Читать книгу Brilliant - Greg Pius - Страница 11

Simon's team took to the field after half time. It was then that it registered on the collective consciousness of the supporters that something was not right. To their shock and horror Simon was not with his team. He had been replaced by an International striker the club had just acquired. A mass walkout of half the supporters followed this discovery.

The overseas striker had expressed a desire to play football under Australian conditions. He was very good at his skill level, but with no previous experience in Australia, he could not handle the extra bounce of the football. No goals were scored by Simon's team that half.

The arrival of this international only seemed to fuel the vigor with which the defenders sought out the new striker. The game deteriorated into tit for tat, with many players being injured. Yellow cards and even red cards became the norm. The fans were unhappy that Simon was not on the field. They started to boo the attempts of the international striker to score goals. The opposing teams yelled insults at each other as play turned into all out warfare on the pitch.

Well out of what was happening on the field, Simon sat on the bench talking to his teammates. Like their supporters in the stands, Simon's peers were not happy seeing Simon benched. They started talking about a player strike if it happened again.

After the match the coach was the only one to praise the efforts of his new player. The resentment at losing, poisoned the air inside the change room. The captain and coach were seen to be locked into a bitter argument. Things did not look good for the rest of the season.

As always happens, this disharmony became common knowledge around the home team's training venue. It was not long before sports journalists started picking up on these negative vibes. A very ambitious reporter got into the drinking hole pub where some of Simon's peers went after practice sessions. They only drank modest amounts of alcohol so this reporter had to charm her way into their confidence. She started by saying,

"My name is Simpson, Mila Simpson. I am a great fan. Can I have your autographs?"

Her name was not Simpson and her fellow jurnos just called her 'Dazzle', a play on her real first name of Dass. But she was using a pseudonym to hide her real intent. The besieged players all signed autographs on napkins then passed them over to this startling beautiful young woman. She said in a treacle laden voice,

"I am sooo grateful. Can I buy you all a round of drinks?"

They were all close to their allowable blood alcohol limit that was set out in their player's contracts. But everyone had had their test that afternoon. So they risked it. A chorus of,

"Mine was a double whisky.. '

"I was drinking this Underground Spirits Vodka.."

"Mine was the Underground Spirits Gin..."

Sensing that she would struggle justifying such an expensive round of drinks to her editor, Dass said,

"The double whiskey will have to wait until you win the championship. I don't mind paying for Underground Spirits vodka and gin. They are reasonably priced. So is that okay?"

Free alcohol was always welcomed so the players accepted her amended shout. Dass was careful to wait until after they had downed their drinks before saying,

"I was saddened to hear that there was some friction in my favorite team of players. Nothing too serious I hope?"

Her timing was excellent. The players had left the refreshment stage and were all in a more maudlin mood. After staring at their now empty glasses one broke the mood by saying,

"You should have heard what Coach Janerio said to our captain..."

Sensing the inside information was about to break, Dass said,

"Why don't I get us another round then we can talk it out, just between friends."

When the drinks arrived so did the 'dirty linen' info. Another player gushed out between gulps of his vodka,

"The General Manger, that 's Mr. Eduardo, had to break up the fight between Janerio and a few senior players. He told them all to shut up about it."

On and on went the revelations. By the time Dass was able to slip away she had the beginnings of a great scoop.