Yes, we can!
The Bunte Liga hosted the final four teams of the alternative football championship in Berlin today and with many hopes and dreams we made our way with a 14 strong team towards the Howoge-Arena “Hans Zoschke” in Berlin-Lichtenberg. It was a hot day with few sunless periods but we were determined to gain the title. The pitch was perfectly cut and in good condition and we started right away at noon with the first game against the BadBadgers. We know from the 7-a-side league that they are a good squad with skilled Latin players, but the very first minutes we took over control (mostly via the wings) and made it dozens of times through to their goal. We didn’t have to wait long for our first goal, which Daniel scored from a tight angle on the right side. A perfect start, and more chances followed including 3 free kicks right in front of the goal but they didn’t found the back of the net. The Badgers offered surprisingly little going forward, and 2-3 chances were saved easily by our goalie. After 30 minutes the game was brought to an end and we gained our first 3 points.
After a two game break we faced the Dream Team of the Bunte Liga (the Buli Bären). They seemed strong from what we saw from their first game but surprisingly they let us play the first 10 minutes mostly in their half with good chances. We scored a fortunate goal (1-0) which went off Ezequiel’s thigh and through the legs of the goalkeeper. Then, we struggled somehow…Willem tried to clear a ball in the penalty area from a wide ball but it touched his hand and the referee didn’t hesitate to give a penalty for hand ball. Short story: 1-1. A few minutes later a corner by the Dream Team flew wide through the air and a volley shot by one of their strikers found the back of the net, leaving the goalkeeper with no chance. We livened up and right before the end we were able to find Ezequiel open on the left side and he easily shot the ball in the far right end of the goal: 2-2, which was also the final score.
Game three was in our hands; we had simply to win it and we played against MuchasLambas, who lost their first two games. We dominated the first 15 minutes, but we weren’t able to make the most of our chances and we paid the price by conceding. We gave one of their players too much time and space in the midfield and he was able to pick out a great through ball, leaving Adonis isolated and running towards his own goal with an attacker on his shoulder. Unfortunately the striker took advantage and scored for them. Now we had to fight to get at least the draw to put us on level points with the Buli Bären. We put more pressure on them in their final third and 5 minutes before the end Viet put all his heart into a hard, low shot towards the bottom corner of the goal, which the goalkeeper could only parry away to the right side to where Ezequiel was standing, and scored the a deserved equaliser. Despite more pressure in the final minutes and a great chance for Oscar, we weren’t able to score the winner, leaving us on equal points with the Buli Bären with the same amount of goals scored, resulting in a penalty shoot out.
Pascal, Christian and Ramiro all stepped up and scored their penalties, but the Buli Bären shot their final penalty over the bar. That was it; we had won and are the champions of the 3rd Berliner Alternative Meisterschaft!
Players: Marian, Adonis, Willem, James, Christian, Gianluca, Felipe, Viet, Julian, Oscar, Adonis, Pascal, Daniel, Ezequiel
Scores: vs BadBadgers [1-0], vs DreamTeam [2-2], vs MuchasLambda [1-1]
