Chapter 17: Training

It’s the month of May and in August the transfer window opens… I must definitely get into a club then… As of now I am only a free player, any club can buy me… but I have to regain my match fitness and also play more for any offer to come…

Like any other morning I am out for a jog around the field where I used to play as a kid… Sam, Max, Alex, I and … Jack… I used to beat all of them with my dribbling skills but it was Jack who always stopped me from scoring goals… I can’t deny the fact that often I got mad at him… but training with him helped me a lot… although we were little kids then but we were very much passionate about football… and all of us loved to watch Arsenal in action… we never missed any matches… often did we get scolded by our parents but that wouldn’t stop us… After all which gunners fan wouldn’t like to watch the likes of Bergkamp, Vieira, Henry, Pires and Petit in action… even if we got beaten up by our parents we would still watch the games… there was class, elegance and beauty in the style of the gunners…and the architect was none other than “Le Prof”, Arsene Wenger, the man who revolutionized English football…

Any player playing in England or coming from a foreign country will always have a dream to play in the English Premier League, the most prestigious league in the whole of Britain. In the upper echelons of English football, 4 teams always stood out and still stand out from the rest… they are called the Big 4… formed by Manchester United, Arsenal, Chelsea and Liverpool. Whatever trophies are there to be won are won among these 4 teams… these teams are unique in their style of play.

The Red Devils, by far the most successful, have the Italian style of counter-attacking football and also the skillful approach of Brazilian football, Arsenal form the Spanish accent of English football with slick passing and fast movement off the ball, Chelsea on the other hand are power personified, their football is more about graft than craft and approach more physical than elegant passing, like the German football. As for Liverpool they have a combination of all the above… Liverpool is the embodiment of “Helter-skelter” football, almost a combination of Argentina and The Netherlands, at their best they can defeat any team but when the going gets tough they fall apart and lose to even lesser teams…

But it’s the spirit of these 4 teams that is commendable… every season this gang of 4 represent England in the Champions League, the most prestigious football tournament in Europe, thereby always ending every season in the top 4 slots… they get challenged by impostors like Tottenham Hotspurs, Aston Villa, Everton and recently Manchester City but they manage to retain their places…

I am no different from other players, I always had dreams of playing for Arsenal… but only in my dreams did I play for them… But now is the time, I must establish myself again as an accomplished footballer… a real pro…

And for that to happen I must start from scratch and no other place than the same playground where it all began, can be fitter…

As I set my foot on the field memories of my past started flooding in, memories of my childhood… memories of those football matches I played with or without Jack… they were all returning… those memories of playing with my best pals were returning to me… those moments we shared, both of joy and sorrow although a long time ago but nonetheless sweet were coming back…

I could see football matches unfolding in front my eyes… my brain as if the projector was playing the videos of those matches… beautiful memories of my past…

But it is the present that should concern me… I must attract attention of scouts who always keep tabs on players…

Suddenly a ball dropped in front of me… I turned back, it was Sam…

“Mind if I train with you Miroku?” Sam asked while coming towards the field.
“Join me, Sam; I can train with a proper defender then…” I replied.
“A PROPER DEFENDER!!!! That’s a huge complement dude!!!” Sam excitedly said.

Sam and I started off with some light drills and after that I had to win back the ball from him… It wasn’t easy… but I managed to get the ball most of the time…

“You look rusty dude” Sam told me as we sat down for some time, “previously you could take away the ball with so much ease but now…”
“That’s why I need you to train with me, if you provide this sort of challenge then it will help me regain my former skills…”
“In that case buddy, from tomorrow I will tell Alex and Max to join us too… we will all help you…”
“Thanks…that’s all I can say for what you are doing for me…”
“Never mention that buddy; we were always good pals…”
“And pals we will remain forever… but now let’s return to training shall we?”
“Of course… so what do I have to do now?”
“I will have some shooting practice…”
“Understood… I get to become the goalkeeper now… but dude, I can never replace Jack…”

I didn’t reply. I needed Jack’s assistance… but he wasn’t there anymore… and won’t be in the future…

“Be ready my first shot is coming up…” I said as I prepared for the shot.

In my mind I could see a little boy preparing to shoot… and another kid standing in front of the goal to stop the ball from going in… Only one difference… the little boy had grown up but the other kid was still small, still young, still had that smile across his face… but was he really there? No. He wasn’t. It was just his shadow… only a shadow…

“I am ready…” it was Sam’s voice and not Jack’s…