My first International Football Match

As many of have read below, Erin and I went to Ko Phi-Phi Leh for a
camping trip a few nights ago and had a blast. The people, the food,
the water, the snorkleing, the drinks......... The sports, All
perfect!!! For those of you who do not know me very well you should
know a few things before you read on, I love sports, exercise, trying
new things, and of course competition! Being a former competitive
athlete (tear) I realize these things don't all blend together like
they used to. As we landed on Maya Beach we quickly took a look
around, set our stuff down and headed toward the beach with our new
friends from San Francisco. On our way I was approached by two
gentlemen from Argentina asking me if I would like to play futbol
(soccer) with the guys. I replied "No thanks, I am American," as if
that would explain my lack of respect for soccer and disinterest for
playing. They both tried to get me to play after they laughed at my
comment and still I insisted no. As they went away Erin INSISTED that
I go play. For some reason her encouragment changed my thought process
quickly, and I thought to myself that if anything I could use the
exercise.
I quickly ran to the area where we would play on the beach with goal
posts consisting of two wooden sticks about three feet apart (no
goalies in beach soccer) and about 5 players per team. I asked where
everyone was from as we started and our game started with
representation of 9 different countries! "WOW" I thought to myself:
Argentina, Thailand, France, Germany, Italy, Sweden, South Africa,
Australia, and of course, the good ol USA! (me). I soon realized the
company I was in and that soccer or "footboli" as Nemo said, was not
nearly as much my game as it was everyone elses. Great right!?!? An
American Baseball coach trying to play the worlds most popular sport,
with people from 9 different countries, and I haven't played in 17
years. This ought to be interesting!
As the game started I ran up and down the beach observing a bit. I was
on Nemo's team (He was our camping guide from Thailand and a very
funny guy) and he was good at getting everyone on his team involved
"Whered my Phucking team go?!?!," Nemo would yell out! This of course
motivated me a little and after a few touches of the ball I quickly
realized a few things which apply in All sports....... hustle and be
aggresive (Thanks Dad).
As soon as I got over my fear of inexperience I became very involved
and discovered that I had one thing I wanted to do. Score a goal! At
this point, we had more players join the game and it seemed all of
them were on the other team. Plus, it was getting darker and I knew
time was running out. I began running around like a mad mad from end
to end trying to get a hold of the ball. At one point I began to take
breaks and try a little Cherry Picking (when someone waits on one end
and does not play defense) but our soon to be good friend from Italy,
Guido, was on to me. A few attempts and shots on goal and I was
gaining confidence. I was also beggining to ware out because of all
the running. My best attempt came when Nemo broke on the outside to
the right and pushed the ball forward and to the center. Like a one-
timer in hockey, I let one go off my right foot and watched the ball
sail just barley to the right! Grrrr!!! Very exciting though. Again
and again I tried to score and I think most the others realized how
hard I was trying and they soon stepped it up as well. At that point
and after about 6 failed shot attempts at scoring a goal, I had a much
deeper respect for this game. All in all, we added about ten more
players, and although I did not know where everyone came from I did
find out that England, Spain, and Canada were a few.
Pretty cool if you think about one little beach soccer game
representing over 12 countries! I had a blast, found a new respect for
Futbol, and might even follow the USA this summer during the World Cup
in South Africa. I hear the US has a decent team and might even make
it past England in the first round. Until then, I guess we will just
have to wait.
Cheers,
Niko

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