SOCCER PHILOSOPHY

'Aiyaa.. look at that, Ayah', kata Abang sedikit kecewa.

' Yela Abang! We wear green and they are wearing white pulak', jawab aku.
'It's ok la Ayah, we just watch. It revenge time!!!', sahut Zaim.
'Yup, let's hope so', kata aku sambil terus menumpukan pandangan ke tengah padang. Abang pon berbuat sama.

Sesekali Abang bertanya tentang permainan dan aku cuba menjawab mengikut pengalaman aku.

'Ayah, why the defenders keep fouling the opponents?', tanya Abang.
'Well, if you would notice, both the left and right defenders are much shorter than KL's strikers, especially the big Orang putih No 23 tu. So, you got to play a little rough, hurt them a little bit... that would keep them from trying to be clever ..' kata aku. Itu jawapan aku masa aku main bola dulu.
Abang hanya angguk. Tak tau kalau dia setuju atau tidak.

'But, that's not good, the guy can die', kata Abang.
'No la Abang. It's all about psychology. Apart from physical skills and stamina, you gotta use your head as well', aku cuba nak elaborate. 'Like that look now,' aku menunjuk ke petak penalti pasukan baju putih. Seorang pemain baju putih tergolek kesakitan kerana dikasari penyerang baju merah. Seorang pemain baju putih lain dengan cepat menerpa ke pemain baju merah seolah-olah mencari gaduh.

'What's happening Ayah!', tanya Zaim.
'The obvious thing is that the red guy kicked the white guy down. But, you know why the other player confronted the guy in the red eventhough thereferee has blown his whistle to indicate foul?', tanya aku kepada Abang.

'Why?', tanya Abang balik.
'What he meant by confronting is to tell off the guy that if you hurt one of us, there are 10 more of us who is gonna get you. You better not do that if you know what's good for you. He didn't say it but his action spoke the same thing', cerita aku.

'Why he want to warn like that?', tanya Abang lagi.
'It's called playing as a team, if one guy is down more will come to take his place. One down 10 more to face. It's a mental thing. It will also draw your team together to be more cohesive and united', cerita aku lagi.
Zaim mengganguk lagi.

Adik tak banyak tanya. Sesekali dia tanya tadi ialah berapa minit nak half time. Sebab dia nak makan KFC. Dan sekali lagi dia bertanya ialah bila nak habis.

Selesai perlawanan, kami keluar dari stadium dengan cepat. Memang pon begitu macam masa dulu sebab tak ramai yang datang menonton. Tapi aku lihat Abang macam puas aja. Sebab agaknya dendam dah terbalas. Aku pon puas.

Johor FC 1 Kuala Lumpur 0