The Back Page
If memory serves, it was the great Dutch football side of the 1970’s that reinvigorated the sport in Europe with the concept of Totaalvoetbal or Total Football. Pioneered at Ajax from a game plan reputedly developed at Leicester City in the 1960’s, Total Football had players swapping in and out of roles as the game progressed in order to counteract the man marking and Catenaccio (locked door) style employed by many sides of the time. The great Johan Cruijff, nominally a forward, would migrate into the midfield and defence with colleagues drifting into the positions that he had vacated. Germany, too, employed the equally great Franz Beckenbauer as an attacking sweeper. Done correctly, it makes the game flow beautifully; done poorly, and the players look like they are navigating central Brisbane’s one-way system without a GPS.
So in week 15 Ross and Andres decide to introduce Total Football to Australia for the Knights’ match against Ringwood City at Larpent. The Knights’ players found themselves in some unfamiliar roles for parts of the game – Adam in goal, Filip into attacking midfield, Luke past the halfway line (yes, son, the pitch does have two halves), John and Felix carrying the attack, Ben Irvine defending, Ben 1029 dropping back into midfield, Zac, Karan, James, Ari, Adrian, Michael & Ozzie filling several roles from front to back. Strange times indeed and Total Football on a scale that even the Oranje could never dream of. So what prompted the radical shift in tactics – perhaps the orange strip of the visitors, reminiscent of that worn by the Dutch, kindled some deeply buried primordial soccer memory. Perhaps not; the visitors Ringwood are having a wretched season - no points thus far and a goal difference that is in danger of breaking the 100 mark by season’s end. Arriving with just 10 players (including at least one under 10 addition who arrived at the last minute) and a manager who was at his wits end with the level of commitment shown by some of the parents of the team, the game looked like it would be decidedly one sided.
So it started, the usual attacking combination of the Bens supported by Felix and Ari cut through the defence and in under five minutes Ben Irvine had been fed the ball by Ben 1029 to open the scoring – running in and slotting it past the keeper with his trusty left foot. A few minutes later Ben 1029 on the break cooly nutmegged the keeper to open his account – 2:0 up and another long morning looming for Ringwood.
Still, football is a game that you don’t improve at unless you are challenged, so Ross evened up the contest a little by dropping the Knights down to 10 on the field and rotating players into hitherto unfamiliar roles. For a while the contest was more even. Ringwood managed a few attacks and showed that they had some good players who would be a force to be reckoned with in a better team. As the half wore on, though, the Knights re-established their dominance with Ben 1029, Felix, and Karan going close and as half time approached Felix made it 3:0 with a clinically taken shot slotted past the advancing keeper. Ringwood defended well, in particular they played the offside trap with some skill, moving up as a line to catch the over enthusiastic Knights attackers out a few times.
Halftime and more changes – notably Filip making a rare appearance as an outfield player. The wind and rain also started to pick up making it more difficult to keep track of what was happening both for those on and off the pitch. After 5 minutes of the second half it was 4:0 with Adrian getting onto the score sheet. A few minutes later and Felix had his second, running from midfield and hitting it hard past the Ringwood keeper - 5:0 and the game far from over. A couple of crosses from the right from Ben 1029 failed to find a green shirt despite there often being more attackers than defenders in the Ringwood penalty area. A free kick from 25 yards out had Luke trying to emulate Carlos Hernandez’s heroics of the night before – unfortunately saved by the keeper. A run by Felix into the box and a shot that went wide of the post with the keeper beaten – a hat trick denied by a few centimetres. Finally as the weather was starting to drive even the hardiest of supporters further back into the stands, Karan added his name onto the scoresheet – a cross from Adrian, Karan’s first shot hit the post, but he was first to react to slot the ball home.
Full time and 6:0 to the Knights. Credit to Ross and Andres for being sporting and not going all out for the biggest possible win – six goals is reward enough and it is of little benefit at this level to totally run away with the match. The opposition appreciated the gesture of playing with 10 players and the fulltime chocolates also. Well done to the boys for adapting to playing out of their usual positions without too many problems, and for keeping the goal and post match celebrations to a reasonable level. Still, we are now unbeaten in four games and have won the last three, which we will certainly take.
OK, time for some You Tube and a bit of the Dutch Master himself
Until Next Week, Rest Up, Train Hard, and Go Knights!
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