Hi all,

I have great news for you, but I will have to go into some detail to show you how we prepare for this Cup Final.

Preparation

The day started with us meeting up at Mike’s pub, a great player of his time and the best supporter you could have. Anyway, we all met there and were welcomed with ice cold juice and a big portion of pasta. It was just fit for a king, all sat around and spoke kak for about 45 minutes and then drove to Club Sport Maritimo. Upon arrival, we all gathered in the pub house to watch Arsenal play Sunderland on DSTV.

The guys were laughing and joking about the game ahead of us and what the season meant to them while watching TV. I felt sorry for Arsenal, they were actually lucky to draw if you ask me. After the game on TV, we headed off to Callies. Picture a average stadium, great lights and a pitch to die for. I can’t say there were thousands of followers or die hard supports, but we had our group of +75 people.

The guys do not really have much time to warm up, but for both Cup Finals, we arrive well in advance so that we can get the old muscles warm. I mean old as I’m the second oldest in the team and I’m only 29 in two days. The oldest is Marco by a couple of days.

Cup Final - Maritimo vs Glen - 4 October 2008

The game started and you could feel the vibe, Maritimo wanted this one really bad. We have a history with the Glen and this year they have always beaten us. We had to show them who was boss, this is one trophy we have won many times over. We took the lead early by a critical blunder by the goalkeeper, Marco tried to cross the ball and the ball eventually rolled in.

Yes Gary, I know. You want to know what formation we played, we indeed played 4-4-2. Our defenders were on form and the midfielder’s and strikers hungry for the ball. We played some good ball and could of scored more, but the half ended 1-0.

The second started as the first ended, both teams trying to stamp their authority. The Glen have a great team and really deserved to take the league, but this was where Maritimo had to shine. Manny, our coach, was always shouting orders out. For the people who don’t know him, he can be loud and rude, but always a great coach and always thinking of his players. Most referee’s fear him, it intimidates them.

The game was close, but I can assure you that we would not concede. There was just no room for mistakes, we played ball and dominated the game. So the game ended 1-0 to us, the celebrations started.

MARITIMO 1-0 GLEN

Wow, what a feeling. I have won loads and loads of medals that I didn’t know what I was going to do with this one. I actually received 2 medals this week, a silver and a gold.

Anyway, the guys showered and we all went up to the pub. There were a lot of people, but eventually it was as if it has always been a Maritimo pub, the guys were drinking and the entertainment was excellent. When a couple of soccer guys gets drunk together, the impossible become possible. This can be scary, but we are all adults. Ja ja, that last statement would not hold up in any court.

What happend next is …………

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