Now Jasper was ready to play.
Or at least he was until he saw his opponent.
‘Well, if it isn’t Jasper Zammit.’
It was Badger Mackenzie, the big mouth of the Eastville Kings. He’d earned the name Badger because he was famous for stirring other players to make them lose concentration and put them off their game.
‘Badger.’ Jasper nodded curtly and turned away.
The Kings had a confidence that made them seem like they owned the whole field and that any game they were about to play would be a walkover. They also had the brightest shirts in the competition, sponsored by the local TV station where Badger’s dad was the boss.
‘Ready to be beaten?’
Jasper bent into a side stretch and said nothing.
‘Go the Rovers!’ Lil’s cry sounded out around the field.
Badger sneered. ‘Looks like your girlfriend’s in good form.’
Badger didn’t get his name for nothing. He’d keep going until he found something, but Jasper was determined not to be put off.
The game started with the Kings in possession. Again Aamir hung back and watched while the Rovers launched into a tough attacking strategy, eager to gain possession as quickly as possible.
Nutmeg shadowed his opponent who had the ball, sticking to his every move and trying to steal it from him, whereas Badger just stuck to opening his big mouth.
‘Your dad got a job yet? A proper one?’
Badger had heard about Jasper’s dad losing his job and had used that to put him off their last game together. Jasper’s dad now had his job back, and Jasper kept repeating Nannu’s words in his head: ‘Get on with what’s important.’
Nutmeg did a superb job of keeping his player covered and forced him into delivering a clumsy cross that Nippy intercepted with lightning speed.
The race was on.
Nippy shot Nutmeg a quick smile before tearing down the field, keeping control of the ball like it was glued to her feet. Josie shared a look with Diego and they both moved into position, ready for an attempt at goal.
It was perfect.
Aamir burst forward from his opponent. Nippy struck a powerful flick pass that Aamir easily controlled. All he had to do was pass to Josie, who had Diego in her sights right before the penalty area.
But just as Josie was about to kick the ball, their plan was thwarted.
‘Owww!’
At the other end of the field, Badger was lying on the ground, clutching his knee.
The ref spun round. He hadn’t seen what had happened and neither had any of the parents, who were concentrating on a possible Rovers’ goal.
Play stopped and the ref walked over. ‘What happened?’
‘He tripped me,’ Badger winced.
Jasper stared. He hadn’t touched him. Badger just dropped to the ground. ‘But I didn’t …’
Badger cried out again and grabbed hold of his knee even tighter.
Jasper realised what had happened. Badger had seen that the Rovers were about to score and he’d faked a fall. And blamed him.
The ref blew his whistle. ‘Free kick.’
Jasper glared at Badger. He knew he couldn’t argue with the ref, and no one had seen what had happened to say it wasn’t true. His only choice was to accept the ruling.
Badger was helped up by his team-mates and, after a few overacted limps, his knee was miraculously better in only minutes.
Play resumed with the Kings in possession, determined to stop any other attempts by the Rovers at scoring. The Rovers tried their hardest but it was as if Badger’s fall had put them off their game, and by the half-time whistle, no one had scored.
The Rovers stood on the sidelines, biting into oranges and taking sips of water. Coach had his usual words of encouragement but warned Jasper to be careful about making contact with other players.
‘Yes, Coach,’ he added.
‘What happened out there?’ Lil whispered.
Jasper tried to control his anger. ‘Badger faked it.’
‘Faked it?’ Josie gasped.
‘You didn’t trip him?’ Nippy whispered.
Aamir looked at Jasper with his face twisted into a frown.
Pretty soon all the Rovers knew about Badger’s fall.
‘We’ve got to tell the ref,’ Diego pleaded. ‘That goal was going to be one of my best.’
‘We can’t,’ Jasper reasoned. ‘No one saw it. It’s Badger’s word against mine.’
‘I know what will get him back.’ Tricky leant forward on his crutches. ‘Let’s win.’
Everyone quietly agreed. The Kings hated losing and that was the one true way to get them back and teach Badger a lesson. When the ref called the players to start the second half, the Rovers walked onto that field ready for victory.
JOHNNY SAYS:
Soccer is a non-contact sport. Attacking a player with a reckless slide tackle or brute force shows a lack of fair play, a lack of class and a lack of skill. You will only end up with a yellow card, or even a red – and a reputation as a thug, which can be very hard to shake.
The Rovers were fired up as they took their positions on the field. They knew they had to play well but they also knew they had to win.
‘Go the Rovers!’ Lil called out and was answered by every Rovers player. Even Mugger, who never joined in the cry, nodded and made a small grunt.
She held up her fists to Jasper. ‘Forza,’ she mouthed.
‘Your girlfriend sending you love messages?’
Badger never knew when to stop.
Jasper ignored him and turned away in time to see Aamir’s pointed stare. There was a small smile curved into his lips, but there was something different about the way he looked. Something strong and resilient.
Jasper returned his smile, took a deep breath and prepared to win.
It was Diego this time who sprang forward and stole possession from the Kings. He controlled the ball like he was defending the World Cup and no one was going to take it away from him. He easily took it towards the goal area with fast flicks with the inside and outside of his boot, turning away from defenders until he passed to Josie, who flicked it across to Aamir.
Aamir dribbled forward and was quickly marked, but he flashed a defiant smile before he flicked the ball behind him and turned to move away.
‘Go, Aamir!’ Tricky shouted from the sidelines, only just managing to hold himself back from running onto the field.
The goal was heavily guarded but it only made Aamir smile even more. The defender scowled at him, daring him to try getting the ball past him.
Aamir accepted the dare.
He pulled his boot back, struck the bottom edge of the ball and chipped it over the defender’s head with just enough curve to evade the goalkeeper.
The ref blew his whistle. Goal!
The Rovers surged forward and jumped all over Aamir, rubbing his head and wrestling him into the ground. Tricky went to join them but Coach held him back. ‘You’re not running anywhere on that ankle.’
Jasper raced down the field to the goal area and threw himself at Aamir. ‘Goal! Goal!’ he yelled.
Again Aamir jumped into the air in a celebratory backflip, landing firmly on both feet. Jasper held his stomach and bent over with laughter. Aamir gave him his usual wink, as if to say, ‘I told you everything would be okay.’
The ref blew the whistle again and again to get them to calm down until finally Coach Wallace had to step in.
‘That’s enough. Get back to the game.’ He tried to look stern, but Jasper saw a smile edge into his lips as he turned to leave the field.
‘Lucky shot,’ Badger spat when Jasper came back.
He didn’t answer. He was too happy to let Badger ruin their moment.
‘Who’s the skinny kid anyway? He wasn’t here last time. Is he registered?’
Jasper wasn’t biting. He was too busy watching Aamir’s goal over and over in his head.
‘Your team’s that lousy you had to get someone in to h
elp you out.’
Jasper stayed firm.
‘Where’d he come from, anyway? He’s not one of those stinking refugees, is he?’
Jasper’s body tensed up. He looked down and kicked the toe of his boot into the ground.
‘He is.’ Badger smiled. ‘He’s one of those bludging boat people who come here expecting us to give them a home. For nothing. He shouldn’t be in our country, none of them should. He probably sold his grandmother to get here.’
The Kings kicked off and Jasper stepped forward ready to defend but also to get away from Badger.
‘We don’t want them here.’
Jasper did his best to breathe through the anger that was building in his chest. The Rovers moved into a strong defence, ready to teach the Kings a lesson.
‘They’re not welcome.’ Badger nudged into Jasper’s shoulder. ‘But they just don’t get it, do they? They must be really thick. I mean, how many times does the government have to say it before they realise they don’t belong here?’
‘The government’s wrong.’ Jasper clenched his teeth and shook his head. He hadn’t meant to say anything.
Badger smiled. ‘Think you know better than the government, do you? It’s good you’re not running the country or we’d be overrun with them.’
Stuff just kept spewing out of Badger’s mouth like it was never going to stop.
‘With their strange ideas and religion, they’ll take over this country one day and then where will we be?’
Jasper seethed inside.
‘You know what they are, don’t you?’ Badger hissed in Jasper’s ear. ‘They’re terrorists, that’s what they are, dirty bloody terrorists. And they won’t be happy until they blow this place to bits.’
Something happened to Jasper that had never happened before. He felt this fiery volcano rising through his legs and into his chest, like an explosion he couldn’t hold back. It was anger, anger for what his grandad and Aamir had been through just because they were different.
He knew his grandad was right about not letting bullies get to him, about focusing on the things that mattered. But this time was different.
This time it mattered.
Before Jasper even knew what he was doing, he grabbed Badger’s pristine shirt, drew his fist back and punched him in the nose.
The next few minutes happened in slow motion.
Badger fell slowly backwards with a shocked look on his face. He thudded to the ground with a small bounce. He lay there, holding his nose that was smudged with blood. He let out slow, agonised wails that droned in Jasper’s ears.
The other team members slowly stopped playing and turned as they realised what had happened.
The ref raised the whistle to his lips and his cheeks ballooned out as he blew a long, hard tunnel of air, creating a shrill, echoing squeal.
Aamir’s wide-brimming smile fell from his face. Lil walked over, frowning, like she was finding it hard to recognise the boy holding his hand in pain. The same hand that had lashed out.
Everything felt so strange, Jasper wondered if he really had punched Badger, until he saw two things that let him know he had.
One was his dad’s proud smile now twisted into a confused scowl.
The other was the ref slowly pulling from his pocket the one thing Jasper had never seen this close.
A red card.
He was being sent off for attacking the player instead of the ball, the worst thing you could ever do in the game of soccer.
JOHNNY SAYS:
The referee is always right … even when he’s not. Referees are human, so they do make mistakes, but it’s essential to the enjoyment and fair playing of the game that they are given respect. Arguing a call is never going to make a ref change his mind. Besides, the laws of the game continually state that it’s the referee’s opinion that counts – not what did or didn’t happen!
‘You did what?’
Nannu was so furious the small hairs inside his nose quivered.
His mum and dad had sat Jasper down after the game for a long, serious, but gentle chat about the rights and wrongs of human behaviour, and how one should act in a society if we were all going to get along in this world. It was a good chat and one Jasper would have agreed with.
If he’d heard any of it.
As his parents talked on, doing their Good Parenting best, all Jasper could think about was what Nannu was going to say when he found out.
Which didn’t take long.
Jasper stood in Nannu’s flat, watching as he paced about, waving his arms and rubbing his wrinkled hands across his stubbly chin.
‘I can’t believe what I’m hearing.’
Jasper didn’t know what to say. He knew he was the one who had punched Badger, but it was as if someone else had done it, not him. He’d never lost his temper in a game before. He’d never lost his temper anywhere before and now, he’d not only managed to lose it, he’d earned himself a red card, a two-match suspension and a severe talking to from Coach Wallace, Badger’s parents and the competition management.
The Mackenzies had also requested that Jasper apologise to their son, which Badger did his Academy Award-winning best to milk for all it was worth.
‘That’s all right, Jasper. I’m sure you didn’t mean it. Let’s shake on it and hope nothing like this ever happens again.’
Jasper shook Badger’s hand and did his best not to vomit all over his fake sincerity.
But all that seemed easy compared to facing Nannu.
‘What have I taught you all these years?’ His grandad went back to pacing about the flat. ‘What is the most important rule in the game of soccer?’
Jasper knew the answer Nannu was after but he didn’t know if he could trust his mouth to say it. He held a bag of frozen peas against the knuckles of his hand, the one that had punched Badger. It was red and swollen, and hurt as if it had been caught in a car door.
‘Always respect the game as the beautiful sport it is,’ he muttered quietly.
‘Exactly, and how does what you did today respect the game?’
Jasper saw the image of Badger in his head, his big mouth going on about Aamir. His anger swelled inside him again.
‘But what if I thought something was wrong? Really wrong. And I felt I had to do something about it.’
‘Nothing’s that wrong that you have to punch a kid in the middle of a game.’
‘So I should have punched him after the game?’ Jasper winced. It was out before he knew he’d said it. First it was his hand he couldn’t control and now it was his mouth.
Nannu paused and gave him a hard look. ‘Don’t get smart,’ he said in a lowered voice.
Jasper had never spoken to his grandad like that before.
Nannu’s cheeks were smudged bright red. ‘The game of soccer is all about control – controlling the ball, controlling your moves and controlling your temper. Too many games have been thrown away because a player has lost it.’ He took another deep breath. ‘A red card is not something to be proud of. It’s the mark of a player who can’t handle the pressure.’
Jasper tried to stay calm but his grandad’s words were making him even angrier.
‘All the great players are great not only because of the way they play but because of the way they behave as people. Look at Pele, Maradona, Bobby Charlton, Alfredo Di Stefano, Ronaldo, Roberto Carlos. They’re real leaders of the true nature of the game.’
His grandad paused.
‘I’m disappointed in you, Jasper. I never thought you’d treat the game of soccer so badly. The moment you step onto that field, you are not only representing yourself as a player but as a human being in one of the most noble games of all.’
Again Jasper felt a fiery anger inside him. There was nothing noble about the way Badger played soccer and yet it was Jasper who was in trouble.
‘But Nannu, it wasn’t about soccer! It was about something bigger and more important. Don’t you even want to know why I hit him?’
‘That’s not
important. How you act on the field proves what kind of man you are.’
‘And maybe you have no idea what you’re talking about!’ Jasper yelled. ‘Maybe this time you’re wrong.’
Nannu’s face jolted into disbelief, then a kind of sadness.
They both stared at each other, neither of them saying anything until Jasper felt his throat tighten and found it hard to breathe. It was as if the flat was suddenly too small and all the air had been sucked out of it. He had to get out of there fast.
He dodged past his grandad and belted through the door.
‘Jasper!’
But he didn’t stop.
The sound of his own gasping breath filled Jasper’s ears as the door of the flat slammed in a series of dull thuds behind him. He thought he heard Nannu call again but he couldn’t be sure as his feet pounded into the ground.
He ran through the darkening evening, wolfing down great clumps of air. He climbed into the safety of his hammock and Ronaldinho leapt in after him. Jasper held him close against his heaving chest, patting his curly white fur. He’d never yelled at his grandad before, and as the swing of the hammock curved into the cooling night air, he felt afraid that what he had just done would change something between them for good, something he might never get back.
JOHNNY SAYS:
On wet or windy days, don’t be put off. Always take a shot at goal if you have the opportunity, as it might be worth the risk – the goalkeeper might drop the slippery ball, or the wind might carry the ball past his or her hands … and in!
‘They won’t let him play.’
Josie and Tricky met Jasper at the school gate and pointed to a sad looking Aamir sitting in the playground.
‘What?’
Jasper had been so worried about what had happened between him and his grandad that he hadn’t thought things could get worse, but it looked like they just had.
‘Aamir’s dad,’ Josie explained. ‘He said he doesn’t want his son playing soccer if it’s so violent in this country.’
‘Violent?’ Jasper blurted. ‘Soccer’s not violent. You know that. I know I punched Badger, but he was asking for it and it never usually happens.’
The Striker Page 6