The Striker Read online

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  Lil smiled as Tricky pulled a ‘you’ll keep’ face. Because Tricky had such a healthy opinion of himself, Josie loved keeping him in his place.

  ‘You can let me up now, Nannu,’ Jasper wheezed.

  ‘Oh yeah.’ Nannu pulled his grandson out of the dip.

  Jasper stood up and straightened out his shirt. ‘Thought I was going to be down there for days. You’ve got a lot of strength for an old man,’ he joked.

  ‘Easy on the old man stuff,’ Nannu warned. ‘I could outrun you kids any day and still have enough strength to carry you all home on my shoulders.’

  ‘So, twinkle-toes, are you ready?’

  Jasper knew that once Tricky got hold of a teasing angle he very rarely let it go.

  ‘Grandad says the dancing helps with timing and being able to second guess a player’s moves,’ Jasper explained.

  ‘That’s good, because you need all the help you can get,’ Tricky tossed his soccer ball from one hand to another. ‘Now let’s get down to the park and you can show us what you’ve learnt.’

  ‘As soon as you can control your mouth we can go,’ Josie shot back.

  Lil scanned the walls of Nannu’s flat, which were covered in signed posters of soccer greats, medals, pennants and snaps from his playing days, as well as old photos of his National Dancing competitions. Like Jasper, she loved being there.

  Lil spotted one she hadn’t seen before. ‘What’s this photo?’

  It was of a young boy standing on a wharf in front of a huge ship strung with streamers.

  Nannu looked to where Lil was pointing. ‘They were some of my first moments in Australia after we sailed here from Malta. All I had with me was my soccer ball, a small suitcase and …’

  ‘A pair of scuffed shoes with holes worn through to the bottom,’ Jasper finished. He’d heard the story a million times but each time he loved hearing it.

  ‘It’s true,’ Nannu nodded.

  ‘Why did you leave Malta?’ Lil asked.

  Tricky began to look worried. If they stayed any longer they’d run out of time for their soccer game. ‘Mr Zammit doesn’t want to stand around answering your questions all day, Lil. Why don’t we just …’

  But Nannu had already pulled the photo from the wall and shifted Ronaldinho aside. He settled onto the squeaking bed, unable to resist an invitation to tell a story. Josie sat beside him in a chair and Tricky landed heavily on the armrest, hoping they wouldn’t be staying too long.

  ‘During World War Two, Malta was bombed pretty badly. My parents had enough of war and heard about this country called Australia that was looking for people to move there. So they bought tickets for a boat, and three months later we arrived in a country where we didn’t know the language or the food, and we’d never even heard of a kangaroo. I was so frightened when I saw one for the first time I cried. I got the name Skippy from that moment on.’

  ‘That’s a great story, Mr Zammit, thanks for telling us. Now we have to …’

  Josie elbowed Tricky in the side and gave him a look that made him instantly quiet.

  ‘Lots of people from all different countries came here. It was really hard at first, but it didn’t take long for us “New Australians” to work out we had a few things in common, and one of them was soccer. I played on teams where none of us spoke the same language, but you know what? When we were on that field it felt like we’d been playing together since we were kids. After every game, we’d have huge parties where we all brought food from our own country, from all sorts of places like Hungary, Lebanon, Italy, Croatia. I hadn’t even heard of half of these places, but I can tell you, it was some of the best food I’ve ever tasted.’

  Nannu had often told Jasper how some of the players on his team had family who went missing in the war or were killed. Some of them had their houses blown up or had to escape because of an invading army. Some had stories that kept them awake at night and wouldn’t let them sleep, but Nannu said soccer helped them forget and gave them hope that life would never be that bad again.

  ‘But how did you play together when you didn’t speak the same language?’ Josie asked.

  Tricky fidgeted even more. ‘Stop asking questions,’ he whispered.

  ‘Stop being annoying,’ Josie whispered back.

  Nannu’s eyes would always sparkle at this point in the story, as if he was seeing a replay of those games in his head. ‘That is the beauty of the game. With soccer, it’s like everyone speaks the same language, and in my opinion that makes it the greatest game in the world.’

  There was a pause. Jasper even thought he saw a tear in Nannu’s eye.

  Jasper’s dad had told him how Nannu had often been teased for his funny accent, his olive skin and the strange food he ate. Nannu never spoke about that part and Jasper’s dad reckoned it was because it was too painful to remember. That’s why he mostly talked about the soccer.

  ‘Can we go now?’ Tricky asked quietly.

  ‘If it means we can stop listening to your voice, then yeah, let’s go.’ Josie stood up from her chair so suddenly that it unbalanced and sent Tricky collapsing to the floor. She headed for the door to the sniggers of Lil and Jasper.

  ‘You’d miss me if I wasn’t here.’ Tricky lifted himself up and followed her out. ‘Oh, and thanks Mr Zammit,’ he called over his shoulder. ‘That was a good story.’

  ‘Tricky?’

  Tricky stopped. ‘Yes, Mr Zammit?’

  ‘The great Brazilian player, Pele, used to say, “Never think you know everything.” There is always more to learn, and every day we get to know something new. You’re a good player and a good talker, but being a good listener is an even better skill to have.’

  Tricky’s confident manner cooled off a bit.

  ‘Now, go on. I don’t want to stand around answering your questions all day.’ Nannu gave him a cheeky smile.

  ‘Yes, Mr Zammit.’

  Josie pulled Tricky out the door and Lil and Jasper followed, leaving Nannu with his photo of the young boy with the scuffed shoes and the dream of one day playing for Australia.

  JOHNNY SAYS:

  There’s no point having a whole team of David Beckhams if you can’t pull together as a team. And ‘big’ players are open to extra attention from the opposing team – if their defence is good, they will keep your star player out of the game. Remember: a champion team will always defeat a team of champions.

  ‘Good afternoon, sports fans. Today I think you’re in for a real treat. Isn’t that right, Higsy?’

  ‘Dead right, Richy. It’s not often you get to see one of the world’s greats playing a friendly game of soccer almost smack bang in the middle of our own backyard.’

  ‘And soccer doesn’t get much better than that man there: Jasper Zammit. He has the skills and talent to outplay the best names this game has to offer, and yet he’s one of the nicest guys you could ever meet!’

  ‘I’d have to agree with you there, Richy. To see his play is pure magic but to meet him in person, well, it brings a tear to your eye.’

  ‘You’re very emotional these days, Higsy.’

  ‘Only over the big things in life, Richy, and soccer is one of the biggest.’

  ‘Well, get your hanky ready, Higsy, because there he is – Jasper Zammit himself! Look how calm he is. He can make every match seem like a game in the park.’

  ‘Yes, but there’s the big question that’s on everyone’s lips, Richy. A question that could change the nature of soccer as we know it. One of the biggest questions a soccer player can ever face. The question is …’

  ‘How’s my hair look?’

  Jasper stared at Tricky, wondering what he was doing in the middle of his daydream. Until he realised the daydream had ended and they were standing in the middle of the local park and Tricky was shoving his hair in his face.

  ‘Good. Fine.’ Jasper frowned. ‘Why do you care about your hair? It’s only a game of soccer.’

  ‘It’s never only a game of soccer when there’s a pretty girl around.�


  Tricky nodded his head to where a bunch of other kids were getting ready to play. One of them was a girl Jasper had never seen before, and in true Tricky style, he wasn’t going to waste a moment in letting her realise just how irresistible he was.

  ‘This shouldn’t take long.’ Tricky finished ruffling his hair and rubbed his fingers against his teeth to make sure they were clean and didn’t have any straggly bits of food in them.

  ‘What about the warm-up?’ Lil asked.

  ‘There’ll be time for that. I can’t ignore the call of destiny.’ Tricky pulled a pair of sunglasses from his pocket and headed over towards the girl and her friends.

  ‘Or the call of your own fat head,’ Josie scowled.

  Josie, Lil and Jasper leant into a series of lunges and stretches, while Tricky made his move.

  Even though Tricky’s confidence was a little over-exaggerated at times, Jasper had to admire the way he could walk up to a girl he didn’t know and start talking to her. Within a few minutes of solid Tricky manoeuvres, he and the girls were laughing and talking like they were old friends. He calmly looked over his shoulder and winked at Jasper.

  ‘How does he do it?’ Jasper flinched. He hadn’t meant to ask this out loud.

  ‘Don’t look, Jasper. You’ll only learn what not to do when you want to talk to a girl,’ Josie warned as she leant into a hamstring stretch. ‘You watch. I give him two minutes before his over-inflated opinion of himself brings it all crashing down.’

  Josie was right. In just under two minutes, while Tricky was demonstrating what looked to be one of his more impressive soccer moves, he tripped over a sports bag, stumbled backwards and fell into a garbage bin.

  ‘See?’ Josie shrugged.

  This time the girls weren’t laughing with Tricky. They turned and ran off into a jog around the park with their giggles sailing behind them like party streamers, leaving Tricky to haul his tightly wedged behind out of the bin.

  He brushed himself off, picked an old lolly from his shirt and dragged his disappointed face back to Josie, Lil and Jasper.

  ‘Let me guess, she needs a bit more time to work out that you’re the man of her dreams?’ Josie was jogging on the spot.

  ‘Not everyone gets it straightaway.’ Tricky tried not to look fazed. He took off his sunglasses and looked in their reflection. ‘I still look good. That’s the main thing.’

  Soon the park filled with kids from the neighbourhood, and the borders of the pitch were marked out with shirts and bags. Captains were chosen, teams were picked and the game got under way.

  Tricky started strongly, breaking free from his marker early and calling to accept a cross. He easily trapped the ball with his chest and bounced it on his knee a few times before cushioning it at his feet. He looked up quickly to see where the rest of his team-mates were, but also where the girl he’d spoken to before was.

  Josie called out for a pass but Tricky pretended not to hear her and dribbled quickly along the wing.

  ‘Hey! Stop hogging the ball, Tricky.’

  He ducked between two opposition players with short, sharp taps with the inside and outside of his boot, and when two players surrounded him, he gave them a sly grin before he flicked the ball behind him, spun round and drove it away with a strong instep kick to one of his fellow team-mates.

  Josie ran over to him. ‘What are you doing?’

  ‘I just need a little more time to show her how I can play. Gotta go.’

  Josie looked towards Lil and Jasper, who shrugged. Josie liked Tricky but sometimes the way he showed off made it hard to remember why.

  Play moved towards the penalty area and Tricky’s team lost possession. He saw an opportunity to get the ball again and was off. He raced across to the player in possession and, standing in front of him, marked his every move. Tricky was quick on his feet and didn’t let the opposition player get away with anything. In a lightning-fast glance, he noticed the girl in the background, watching him with a small smile on her face. He could tell she was impressed. Tricky was in the perfect position for a front block tackle. If he stole the ball this close to the goal, he could easily score.

  Standing firm on his non-tackling foot, he moved in. He made solid contact with the ball and, even though his opponent wasn’t giving it up easily, with a firm nudge he finally gained possession.

  But then he fell. He’d turned so sharply away from his opponent, his boot got caught as it dug into the grass and he lost his balance, falling heavily to the ground.

  ‘Aaah!’

  ‘Tricky!’ Josie called.

  All the players on the field ran towards him.

  He writhed on the ground, clutching his leg as Jasper landed on his hands and knees beside him.

  ‘Where does it hurt?’

  Tricky again cried out in pain. ‘My ankle,’ he wheezed. ‘I think I might have busted my ankle.’

  There was a tinge of fear in his voice.

  Jasper gave Lil a worried look. ‘I’ll go home and get Dad.’

  He ran across the park towards home as Tricky lay on the ground rocking back and forward in pain.

  Josie slowly and carefully took off his boot and sock. Her eyes widened. The twist had been bad. Tricky’s foot had already started to swell and discolour, and from the way Tricky was clenching his teeth and screwing up his face, the Rovers may well have lost one of their star strikers.

  JOHNNY SAYS:

  When I was ten, my Under 12’s team won the state championship. I was so excited when I heard there would be a special award night at the Sydney Town Hall – I couldn’t wait to hold the trophy! But the night before the presentation, officials discovered that one of the kids in our team, who didn’t even play in the competition, was older than twelve. We were disqualified for breaking the rules. I was devastated but down the track it turned out to be a great lesson for me, about accepting the rules and pushing through the disappointing times.

  ‘Aaah!’

  The cry came from inside the doctor’s office.

  Jasper, Lil and Josie sat with Jasper’s dad and winced.

  Jasper tried to stop his mind from imagining what was happening, but it kept seeing Tricky tied to an operating table with thick leather straps, while the doctor with his crazy hair, thick glasses and nervous twitch stood above him holding a giant saw, saying, ‘This won’t hurt a bit.’ Then he’d laugh hysterically.

  There was another cry.

  Jasper shook his head to drive the horror-movie image away.

  ‘It can’t be that bad,’ he scoffed. ‘Can it?’ he added nervously.

  ‘He’ll be fine,’ Jasper’s dad said. ‘You’ll see. He’ll be back playing in the park again in no time.’

  Jasper knew his dad said it to make him feel better, and because that’s what parents say when their kids are worried, not because he knew for sure. Jasper’s dad knew nothing about medicine and flinched whenever he had to dab antiseptic on a cut or stretch a bandaid over a sore!

  ‘What happened out there?’ his dad asked.

  ‘He fell,’ Josie said quickly, knowing that if the coach found out Tricky hadn’t warmed up properly before a game, he’d be in big trouble. ‘He just fell.’

  ‘Must have been a bad fall.’

  ‘Yeah,’ Josie gave the others a quick look. ‘It was.’

  The doctor’s door opened and he helped a limping and bandaged Tricky into the waiting area and onto a chair beside Jasper.

  ‘He’s all yours. He’s had a nasty sprain which has done some minor damage to a ligament. It’s only a mild injury and thankfully nothing’s torn and no bones have been broken or damaged.’

  Josie scowled at Tricky. ‘The way you were screaming we thought you were on your last legs.’

  ‘I’m better now.’ Tricky looked embarrassed. ‘But for a while there it was touch and go, wasn’t it, doc?’

  ‘Some people respond to pain more dramatically than others,’ the doctor explained with a smile.

  ‘Tricky? Dramatic? You
know, we’ve never noticed that,’ Jasper joked.

  Lil and Josie sniggered into their chests.

  ‘Mr Zammit, you’ve got to get me out of here before their bad jokes hurt me even more.’

  ‘So everything’s fine, doctor?’

  ‘It will be. He needs to wrap his ankle in an elastic bandage and keep it raised up high. Avoid putting any pressure on it and apply an icepack for fifteen to twenty minutes, four times a day for the next few days.’ He turned to Tricky. ‘And the next time you play soccer you might remember how painful today was and warm up properly.’

  Jasper’s father scowled. ‘Just fell, eh? Tricky, you know the rules.’

  ‘Not when there are girls around,’ Lil frowned.

  ‘We better get you home. Your dad had to finish something at work but he should be there by the time we arrive.’

  But Tricky wasn’t going anywhere. Not until he knew one thing. ‘So doc, after these few days’ rest, I can play soccer this Saturday?’

  ‘Not this Saturday or the one after.’ He said it like he wasn’t ruining his career.

  ‘But I have to play!’ Tricky looked like a two-year-old kid about to throw himself on the floor in a tantrum, which he might have done if his ankle didn’t hurt so much.

  The doctor stared at Tricky seriously. ‘If you want that ankle to get better so you can play soccer again, you’ll stay off the field and away from any training for two weeks.’

  Tricky slumped into his chair like he’d just been told Christmas had been cancelled.

  ‘I’ll make sure he does what you say,’ Jasper’s dad promised.

  But as the doctor walked away and Tricky was helped into the car, Josie, Lil and Jasper felt the same slump sink into their shoulders. Tricky did have a fat head, but he was great on the field and usually played as a team member. If they had to do without him for two weeks, they’d be a player down, which would throw their game plans and ruin their chances of getting to the finals.

  Even though Coach Wallace told them to be proud of themselves whether they won or lost, it was hard not to want the big prize: to stand on the podium on presentation day accepting the Grand Final trophy for being the winners of the Western District Soccer Championship.