Sunday 26th of June. Noon time. There is hot weather and barely any wind in Munich. People enjoy cold drinks, cocktails and icecream on the terraces, in the shade.
But in another part of the city, Obermanzing, die Auswahl players are getting together to play the next RBL match. There will be time for all those after some good football while coach Julian promised them a pool party if they win.
So the scorching temperature doesn’t affect their focus and motivation to play, but…the first thing is to gather under a big tree, in the shade!
The warm up starts, as if one would be needed in these conditions, without second thoughts. There are a few players though who found a patch of shade in a corner of the pitch and continue their exercises there.
The match begins. Die Auswahl starts off well, with a few attacks that see Leo being engaged by his teammates, with one of them finishing with a cross headed by him. The opponents surprisingly play with many long balls though that doesn’t threaten our defense except a chance saved by Timo early on.
Drink break! The first one of the 4 during the match, offered by the referee and very welcomed by both teams. A few sips, discussions and off we go again.
We try several passes through the midfield but the opponents read that and we cannot reach our striker, a bit too isolated up front. After winning a ball in the midfield, we counter attack: Leo passes to Andres who has a good shot from outside of the box deflected by the goalie in the corner. A bit later, Benny’s shot goes above the post.
And after 26 minutes of good effort, we make the first changes: Oli and Andres come out leaving the place for Steffan and Damian. Let’s go!
Then comes another good chance for us: Max finds Benny on the wing, Leo receives the ball next and crosses to Julian who…tries to pass back to Benny at the far post but the ball goes out. Unlucky, but it feels like we are going to score soon. Damian is taken down in the box and it is a penalty for us.
Steffan steps up to take it, a strong shot on the left but an inspired goalie saves the ball. Doesn’t matter, we continue to get a nice tan and attack.
Just before the half time whistle, Benny has a wide shot, after which the players run to the changing room for some shade and cold water.
Coach Julian indicates a few things that we need to improve, says something about “Tac, tac, tac” and energizes the team. So we are ready for the second half. Still 33+ outside.
The first few minutes saw both teams struggling a bit to build attacks so the “fight” continued in the midfield. We have a 1-2 on the wings between Benny and Andres, Benny crosses the ball in the box but is not reached by Steffan. Next, Andres takes a good corner and the ball reaches Julian who cannot stop the ball. It seems we are just missing that last pass or shot.
Die Auswahl tries a few counter attacks but Georgia brings many players back fast, making it hard for us to develop good opportunities. At the other goal, our defenders play strong and precise, having the motto “You shall not pass!”...and nobody does.
Martin and Damian combine well on the wing, the ball reaches Andres, then back to Martin who crosses for Benny’s shot but the ball goes wide.
The match ends 0-0 with Die Auswahl in attack.
While we lacked some communication and pass accuracy, and were not effective in converting our chances, we had more ball possession, corners, crosses and shots on goal. It was a good team fight in torid weather.
We don’t see the pool party tonight, but we enjoy the cold water and some good rest. Well done everyone and let’s win the next one, team!
Author: Florin Tampau