of the team in silence.
Jasper knew that every coach was different, like Nannu said, but he couldn’t help thinking Coach Wallace would have given them a different speech. They’d won and were closer than ever to having a place in the finals and a chance of winning the championship, but as he turned away from the field, Jasper couldn’t drive away the stomach-churning feeling that they’d lost.
JOHNNY SAYS:
Soccer is a flowing game without too many stoppages, so you must train yourself for this high level of fitness. An average senior player can run up to 2000 metres in a game! Even the most spectacular skills are wasted unless you’re able to execute them on the fly and keep up with your opponent.
‘Well, Richy, here we are at the end of another weekend of soccer. Something that usually leaves me on quite a high, but I have to say I’m a little low.’
‘I know what you mean, Higsy. Like any weekend of soccer, we’ve witnessed the highs, the lows, the triumphs and the tragedies, but it seems, after a few months of speculating, that we may have been wrong about the Rovers.’
‘Yes, sports fans, we’re coming to the end of the season, a season that has seen an ever-increasing level of skill and talent from what I thought was one of the best young teams in the business.’
‘The Rovers seemed to have it all. A great store of individual talent, a bond that enabled them to play as a solid team, and they were always focused on what was the most important thing of all … the beautiful game itself.’
‘Yes, Richy, but as with all champion teams, unless they have those crucial elements, the magic quickly goes.’
‘And the big question on everyone’s lips is … what is going on?’
‘I know it’s on mine, Richy. How can such a promising young team be struggling even with the basics? They need someone who can shake them up. Someone who can drag them out of their bad run. Someone who can …’
‘… help!’
Jasper’s attention was snatched away from his daydream to a little way in front of him.
‘What?’ He shook his head, squinted and tried to work out if what he was seeing was real.
‘Put me down! I said, put me down!’
Okay, Jasper said to himself. Maybe this is just another daydream. Maybe you think you’re seeing what you’re seeing because you’re feeling guilty that you haven’t asked Lil to the dance yet, or maybe you’re overtired from not getting any sleep last night because of Mum and Dad’s school dance meeting that turned into a love song karaoke night.
Or maybe it really was Lil being picked up by a guy twice her size and flung over his shoulder while she thumped his back and screamed for …
‘Help!’
That proved it. It was real. Soccer training could wait because he needed to do something about it.
The problem was, all he wanted to do was run away.
Jasper threw his soccer bag to the ground in preparation and got int
o a solid defensive pose. He sized the guy up. He was taller and older than Jasper, and looked fit, like athlete-fit, as if he could squish him into a ham sandwich with a simple twist of his palms.
But that was no reason to turn away.
Or was it? he asked himself.
‘No!’ his other self answered back. ‘Lil’s being attacked and you’re standing here talking to yourself. Get in there and save her.’
‘But,’ he started to argue with himself.
‘There are no buts!’ The other part of his brain yelled silently.
Jasper straightened himself up, clenched his fists in front of him and decided. There was only one thing he could do. It was the honourable thing, the noble thing. The …
‘Jasper! Hey. Come and see who it is.’
‘Huh?’ He’d built himself up for an heroic save as Lil lifted her head and smiled.
‘Come on!’ she yelled.
Jasper lowered his fists, moved slowly into a more casual stance, picked up his bag and walked over.
‘This is Jasper. I’ve told you about him. He’s in the Rovers.’
The big guy, who was still holding Lil, swung around and held out his hand. ‘Lil tells me you’re a good player.’
‘Oh, I don’t know …’
‘And she told me your grandad is Skippy Zammit. One of the best soccer players Australia has ever had. No wonder you’ve got soccer in your blood.’
Jasper’s chest bulged out. ‘Yeah.’
‘And this oversized gorilla,’ Lil called out from over her brother’s shoulder, ‘is my brother, Vince.’
‘Vince?’ Jasper gawped. ‘Your brother who plays for the state team?’
‘I only have one brother and that’s enough,’ Lil wheezed as Vince squeezed her tighter. ‘Ow!’
Jasper’s mouth erupted with questions. ‘What’s it like playing for state? Is it hard? How often do you train? How did you get selected? Have you met Mark Viduka or Harry Kewell?’
‘I met Harry once at an official ceremony, but Mark I’ve met a few times. He’s a good guy. Knows his stuff. That’s the great thing about playing state …’
Jasper Zammit Soccer Legend 3 Page 4