Jasper sighed as he closed the car door and they drove into the darkening evening. The Rovers still had a chance. They were a good team, he knew that, but if they couldn’t find a replacement for Tricky for the next two weeks, the Rovers might well be sunk and all their championship dreams with them.
JOHNNY SAYS:
You don’t have to be a giant to succeed at soccer: some of the greatest soccer players in the world have been small and lean. Speed, strength and stamina are all important, but it’s skill that really counts.
‘Everyone, this is Aamir Khan.’
Jasper snapped out of thinking up ways to solve the Rovers’ soccer dilemma and ogled the new kid who stood in front of the class looking awkward and even a little scared. He was smaller than almost everyone else in the room and his cheeks sat like deflated balloons beneath two huge dark eyes that kept shooting quick, nervous looks out the window.
‘Aamir is new to our school and to our country. He’s also new to the English language, so it’s our job to help him learn it and make him feel welcome in his new home.’
Jasper’s teacher, Mrs Farrugia, showed Aamir to his seat. She flicked off the lights and turned on the data projector. An image of a world map sprung up on the front wall, which she then zoomed in to focus on one country.
‘This is Afghanistan, where Aamir is from. It is a country that has seen a lot of war in recent times and it is because of that fighting that Aamir and his family came to Australia.’
Jasper looked at the map. So that’s where Afghanistan is, he thought.
‘As part of your homework tonight, I want you all to find out one thing about Afghanistan so we can get to know Aamir’s home whilst he gets to know ours.’
She switched off the data projector, turned on the lights and wrote a list of websites and books on the board that would be helpful.
During the general fuss of pencils and books being pulled from bags and desks, Jasper looked over at Aamir. He kept staring down at his hands, which were curled into a ball in his lap. Jasper wondered how he came to be in Australia. Maybe he was a refugee. Jasper didn’t know very much about refugees, only what he saw on the TV, and they were in detention centres and always looked lonely and frightened.
Then he thought about something else.
Aamir was just like his grandad, only about fifty years younger. They’d both moved to Australia from their own countries and, just like Nannu, Aamir must be feeling really different.
The two things that had made Nannu feel at home were food and soccer. Jasper didn’t know much about Afghanistan, but he was pretty sure Aamir had never had a vegemite sandwich before. Maybe if he shared his sandwich and got him to play soccer, then he wouldn’t feel so different.
By the time Jasper had planned what he’d say to Aamir, organised their first game, and imagined himself as a famous soccer player giving lessons to kids in the poor neighbourhoods of Rio de Janeiro, the class was over. The bell was echoing all around him and he looked up to see a rush of kids hurrying outside.
Grabbing his lunch and soccer ball, Jasper walked over to where Aamir was sitting in the yard by himself. He pointed at Aamir’s lunch. ‘That looks pretty good.’
It was a kind of stew, only it was like no other stew he’d ever smelt before.
Aamir was holding a chunk of bread in his hand. His head sank down towards his lunch and his shoulders hunched inwards.
Jasper worried that Aamir thought he was making fun of him, like what had happened to Nannu when he first arrived in Australia. He had to do something fast to show him he was just being friendly. Without hesitating, he stuck his hand into his lunch box and pulled out half a vegemite sandwich.
‘Mmmm.’ He held the sandwich up with one hand and rubbed his stomach with the other, all while smiling in an overly exaggerated way. ‘Try this. It’s a vegemite sandwich. You’ll probably find a lot of these in your lunch box from now on.’
Aamir looked a little unsure as he took the sandwich. He bit into it and smiled.
Jasper smiled. ‘Thought you’d like it.’
Aamir held out the container with his stew. The smell wafted out and hit Jasper squarely in the nose, making his stomach flip over itself. ‘No, really, I …’
Aamir nudged the stew even closer to Jasper’s nose and there it was again, that smell. It was like a small piece of food heaven being offered to him, and no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t refuse.
‘Thanks.’
When he did take a bite, Jasper’s eyes watered and his mouth knew he’d made the right decision.
Jasper then started to tell Aamir all about the school: who were the best teachers, where the cleanest toilets were, and which kids to avoid if he wanted to get through the year without finding cockroaches in his sports shorts or cold meat pie in his library bag. Jasper did a lot of pointing and head nodding with his face creasing into so many different expressions the drama teacher would have been proud.
Aamir bit into his bread and stared back.
When they’d finished eating, Jasper reached under the bench and pulled out his soccer ball.
Aamir smiled.
‘Do you know how to play?’ Jasper asked.
Aamir just kept smiling.
‘I guess that might mean yes. Come on.’
Jasper led Aamir to the field where the regular lunchtime game of soccer was being held. Some of the best were out there, including half his team.
‘That might be too big a crowd to start with. How about you and I have a kick?’
They walked to the far end of the field. Jasper threw his jumper and his lunch box on the ground a metre apart as a makeshift goal area. He then moved about 10 metres away.
‘I’ll take it easy on you at first.’ He smiled and held the ball in front of him. ‘We’ll just kick this around a bit so you can get used to it. Watch.’
Jasper didn’t want to show off, but he knew he was good when it came to ball skills. He bounced the ball off each knee a few times before switching to his feet. He kicked it into the air using the instep as well as the inside and outside of his feet before flicking it to his head where he bounced it a few more times. He trapped the ball with his chest and gently guided it to fall at his feet where he dribbled it expertly around Aamir and came to a stop before him.
‘Now don’t get freaked out by what you just saw. That took years of practice.’ Jasper remembered the advice his grandad gave him when he was starting out. ‘Just have fun. Everyone has to start somewhere.’ He held out the ball. ‘Ready to have a go?’
Aamir nodded and Jasper beamed. Nannu was right. Who needs the same language when you have soccer?
He placed the ball before Aamir, moved away a little and prepared to defend himself. ‘Now, try and get it past me.’
Aamir looked a little timid as he gently nudged the ball with his shoe.
‘That’s good,’ Jasper encouraged him.
As Aamir looked down, there was a brief flash of a smile on his face. He flicked the ball behind him and spun round quickly so his back was suddenly facing Jasper.
‘That was great,’ Jasper said, a little puzzled.
Aamir ran the ball around Jasper, dribbling it expertly just out of his reach. He was fast with his feet and made it hard for Jasper to find a chance to get the ball from him. Aamir then made a quick break, racing down the field in a lightning-fast sprint.
Jasper laid on the speed and was soon running beside him. He managed to get in front in a strong show of defence and looked for a chance to tackle but Aamir’s quick-moving feet kept the ball safely away from him.
Aamir then gave Jasper a quick wink before he chipped the ball over his head, sidestepped around him and, with a hard, steady kick, shot the ball straight through the goal area.
Jasper spun round in time to see the lunch box and jumper remain perfectly still as the ball flew between them. ‘Goal,’ he said with quiet surprise.
Aamir turned and looked at Jasper’s confused face.
‘Someho
w I don’t think that was beginner’s luck.’
Aamir kept staring, unable to understand what Jasper had said.
‘Goal,’ Jasper said a little louder, grinning wildly at what he’d just seen. He threw his hands in the air. ‘Goal!’ He laughed.
Aamir’s face was plastered with a huge smile. He threw his hands in the air too.
Jasper jumped up and down. ‘Goal! Goal! Goal!’
Aamir started jumping too and soon was shouting his own chant. ‘Goal, goal, goal!’
Jasper laughed at hearing his first English word from Aamir. It was the most perfect word he could have heard him say. He beamed at his new-found and now dancing soccer friend as a brilliant plan started to form in his head.
‘It’s perfect,’ he muttered to himself. ‘This is going to change everything.’
Jasper felt as if he’d just won the club finals. With his new plan, the year ahead had gone from pretty good to eye-poppingly fantastic, but before his plan could be put into place, there was someone Aamir needed to meet.
JOHNNY SAYS:
Pele and Diego Maradona, Zinedine Zidane and Ronaldo – soccer geniuses from every era – all have that little something extra that lifts them from very good to legendary players. Along with tremendous ball skills, speed and timing, most brilliant scorers also have an uncanny intuition for the goal. At times they might appear to be aimlessly wandering the pitch, but then, when the window of opportunity opens, they race into action: a sudden dart, a quick flick, and another magical goal.
‘Just stay here.’ Jasper held both palms out to Aamir. ‘I have to see if it’s okay first.’
Aamir’s sister, Nadia, and his mother had come with him to training. Nadia was a few years older than Aamir and translated what Jasper said. Aamir nodded and wiped his hands against his shorts while his family stood nervously beside him.
‘It’ll be okay, don’t worry. Once Coach sees Aamir in action he’d be crazy not to let him join the team.’ Jasper flashed his most confident smile, the one he’d give one day when he was captain of Australia, and ran over to where Coach Wallace had begun training.
‘You’re late.’
Jasper never understood how the coach did it. Even without turning around he knew Jasper was standing behind him.
‘I want two more minutes of those. Slowly and gently.’
The Rovers were standing in front of the coach stretching their calf muscles.
‘How’d you know it was me?’ Jasper frowned.
‘Because everyone else is here. On time, like they’re supposed to be.’
Diego shook his head and Angus tapped his watch in a fake teacherly reprimand.
‘Oh. Right. There’s a good reason for that.’
‘There always is.’ Coach Wallace turned around for the first time. That’s when he saw Aamir and his family. ‘Who are they?’
‘They are going to change the fortunes of the Rovers, or at least he is.’ Jasper stood tall for his big announcement. ‘Aamir Khan is possibly one of the greatest soccer players I have ever seen. I’ve never seen footwork like it at our level. From players like Zidane, Ronaldo or Kewell, sure, but not from one of us.’
Coach Wallace waved and Aamir, Nadia and their mum waved back. ‘You don’t think you’re exaggerating a little?’
‘When have I ever done that?’ Jasper asked, wide-eyed.
There was a ripple of sniggering from the Rovers. Jasper was famous for his daydreaming and exaggerating.
‘Plus we need someone to fill in for Tricky.’
‘Okay. If he’s as good as you say he is, it won’t take long for us to see it.’
The coach walked over to Aamir and his family and began talking to his mum. Nadia again seemed to be doing the translating, while Aamir stood there looking nervous, not saying anything.
‘Is he really that good?’ asked Lil.
‘He’s world class,’ Jasper answered as if he’d been a scout for the last twenty years.
‘He’s a little puny, isn’t he?’ Diego asked.
‘You’re no giant,’ Nippy pointed out as she bent into another stretch.
‘You don’t have to be big to play soccer. Look at Romario,’ Lil reminded them. ‘They’re coming.’
The coach put his hand on Aamir’s shoulder and led him over to the training session. ‘Everyone, this is Aamir. He’s going to be training with us this afternoon.’
There was a quiet hello from everyone except Lil, who bounded forward and vigorously shook Aamir’s hand. ‘Welcome to the team.’
Jasper smiled at Lil’s enthusiastic welcome, and even though Aamir seemed a little confused, he smiled too.
‘Jasper says you play pretty good soccer,’ Coach asked.
There was a slight pause before Jasper interrupted.
‘He can’t speak English. Well, not as far as I know.’
Coach Wallace frowned. ‘I don’t mean to be rude, Jasper, but how is he going to understand what I say?’
‘Oh, he’ll understand,’ Jasper said confidently. ‘The game of soccer speaks with a universal language.’
Coach raised one eyebrow. ‘What makes me think your grandad said that?’ He looked at his watch. ‘You two are ten minutes behind. Jasper, get Aamir some shin pads and take him through the warm-up stretches. I’m not having any future soccer hero getting strained muscles while I’m in charge.’
After warming up and doing some drills in pairs and groups, Coach Wallace prepared for the moment Jasper had been waiting for. A match.
He divided the team into two groups. Using half the field, he had the team position the small goal nets at either end. He blew the whistle and started play.
At first Aamir hung back. He watched the game, getting a feel for the other players and making sure he stuck close to his opponent, Mugger.
Minutes later, Mugger got the ball. Aamir ran beside him marking his every step, waiting for his moment to move in.
Jasper took a deep breath, hoping Aamir would be as good as he was at school.
He didn’t have long to wait to see that he was.
In a quick and skilful move, Aamir pretended to tackle one way, then when Mugger went to turn away, Aamir leapt in to deliver a super-fast tackle and steal the ball. Mugger looked down at his feet in surprise and saw the ball was gone. ‘Huh?’
Aamir easily outran Diego and the other defenders who headed straight for him. He dodged all of them, dribbling the ball like he’d been doing it since he could walk. With small taps from the inside and outside of his foot, he controlled every bounce and roll.
‘Go, Aamir!’ Jasper felt like the coach of Barcelona or AC Milan cheering his carefully coached players to victory.
Aamir passed the ball to Lil, lost his defenders and took a quick pass back. Just about every kid on the field tried to tackle him, but there was only one player who could keep up: Nippy.
But just as she caught up to him, Aamir stopped and changed direction, turning his back to her. Just as quickly, she snuck around to face him again.
Aamir looked like he was going to pass the ball with the outside of his foot. Nippy positioned herself to block, but at the last minute, Aamir poked it with the inside of his foot instead and snuck past an over-balancing Nippy.
‘He wrong-footed his marker,’ Jasper whispered in awe just before Aamir passed the ball to the safely positioned feet of Nutmeg, who wasted no time in pounding the ball past Angus and into the back of the net.
Nippy looked up from where she’d fallen in the dirt just in time to see Nutmeg’s goal.
‘That was good,’ she admitted as she wiped the dirt from her hands.
Jasper looked across at Aamir’s family and held his hands up in victory before running over and helping Nippy up.
‘You okay?’
Nippy winced. ‘Apart from being a little embarrassed, I’m fine.’
Jasper ran over to Aamir and slapped him on the back. The coach blew the whistle, the teams changed sides and the second half began.
Aa
mir was quickly marked by two defenders, Nippy and Diego. Knowing he was surrounded, Aamir flicked a pass out to Lil who took it cleanly and ran on, dribbling along the wing. Jasper saw what was happening and moved into position to take a pass. Aamir sidestepped his defenders and also raced forward into position.
From the wing, Lil shot a low pass to Jasper, who saw Aamir ready to charge towards the goal. Jasper’s whole body lifted with excitement. Aamir gave a small cheeky wink, took the cross and waited for a split second.
Jasper smiled. It was as if Aamir was waiting for the goalkeeper, Angus, to make his move, just like Maradona used to do. As soon as he did, Aamir kicked the ball past Angus’s outstretched body which lunged the opposite way, and the ball sailed straight into the net.
Jasper and Lil threw their hands into the air and ran into a scrum of players who had folded themselves around Aamir in a victory hug.
Jasper had played lots of games in his life, thousands if he included the ones he played in the park with neighbours and cousins, but none of them had ever been like this. No few seconds of his life had ever felt so perfect. Again, just like when Lil joined the team, he felt there was an unspoken connection between fellow players. Without saying a word, it was as if he, Lil and Aamir had read each other’s minds and knew exactly what to do.
Nannu called it chemistry and said that once a team had that, they could do anything.
As the frenzied jostling continued, Coach Wallace blew the whistle to declare another goal and end the match.
‘Warm down, everyone!’
As the team started their usual routine of warm-down stretches, there was a buzz in the air about what had just happened.
Jasper put his foot out and leant down into a thigh stretch. He tried to catch the coach’s eye, but Coach Wallace was busy making sure everyone was stretching properly and didn’t look Jasper’s way.
Aamir copied the others and bent into his own stretches before giving Jasper an uncertain look. Jasper smiled to let him know everything would be fine, but he was itching to know what the coach thought.
The Striker Page 3