Santosh:- Football game has some simple rules and regulations. A rectangular playground is divided into two halves by joining the middle points of the two lengths by a straight line. The middle point of that straight line is known as center. A football match starts by kicking the ball kept at that point only. Before any football match, there is a coin toss. Whichever team wins the toss will have a first kick at the ball and their captain has to select a side of the playground. Each team has 11 players and 3 substitutes. On both ends of the ground, there is one goal post each. Your job is to kick the football inside your opponents’ goal post at any cost. Each time the ball goes into your opponents’ goal post, you earn a goal. Whichever team scores more goals than their opponent wins the match. The entire game of football has to be played by feet only. You can also use your head to give headers, but you cannot use your hands or arms to play this game. If the football touches your hands or arms incidentally or accidentally, it is regarded as a foul. If you tackle, push, pull or kick your opponent players illegally, then also it is regarded as a foul. For each foul committed, a referee will show you a yellow card. If you see two yellow cards in a match, then it is equivalent to a red card, which means that you are suspended for that particular match and the next match too. So, always play fair football.
Gosthopal:- How can the referee see whether someone is fouling or not? He will be sitting and monitoring the match from one end only.
Santosh:- No, no, unlike in other games, in this case, the referee will run with you, he he he…So, be careful from his sharp eyes. The referee will not shout at the top of his voice to give any decision. He will just blow his whistle. Always remember that he will point his hand towards the direction where the ball should go. Suppose, you have committed a foul to your opponent player, now, the referee will point his hand towards your team’s goalpost to give a free-kick to your opponent team. There is another small rectangular area in front of the goal posts. That is known as penalty box. If you commit any foul inside the penalty box, then your opponent will get a penalty shoot-out. In a penalty shoot-out, a player will kick the ball directly to the opponent’s goalkeeper without any obstruction between them. In a free-kick, generally, 3 -5 players of the opponent team form a human wall in front of you.
Manna:- Who is this goalkeeper?
Santosh:- There will be a player who will stand in front of the goal post. He is the only person in the team who can hold the ball with his hand. His job is to block the ball from going inside the goal post. But, if the goalkeeper grabs the ball with his hands outside his penalty box, then it is regarded as a foul.
Chuni:- Ha ha ha…So, a goalkeeper has a ‘Laxman-Rekha’.
Santosh:- Nothing like that. A goalkeeper can also come out of his position and play like a striker, but, it always proves to be a huge risk for his team. Accha, when the ball goes out of the ground, then there is a ‘throw-in’, where one has to throw the ball with his hand inside the ground again. If the ball goes out from any of the lengths of the ground after touching your leg, then the ‘throw-in’ is awarded to your opponent team and vice-versa. If the ball goes out from any of the breadths of the ground after touching your leg, then your opponents’ goalkeeper will take a goal-kick but if the ball goes out by touching the legs of your opponent team players, then your team gets a corner kick. Corner kick is taken from the corner of that side of the goal post where the ball went out of the touchline. There is another concept, which is known as ‘offside’. If a player receives a moving ball ahead of his opponent team defenders in the opponent team’s area, then it is regarded as ‘offside’ and you cannot score goal from an offside position.
Habib:- Defenders! What is meant by defenders here? Is it a football game or a battle, he he he…
Santosh:- Ha ha ha…ok, ok, let me tell you the different types of roles a footballer has to play in this game. There are four types of roles for a footballer: - Striker, Midfielder, Defender and Goalkeeper. Strikers are always positioned in and around the opponent team’s penalty area. Midfielders are the game-makers of any football match. They rule in the central regions of the ground. Defenders are the players who need to stop or tackle the opponent team’s strikers to score goals. Basically, defenders act as a support for the goalkeeper who has to ultimately save the goals. Now, there are certain strategies to distribute the players in the ground. For example, when I say, 5-3-2, it means that 5 players will play in the defensive position, 3 players in the midfield region and 2 players will act as strikers. 5-3-2 is a traditional defensive style football, but, there are other strategies also, which you will come to know gradually.
Iliyas:- So, ultimately, 11 players need to work hard to put that ball inside the opponent’s goal post. Oh! That is a very easy game to play.
Santosh:- No, it sounds easy, though it is one of the toughest tasks to put that ball inside the net. Coordination and cooperation are the keywords here, because every individual will be blocked at every moment. So, to proceed towards the opponent’s goal post, you have to keep on passing the ball to each other and move forward. It is like a relay race where you have to either start running or passing the ball whenever you get it on your legs. But, when you are near the goal post of your opponent team, don’t hesitate to take the shots on goal.
Pradip:- What is the duration of each football match?
Santosh:- It is a game of 90 minutes, divided into two halves. That is, in the first half, you have to play for 45 minutes. Then there will be a break for 15 minutes. After that, in the second half, the teams will change their sides in the ground and the play in the second half will be for another 45 minutes. Now, if no winner emerges in those 90 minutes, then there is a penalty shoot-out. In the penalty shoot-out, 5 players of each team will take shots at their respective opponent’s goalkeepers. If no result comes out, then there will be a coin toss. Whoever wins the toss, will win the match. In European countries, this rule has been changed. There is a concept of ‘Extra-Time’, after the 90 minutes of play. In the ‘Extra-Time’, the two teams will play for another 30 minutes to decide the winner between them. If no result comes out, then there is a penalty shoot-out. Now, after the 5 penalty shots from each team, if no result comes out, then the penalty shoot-outs will continue till a winner emerges. This is known as ‘Sudden-Death’. The concept of coin tossing after the penalty shoot-outs has been discarded in European football. Gradually, EICFF will also implement this rule in the football tournament of India also. But, for the time being, remember that if you are not getting a goal in the 90 minutes, then you are heading for a penalty shoot-out. Winning a match in a penalty shoot-out requires less skills and more good lucks. Now, let me tell you about who will play in which positions? Gosthopal, Manna, Chuni and Habib will play as strikers. Krishnendu, Pradip and Thapa will play as midfielders. Manohar, Iliyas and Sujoy will play as defenders. Haradhan will play as a goalkeeper. In the reserve bench, Bhunia, Arindam and Radhanath will be the substitute goalkeeper, defender and midfielder respectively. We will play our game in 3-3-4 formation. Now, wear all your jerseys. In every jersey, your names are printed. The color of our jersey is half green and half maroon. Also don’t forget to put on your boots which are kept inside the club house.
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Habib:- This is the first time, I have put my legs inside a boot. Uff…it is not fitting properly. Oh! No, I cannot walk properly. Forget about playing football by wearing the boots.
Sujoy:- amar toh already phoska pore gachey. The boots are so heavy for our legs.
Gosthopal:- I am also not liking these boots. I am not able to sprint properly. I can run faster with my bare feet.
Arindam:- Is it mandatory for us to play the football by wearing these heavy boots? If is it so, then after seeing the condition of you people, I am 100% sure that we will lose all the football matches. You people cannot even walk properly after wearing these heavy boots. How can you people run after the football?
Haradhan:- Let us go and tell our coach that we will play the football bare-footed, no matter what happens.
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Bhaduri Babu:- How is the practice going on? Everything is ok, naah?
Santosh:- No, there is a slight problem. All our players want to play football with their bare feet. They are saying that those English company boots are too heavy for them to handle.
Bhaduri Babu:- Let them play with bare feet. Where is the problem?
Santosh:- All their opponents will play football by wearing those heavy boots. It will be very risky for our team players to play with their bare feet.
Bhaduri Babu:- So, make their feet as strong as iron.
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Santosh:- I have no objection if you want to play football with your bare feet, but, in our practice session, we will play the game of football with the dried coconut shells (Sukhno Daaber Khola) instead of leather football for 2 weeks. If you play with these dried coconut shells, your feet will become stronger day by day. I want everyone to have your feet as strong as iron to sustain the pressure of your opponent’s boots.
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Lily:- What happened to you? Why are you limping?
Radhanath:- Uff…don’t ask me, Lily. I don’t know from where my dad has got this football coach, Santosh. He is making us play football with the dried coconut shells. All my bones in my feet have swelled up. He is making our feet strong. Only the game of Kabaddi is best suited for me.
Lily:- Ha ha ha…Kasto na korle ki aar kesto paaowa jaaye, sona…
Radhanath:- Dhaath…now, don’t give all these lectures to me.
Lily:- I can prescribe you a medicine for your feet. Crush the leaves of ‘Genda flower’ (Ganda phool) to extract juices from it. The juices of Genda flowers are good to kill pains and every morning, don’t forget to chew the leaves of ‘Tulsi’ tree. Even you can extract the juices of Tulsi tree leaves and mix it with a cup of milk to drink it.
Radhanath:- Ok, ok, I will try out those things to keep myself healthy and strong. Now, open up your lap, I need to put my head on your thighs to have a nice nap in this romantic moonlit evening, he he he…
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Roland:- Hey Dave, there is a guy whose name is Arindam. He is from Sutanuti only. Recently, he is writing some articles based on sports and nationalism in the ‘Amritbazar Patrika’. Try to find out who is this guy. I need to take special care of him.
Dave:- Ok, Sir, don’t you worry about it.
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Motilal:- Sir, I know, who is this Arindam? He has a girlfriend. Every day, during evening hours, he sits with her girlfriend on the bank of the Hooghly River and enjoys his romantic time with her.
Dave:- Ok, come with me. I need to see that guy once.
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Durga:- Ei, have you noticed something? We are sitting here and those two Policemen are staring at us. I am feeling very scared now. Are they suspecting me about that incident?
Arindam:- Dhaath…chup chap badam bhaja khaccho…khetey thako…let them stare at us. Who cares about them?
Durga:- Oh! No, they are coming towards us.
Dave:- Is your name, Arindam?
Arindam:- Yes, my name is Arindam. Why? What happened?
Dave:- We have got the information that you are writing about Indian nationalism in a Bengali daily newspaper. Your articles are provoking the young Indians to fight against the British government. We are warning you. Don’t write any such articles on Indian nationalism in future. You are writing about Sports, that’s ok. Your article should only mention about the sports. Don’t try to use sports in a wrong way to infuse hatred among the Indian youths towards the British government in the name of Indian nationalism.
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Roland:- What’s the matter, Dave? What happened? You called me to come at your ‘Sutanuti Police Station’.
Dave:- Sir, this is Motilal. He is one of the constables of this police station. Motilal, just tell Sir, what has happened this morning?
Motilal:- Sir, generally, I come to duty during 8.30 AM. I always have a constipation problem. That’s why; I drink three bowls of Musur dal before going to sleep at night. I don’t have a proper toilet room in my house. Generally, I go to the bushy areas of our village to release all the solid wastes of my large intestine. Recently, I am suffering from piles. That’s why; nowadays, I am using the toilet of this police station, where there is a nice system. You can just sit on that system and read newspaper while your excretory process is going on.
Roland:- Oh! My God! You talk so much nonsense that I am feeling like having a bad smell in my nose. Come to the point. What has happened?
Motilal:- Yes, Sir. I was just on my main point only. When I was busy in releasing all those things from my large intestine, someone threw a chocolate bomb from the ventilator of that toilet room. I was just literally stunned after hearing the sound of that chocolate bomb inside the toilet room. Just after few moments, a small stone was thrown from the ventilator with a white paper wrapped on it. I came out of the Police station to search for the suspect but found no one. Sir, someone wanted to kill me. This is a very serious issue.
Dave:- Yes, Sir, Motilal is right. Also, something is written in that small piece of white paper. But, it is written in Bengali.
Roland:- Motilal, do you know Bengali?
Motilal:- Yes, Sir.
Roland:- Then just read it and tell me the meaning of it.
Motilal:- Sir, it is written here, ‘Peepilka r pakha orey moribaar taurey…saabdhan’….
Roland:- What does that mean?
Motilal:- It means that an ant starts flying with the help of its wings when it is about to die after some moments. Beware!
Dave:- Beware! Beware of whom? Who is the ant here?
Roland:- Something is wrong somewhere. Hey, Dave, have you found out Arindam?
Dave:- Oh! Yes, Sir. I have already given him a warning also. He will not write any article again.
Roland:- Who told you to give a warning to him? I have some other plans for him. You are such a fool. Don’t warn or threaten any Indian in Sutanuti now. If they can kill Kepler then they can do the same thing to you also. We have to play such a game where the snakes will die and not a single bullet will be wasted. Tell Sylvester, the lawyer of our department to file a false legal case against Arindam on the charge that he is writing articles which is provoking the young Indians against the British government.
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Prafulla:- Ha ha ha…really, our Durga is Durga….there is no doubt about that. She threw a chocolate bomb inside the toilet room of the Sutanuti police station through a ventilator, he he he…
Badal:- Arindam is in trouble now. Roland has filed a case against him. We have to talk with Jagdish now.
Dinesh:- Why do we need to Jagdish to settle the case? We will break the legs of Sylvester, if he goes to the Calcutta High Court on the hearing day. If the lawyer is not present on the hearing day, automatically the case has no value at all. It will get dismissed.
Prafulla:- But, still, we can’t take the risk of legal procedures. Tell Jagdish to handle this case as a defense lawyer for Arindam and also make sure that Sylvester cannot reach the Calcutta High court on the hearing day.
Badal:- Have you read the ‘The Statesman’ newspaper today. Calcutta High Court has passed a new amendment that a Ghoti tenant cannot charge more than 10 bucks per month as rent to any of his Bangaal customer. Also, a separate bill has been passed where Bangaals will have several quota for getting jobs and other employment. As the Bangaals are the refugees of Calcutta, that’s why, the British government is helping them so much. That’s really good. This British government is now taking care of the Indians.
Prafulla:- You are a Bangaal, that’s why; you are happy. But, think of a Ghoti tenant who has done so much expense to construct a house. He has spent so much but when he will give his house on rent to a Bangaal, he cannot charge more than 10 bucks. What kind of a rule is this? Why there will be a separate job quota for the Bangaals? The British people have done the Bengal partition, then why the Ghotis will become the scapegoats in this regard. I am damn sure that there will be some agitations from the Ghotis in front of Calcutta High Court and Sutanuti administrative block.
Dinesh:- For your kind information, Prafulla, already the agitation has started. Moreover, in many parts of Calcutta, some major clashes have taken place between the Ghotis and the Bangaals, where 11 people have died and 53 are badly injured. Badal, don’t think that the British government is taking special care of the Bangaals. Basically, they are now trying to break the unity among the Bengali Hindus so that they can rule in India for years after years.
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Dave:- Sir, the recent amendment from the Calcutta High Court has worked. Already, the Bangaals and the Ghotis have started fighting against each other.
Roland:- Ha ha ha…that’s why; I took so much pain to get that bill signed by Mr. Hastings, the present Viceroy of Bengal. But, the clashes are taking place in Calcutta only. The fire needs to spread everywhere, especially in Sutanuti. Dave, do one thing. There are several Bangaal colonies or refugee camps near Rampurhat village. Tonight, just burn those colonies very secretly and utilize some of our constables to spread the rumors that the Ghotis have burned the houses of Bangaals out of jealousy and racism.
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Santosh:- Bengal is burning now. Already, 84 people have died in the clash between the Ghotis and the Bangaals in Bengal. I request all of you to maintain unity in your team. Is there any Bangaal in this team? The person who is a Bangaal, please raise your hand. Wow! There are no Bangaal players in our team. All are Ghotis. Thank God! At least for the time being, there will be no clashes in my team. Ok, guys, we have just 1 week left for our first match. Today, we will play a practice match for 1 hour at a stretch. Each side will have 7 players each.
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Jagdish:- Your honor! This case has no meaning at all. A columnist of a newspaper has written, ‘India is getting ruled by the British people for more than a century and the Indians are yet to play football. That’s why; Indians have decided to form their own football club and declare a war against the British footballers.’ Point to be noted, your honor, it is clearly stated in the article that the war will be declared against the British footballers, but not against the British Government. In another sentence of the article, it is written, ‘These Indian footballers will raise the swadeshi and patriotic spirit among the Indian youths if they can win this tournament against the British football teams. The British government has to appreciate this spirit in the near future.’ Now, you honor, I don’t find any word of hatred against the British government in this entire article. I don’t know why Mr. Roland and his departmental lawyer Mr. Sylvester have filed a case against Arindam. Moreover, Mr. Sylvester is absent on this hearing day.
Judge Johnson:- Mr. Roland, where is your lawyer?
Roland:- I have no clue what has happened to him. I need some time to find out why he is absent today. I request you to give us a date for another hearing.
Judge Johnson:- Mr. Sylvester has sent a letter to us. In that letter it is written that he fell down from the staircases yesterday and has been admitted in St. Mary Hospital. He took this case as per your request but after going through the details of this case, he found nothing wrong in the article. That’s why; he has requested to dismiss the case completely. Therefore, taking all the conditions into account, the Court has decided to dismiss the case and Mr. Roland, in future, if you file any false case like this against anyone, then the Calcutta High Court has the full right to take legal actions against you.
Roland:- I will surely take note of that, your honor. Thank you, your honor.
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Prafulla:- Ha ha ha…well done, Dhananjay. Mr. Sylvester will never dare to file any case against us. After all, he does not want to die at this young age. But, you could have hit at his one leg only. You broke his two legs with a bamboo stick, my goodness.
Dhananjay:- Don’t worry, Prafulla daa…he will take at least 4 months to become completely fit. By that time, many things will change in Bengal, he he he…
Prafulla:- But, who wrote that letter that was sent to the Judge Johnson?
Dhananjay:- I broke Mr. Sylvester’s legs only, not his hands. He wrote the letter with utmost care after seeing the pistol in my hand. Kaushik and Vikash were also having pistols in their hands, he he he…
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Richards:- I came to meet you. I am Mr. Richards, the President of EICFF. You are the Chairman of this ‘Akash-Baani’ radio center of Calcutta, right?
Mullick:- Yeah, I am. Tell me, what can I do for you?
Richards:- Recently, as you may be aware of the fact that an Indian football club has been formed by Mr. Devdas Bhaduri.
Mullick:- Yeah, yeah, I have read an article about it on the Bengali daily newspaper ‘Amritbazar Patrika’. So, what?
Richards:- I want all their football matches to be relayed live on your ‘Akash –Baani’ radio center. Don’t worry; if we get impressed by the quality of your live relays, then EICFF will be signing a 3 year contract with your radio center. Your radio center will be our official transmitting/ broadcasting partner for 3 years. In this case, your radio center will not have to pay anything to us to get the rights for live relays; rather we will pay you for 3 years.
Mullick:- But, why are you doing such a favor to our ‘Akash-Baani’?
Richards:- I am not doing any favor to your radio channel. I am just doing the marketing of football in India. Almost 70% of the people in India have a radio in their house. If we can do the live relays of all the matches of ‘Royal Bengal Tigers’ Club’, and if they win even a single match, then automatically, the young Indians will start playing football in their own villages or localities.
Mullick:- Ok, not an issue. Our representative Chinmoy will be there in all the venues to do the live commentary.
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Houghton:- Hello, Roland! Tomorrow, there is a football match between ‘Royal Bengal Tigers’ Club’ and ‘Mysore Masters’. Are you coming to watch that match at the ‘Midnapore Town Football Ground’ at 2.30 PM?
Roland:- Sir, are you asking me a question or are you indirectly requesting me to be present there at the venue as a spectator?
Houghton:- You are a very smart boy to understand my language. I am also going to watch that match. Let us see how these Indian footballers play the game of football against the mighty ‘Mysore Masters’ team.
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