Well what a quick passage of time it really doesn’t seem like two years have passed since we were last hosted by Nanterre. For those of you unfamiliar with the setup Nanterre host a  tournament inviting teams from their twin towns in England, Italy, Algeria and some nearby French teams including the ominous sounding Paris St German

Having opted to travel via Eurostar we emerged from the Chunnel into a horrendous looking grey afternoon with the heavens fully open ever the optimists we stuck by the weather forecast and predicted a fair weekend!

Luckily by the time we arrived at Gard du Nore the rain was only lightly drizzling and on arrival in Nanterre the rain had stopped so the forecast of light showers and a slim chance of rain over the weekend looked a fair one.

A brief unpack and we were out of the hotel to give the boys a chance to blow of some steam at the Nanterre stadium where we were very pleased to see the gravel pitches from previous years had been replaced by a top of the range Astroturf to supplement the magnificent main grass pitch and stand. Dave put the boys through their paces and the parents were able to stand back and watch both the boys and the Nanterre teams training – 1^st lesson for the weekend train like you mean it!

We were invited to visit a local park to see the opening of a performing arts festival and then for some food at a local school hall in the evening.

So up and at them in the morning and the boys arose from there slumber into what looked to be a fair morning – breakfast and a quick walk to the stadium and we were off.

Now for the uninitiated the format of the competition is a group stage whereby the first and second in each group get to complete for places 1 through 8 and the 3^rd and 4^th for the 9^th through 16^th place so each and every team has something to play for from the first to the final whistle

Our first game was up against LSO Colombes so up and at them …. Er no…. the boys played like they had been travelling all night and got straight off the Eurostar. There was no passion, no passing just kick and rush – they went down 0-2 to a team the boys could have beaten so easily and who eventually finished 6th

So back to the stands for a debrief from Dave and then sent off with some thoughts to ponder for ½ an hour knowing that it was now win or bust time.

The next match saw the boys up against what would turn out to be one of four Nanterre teams they would face in the competition knowing it was a must win match they set out to the Astroturf with more resolve and a few choice words of “Wake UP” ringing in their ears. The performance was ok 90% of the time in the Nanterre half but still no real penetration long hopeful balls which ran through to the goalie and Dave chanting the same mantra from the first match – Get it down – out wide – use the width.

Finally one moment of brilliance from K. Vyas rescued the result facing the corner flag level with the goalpost and a the goalie scrambling for the ball he performed what could only be described as a pirouette totally bamboozling the opposition players and goalie – from the view the parents had it appeared that he managed to drag back the ball and use the back of his heal twice in the spectacular manoeuvre  1-0 and we head to the final game following a lunch break

To emphasize what a well organised tournament this is even during the lunch break the players are entertained with a penalty tournament.  Basically every boy had the chance to enter and then split into four groups they keep taking penalties until they miss and are eliminated. The boys can hold their heads up from the results of this one as 3 boys got through to the final 25 or so from a total that must be circa 320-350 boys from both the U11 and U13 age groups who participate in the matches. Following misses from two of the boys the Cassiobury King of the penalties was J. Pickard who finally lucked out getting one of the best (and biggest) goalies of the tournament and had to settle for 7^th Place.

We entered the final group game knowing we must win and win well as the Nanterre 2 team we faced were sitting at the top of the group following easy wins in their first two encounters.. So up and at them….  FINALLY the boys woke up, passing was slick, out wide or threaded through the proverbial needle. A. Allaway opened his account with a goal to rival the spectacular effort by K. Vyas in the last match. A pinpoint pass from the midfield saw him race through the defence and as the goalie came to meet him he calmly lobbed him from the edge of the area 1-0 and the boys were flying. Total dominance ensued Nanterre played some slick football getting the ball out wide to their pacey wingers, no problems there with K. Vyas tracking back from the right midfield and G. Bishop slotted in at right back they were easily contained, similarly on the right Nanterre wing with R. Troude in the midfield slot and O. Shann at full back similar parity and the boys held firm, So Nanterre tried through the middle and if they could finally force their way through the interchanging midfield of W. Parkinson, B.  Bains, A. Cox, K. Vyas or R. R. Troude they ran straight into J. Pickard the calmest player on the park who took the ball and sent the boys forward again. The occasional long ball or hopeful shot was easily dealt with by E. Wiley, who although not troubled in the match for vast periods looked totally in control. As the match settled into the familiar pattern the boys put the result beyond doubt following a Nanterre goal kick they tried a neat triangle to get the ball back to the goalie (back passes are allowed) but they didn’t count on the anticipation and speed as A. Allaway intercepted and rounded the goalie to make it 2-0.

Late on in the match the class of the opposition finally made headway and a deep cross from the right was hung up and the left midfielder aided by a good foot height advantage leapt high above the defender on the back post to head the ball home – almost reminiscent of Ruud Gullit in his glory days !. That was Nanterre’s one and only chance the boys saw out the remainder of the game without any heart stopping moments.

What a performance and result … but alas it was not enough the boys had paid the penalty for not performing in the first match and finished the group tied for first with Nanterre and LS O Colombes but unfortunately in 3^rd on goal difference

To put the quality of the Nanterre team into perspective they were to go on in the next qualifier and book themselves into the semi-final only to inexplicitly withdraw from the Sunday fixtures

So our last match on Saturday was against yet another Nanterre team who we had to beat to ensure we were going into Sunday aiming for 8^th which was the best position we could now achieve (1^st and 2^nd in each group now were playing for 1^st-8^th and 3^rd and 4^th for 9^th-16^th)

The performance was a breeze Nanterre never troubled the boys and starting with what appeared to be one of the quickest goals of the tournament A. Allaway bagged a brace

So Saturday night and we all went into town the boys opting for Pizza – no surprise there and we were able to find an restaurant with an upstairs room fitting all 25 of us the boys ate first and before the adults even had their food were off and out to the local park – Ability looked after by Phil Cox who paid the penalty as baby sitter following his choice to get served independently as he wanted to sit in the square and listen to some local accordion music – cheers Phil. – Although Sukhman did go to babysit Phil !

The boys came back as the adults finished their meal and the evening of my birthday was rounded off with Chocolate cake carried by my son which survived exceptionally well and managed to be cut into around 16 slices for the boys and the few parents who were still able to force food into their expanding bodies.

So Sunday morning came and following a very unenthusiastic warm up session they boys were off to play Seizième the winner going forward into the 8^th-9^th play-off different morning but unfortunately the same result the boys didn’t click, yes there was more endeavour and yes we had all the play a hat full of chances fell to the boys but W. Parkinson’s cultured left foot sent the ball agonisingly close on a couple of occasions and some lovely angled balls were excellently controlled on the chest by A. Allaway but the end result was shots miss-hit or wide of the mark.

That said it was looking increasingly like a draw was on the cards until a long punt forward was glanced through the heart of the Cassiobury defence and their striker was able to slot the ball home. Unfortunately the glancing backward header was supplied by the Cassiobury midfield not a moment of brilliance by the opponents 0-1 and that was that.

So our journey was nearly over only the 11^th-12^th play-off match with the Nanterre 3 team to go and then a long after noon before the final and presentations

The boys re-shaped for the final match giving E. Wiley a rare outfield excursion and A. Cox taking over the gloves. With a point to prove the boys were flying again K. Vyas skimmed the outside of the post with the third touch of the game, the defence was rarely troubled and the boys were swapping positions with aplomb A. Cox was confident G. Bishop, J. Pickard and O. Shann untroubled, K. Vyas, W. Parkinson and R. Troude impeccable in midfield, 2 minutes later and the back line was changed with J. Pickard moving into midfield and E. Wiley commanding the centre. J. Pickard showed effortless control in the middle easily breaking up the attacks and then a slide rule pass inside the defence released A. Allaway who rounded the oncoming goalie and then swivelled and slotted the ball passed the defender who had covered the line 1-0 and game over we never looked troubled. Dave moved the boys around again and B. Bains slotted into the midfield and J. Pickard up as centre forward. Then came the moment that would have rounded J. Pickard’s tournament off completely from centre back to midfield the match winning pass then to centre forward the ball came arching over and he was off into an overhead kick in the middle of the oppositions penalty area. Alas he connected but not quite goal bound so the match ended at 1-0 and the boys had to settle for 11th

So they thought it was all over

Following the lunch break the boys challenged the dads and a “friendly ! !” kick about ensued, the dads lead by the impressive Nihal handed them a football lesson including some memorable moments like the 50/50 challenge by Carl on his son (ouch), big Greg the right winger the only player all weekend to get the better of J. Pickard (although he did have to flatten him first – and J. Pickard got up to get stuck in again). A. Allaway looking dwarfed in a full size goal – sorry you’ll never be big enough to be a goalie and the boys finally realizing that to beat a bigger (and more skilful) team you really do have to pass !

In all we had a great weekend watching some very entertaining football on show in the U13’s the Algerian’s although not in the final were a joy to watch, our old friends from Pesaro in Italy held their own playing out of their age group and the wonderful organisation provided by ES Nanterre

On behalf of all the boys I’d like to thank and the other parents who made it all happen, Amber the fixture and social secretary  - yep you’ve now got the job for 2011/12. Karl and John for making sure we needed a social secretary, Phil for his babysitting duties Sukhman for hers ! , Bernadette for the repeated laps of the stadium with Scarlett, Indi for his unflappable charm and Avitej for his unwavering support, Greg the official photographer  - sorry no the website won’t support the 600 photo’s, Barry for his biscuit supply, Chis for his unwavering knowledge on football, Nihal for leading out the victorious dad’s team and wanting to know when he can go to France to support his brother again.

But mostly Dave for organising the trip for the 3^rd time in 6 years – here’s to the next one Vive la France, Vive la Nanterre.