It was going to be a tough match. We had already played them away, and that hadn’t been pleasant: an extremely physical team. During that previous match, a teammate’s shin guards had even been snapped in half. We lost that game, and everyone was aware of the potential dangers. Alan had spent the past weeks practising extra on jumping and dodging.

Today was the day, and the start was immediately bad. In the very first minute we conceded a goal. 0-1. Ah well, I thought, Alan is starting on the bench, so we’ll see how it goes.

But then something unexpected happened: the equaliser! 1-1. Nobody saw that coming, and the whole game shifted. Slowly the match became more physical, but we held our ground. The goals kept coming: 2-1, 3-1, 3-2, 4-2, 4-3, 5-3, 5-4, and finally 6-4.

Alan also scored a beautiful goal. From midfield, high into the corner. Unstoppable. The crowd was completely caught up in the tension, and emotions were running high. The coaches and the referee even had to calm down some of the parents and family members. Well… that’s how it goes sometimes.

The game: Batan B – Real Sporting B
Results

We won again! A nice game with lots of goals. We can clearly see the teams are much more equal now, and that makes for much better games to watch.

The game: Lomo Blanco – Batan B
Results

Yes!, last Sunday Batan Alevín B achieved a convincing 6 – 2 victory. A welcome improvement compared to the previous phase. It was an enjoyable match that was finally rewarded with a splendid win.
The aftermatch: As you can clearly see in the photo taken after the match the players themselves were also in the mood for celebration.

There are two three types of clubs where children can play football. The first type is a club where kids can simply enjoy being active: running around, kicking the ball, and seeing if they can learn a bit of discipline. This is roughly the kind of team Alan currently plays in, and we’re quite happy with it.

The second type is a team where results matter. Here, you’re expected to show up for every match and perform well. If you don’t stand out as a player, you’re asked to go elsewhere. These teams are meant for top talent, and that’s not what we’re looking for with Alan. Today, Alan is playing against one of those professional teams.

The third type is the neighborhood team that could just as well be a wrestling club. Alan played against one of those last week. There’s little discipline and lots of pushing, pulling, and kicking.

The other team played like an oiled machine, and they won with 17 goals, but still, we had some chances and it was an enjoyable game.

Results

The next phase will start in a couple of weeks. This time the teams will be better aligned to their respective levels, and that will hopefully give us a couple of more interesting matches, with some options to win and boost moral.

Unfortunately, we didn’t win. This time it was an emotional match. Two of our coaches were sent off the field. The other team had some bigger players who were playing very physically. One of our players ended the match with a shin guard that had been kicked in half. Many players went home with a few new bruises. Luckily, Alan is alert and quick. I saw him jump over an outstretched leg a few times to avoid some unwanted pain.

The next match is against one of the strongest clubs, so we don’t have high expectations for that one. But after that, we’ll be in a group that’s more at our level, so it’ll be more fun again and hopefully with plenty of chances to win.

Results

Despite the heavy loss, it was still a very exciting match. Our team attacked fiercely, and there were many near goals. They just missed, bounced the wrong way off the post, or the goalkeeper jumped in just in time. The match could just as easily have ended 6–10. Still a loss, of course, but that doesn’t matter at all. The kids had a great time playing together as a team.

Results

Uf, this game did no go as planned. Somehow you just know that when the keeper starts to cry you are basically in for a losing match. Still, Alan scored a goal, so the defeat was quickly forgotten and we had reason to celebrate.

Results

Here we go again! Saturday, 09:00, on the field by 08:00 for preparations, so no sleeping in today. There goes half my weekend. The football season has started again, so it’s time to play. A few things have changed. Alan’s team has been revamped with some new players. The team name has also changed again, this year they’re called ‘Batan’ (last year it was ‘Inter Colonia‘, and in the official listings it’s still ‘Atletico Fomento‘). They also have new outfits this year, but we’ll have to wait a bit for those. At least now (if everything went well), each player has their name and number on their shirt.

Results

Uf, the competition was tough, the kids were a lot bigger, and about one or two years older than us. The first couple of matches is going to be difficult, and then the matchs will be more equal. We’ll see.

The match schedules are all available online, but unfortunately, the websites that provide this information are complicated labyrinths, packed to the brim with ads, popups, cookies, and just about every bit of junk you can imagine. Every time you have to accept all sorts of things, and after a lot of searching, you can finally see the match lists through all the ads. Of course, while viewing the lists, you have to keep clicking away popups every 20 or 30 seconds, and you have to be careful to click correctly, otherwise, you’ll be ruthlessly redirected to a site full of ads, and it’ll take ages to find the list again. So I just made a brief overview myself, at least now I can see when, where, and what time Alan has to play.