It's been an interesting few days. Last Monday, I got a lift to an English Town meeting with my co-teacher Jio's husband, 'Tom'. En route, he enthusiastically enquired about my willingness to join a soccer team. I replied in the affirmative. When asked 'What is your level?' I thought about saying 'shite', but truthfully informed him that while my technique and shooting are adequate, my general physical condition (i.e. strength and stamina) has been woeful for as long as I care to remember. He invited me to come along to a 5-a-side astroturf game that Friday.
I invested in a pair of boots and a ball, and went along to the session. I scored five goals in a 10-9 win, generally impressing my exclusively Korean team-mates. The pace was decent enough, but the Korean lads tend to be a bit lax on the defensive side of the game. I was able to find much more space, beat men and get my passes away than I would in Ireland, where the style of play is more 'physical'. I did run out of steam towards the end, so I went in goal, where I blocked a late point-blank effort with my genitalia. This left me in some discomfort, but I was amused by Tom's assertion that 'it hurt more for you - European penis very big'!
The following morning, I played a full-length, full-pitch game against one of the other Sangju teams. Still somewhat stiff from the previous evening, I didn't make much of an impact at first. I was playing on the left wing, hoping for licence to drift infield, but our left-back had a tendency to neglect his defensive duties, so I spent a lot of time and effort covering him. I did have a decent shot saved, though, on a rare foray infield. In the middle of the second half, with the score at 4-4, I drifted in behind the strikers, as I wasn't seeing much of the ball. Almost immediately, I got on the end of a lay-off from one of the strikers and drilled it into the bottom corner from just outside the box. We ended up winning 6-4, but I was a passenger for the last fifteen minutes, thanks to exhaustion and blisters on my foot. A good workout nonetheless, and I feel comfortable with the general standard and style of play, which makes a change from my usual timid displays on the UL astroturf/indoor pitches.
On Saturday night, I ended up getting plastered with Joe, Simon and Adam, in celebration of Mr. Leiner's birthday. The beer went down very well, and in enormous quantities, and it was all compounded by some tequila at the end of the night. I ill-advisedly cycled home, and as far as I recall, was all over the road. I lost my bike lock somewhere along the way, which I didn't realise until this morning. Still a bit run-down and tired today, especially after watching the World Cup final last night. One more class to go, though - but I have to do five lesson plans in the next 24 hours. Could be a bit of a disaster...
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