Actually it’s a constellation. And yesterday, they got a chance to radiantly shine at the Jim Archdekin Recreation Center stadium in Brampton.
Who are they? You know them by name; you’ll recognize them when you see them, but rest assured that you have never seen them come together shoulder to shoulder to become the unstoppable force that they are turning out to be: The Barcelona stars!
First Trophy
This past weekend, having been graciously invited to participate in the ALCA (Alliance of Cameroonians) one-day championship, our warriors proved their worth by adding the first feather to their cap.
The day began with a special request by the Toronto Cameroonian team, The Toronto Lions, to settle an uneven score with our Barcelona Stars who had previously defeated The Toronto Lions in a friendly match the previous week-end.
It was a hard-won battle with our Barcelona Stars suffering their first casualty that resulted in a 1-0 defeat at the end of the first half. However, led by their fearless leader and coach, Dreds, also known as “El Moreno”, “Rasta”, or plain “Papi-Chulo”, our warriors changed their strategy, ten-folded their tenacity, and well into the second half managed to even the score bringing the match to a 1-1 tie. Subsequently, they drew even more strength from unknown sources and managed to score the winning goal.
Congratulations to the striking warriors, Q and Osvaldo who each pierced the heart of the lions with their history-making goals!
Second Match: Saga
Upon conclusion of that first match, it was discovered that another battle had been fought simultaneously in the adjacent field by New Mexico team and the Brampton’s Cameroonians, a counter-part of the Toronto Lions in Toronto.
Unfortunately, as it often happens in war and love, New Mexico suffered an unfortunate 2-1 defeat at the hands of the “Brampton Lions”. Although we credit and salute the victory of this team, New Mexico is eager for a re-match given that yesterday’s match was rather abruptedly terminated by a referee decision due to odd and unusual circumstances toward the end of the second half.
The Championship Match
At exactly 5:40 p.m., the Brampton Lions and our Barcelona Stars entered the field to wrestle the trophy from each other’s claws. It was bound to be an adrenalin-pumping encounter that resulted in the author of this article getting a migraine headache that lasted till early hours of the following day! I’m not joking when I say that! Many of you saw me massaging my scalp…
Initially it all appeared an easy victory: our warriors led the Brampton Lions by an easy 2-0 defeat by the end of the first half. As a result of this, I let my guard down and instructed my coach to give my guys on the bench a chance to “get some exercise” against these easily-domesticated lions. Boy! Would that cost me dearly!
The result of that mistake was the Lions scoring one goal after the next bringing the game to a draw! Ouch! My head began aching. My coach threw his arms up in the air in desperation. My warriors on the bench were about to lynch me! Solution? Solution? Restore the team as it was in the first half! Quickly! Quickly! Pull out four players in one shot. The result? Sigh! Sigh! Our defence restored the confidence in the midfield who began to support the strikers, and….bingo! A GOAL against the Lions! The crowd roared in excitement! My warriors went nuts! But my headache continued! Then shortly afterwards bang! Another goal by my warriors.
We were approaching the end of the match. The Brampton Lions’ goalie began complaining of chest pain. The game continued. We reached the tip of the end of the match. Lines men and coaches began drawing their attention to their watches. The ref indicated two minutes. Time seemed to become an eternity. And then, in that unexpected moment…ouch! A penalty awarded to the Brampton Lions…and, they…S-C-O-R-E!!!!
And then…the match is over. And the winners: The Barcelona Stars!!!!!!!
I take a deep breath and massage my forehead. The pain won’t go away. I look far in the distance and the goalie is lying down. We go take a look. He seems ok, but he complains that he can’t breathe properly…the ambulance arrives, the fire-men. They re-assure us he is okay.
My God! Talk about an action-packed week-end!
The Warriors by Name
Needless to say, The Barcelona Stars have developed a new identity and membership to their team is by-invitation only once you have proven your worth in battle.
The list of members who battled yesterday is the following: Goalie: Wilhelm. Defenders: Tony “Lobo”, Mauricio “Tico”, Pablito, Tyrone. Mid-fielders: Hayden, David, Pedro “Tico”, Mario “Ecuador”. Strikers: Osvaldo, Mario Morales, Michael, Q.
Although as mentioned above, membership to this team is by-invitation-only, two non-official members proved their worth in battle: Marcelo, and Rhory, defender and mid-fielder respectively.
The following individuals are actual official members but were unfortunately absent yesterday: Jayro, Sammy, Francois (Defenders), and of course, “El Moreno” who volunteered to step-in as coach. And boy! Did he do a fine job!
Goal Scorers
Special acknowledgement is given to Q and Michael for “piercing” the heart of the Toronto Lions. And the same great recognition is due by the goal scorers in the championship match: Osvaldo (2 goals), Michael and Pedro.
Special acknowledgement is given to Rhory for scoring in the first match while playing with New Mexico against the Brampton Lions.
Word of Appreciation
Special thanks to the Alliance of Cameroonians for graciously inviting us to participate in their tournament and festivities. We are honored to have been your guests. We hope that this will be the beginning of a lasting friendship that will set an example of good sportsmanship to our communities!
Au revoir mes amis et on espere que le prochain match aura lieu bientot et que vous serez tous la!
Alfonso Cárcamo