Martian Dawn

Part 3, Chapter 12. Beto Aguilar and the Magnate's Dream

"The players have taken the field. Head referee today is Armando Ortíz, captain of the Aguila. Team captains are Mitchell for the Colonials, and Duma for the Aguileros.

...And the ball is thrown in. They're jumping; HA! It slammed off the dome! Duma headbutts the ball, and OO! Mitchell headbutts Duma's jaw. Are they going to...? No, Advantage is to the Aguileros, so no foul is called. Ball is received by Gabad..Gbadam... Number 7. Colonial defenders Ferguson and Clark attempt to intercept... Where is the ball? Foul! Foul is called against Colonial #3, Clark. Free kick for... Gba-dam-os. Dawn, are we seeing the beginnings of a dirty game on the part of the Colonials?"

"I'd be ashamed if I thought that were so, but I'm certain it's not, Jimmy. We're simply seeing what we talked about, earlier--the players struggling to learn how to control the ball. Just now, when you said you couldn't see the ball, Gbadamos was carrying it on his chest. The foul came when Clark attempted to take possession."

"I see. Well, there's the kick, and that's a successful save by Roarke, who kicks it downfield--mercy, look at that ball fly--intercepted by Rosales, who passes to Duma, who passes to Pham; I see what you mean by chest-carry--the ball just won't drop if the player maintains their speed. That's going to make it hard for defenders. Pham to Duma--he shoots, intercepted by Mitchell, playing as Sweeper. Mitchell passes to Weatherby, who passes to Singh. The ball hasn't touched the ground since it went in play. Small is on Singh like pollen on a bee and OH MY GOD LOOK AT THAT MOVE! Singh somersaults right over Small's head and shoots for the high hoop! GOLLLLL!"

"Let's replay that move in slow-mo. Check out how she cradles the ball in her lap as she initiates the somersault, and then extends her leg, feeding the ball to her foot, and she's actually upside down when she kicks! Are you sure the Colonials haven't been practicing?"

"They've been practicing football for a few weeks now, but low gravity acrobatics is a common Martian passtime, especially for the younger colonists."

"Tell us a little about Singh, while we wait for the ball to be thrown in."

"Well, she arrived on Mars in '51. On Earth, she holds dual citizenship in India and Canada, and she's played amateur football in both countries."

"I guess the Colonials have their own ringers. This match promises to be full of surprises. Morales throws the ball to Roche, who dribbles--no he's lost control, it's picked up by Emitarom, who passes--intercepted by Duma, who chest carries the ball to the end zone, but the tight Colonial defense is hard to penetrate. He goes high, and... passes to Reyes, who shoots...GOLLLLL! And the game is tied again, one to one. Dawn, how much do you know about football formations?"

"You're quizzing me, Jimmy? Sure, I did my homework. The Aguileros have adopted an aggressive "Christmas tree" formation to take advantage of Duma as playmaker and Pham as striker. Reyes and Gdabamos fill out their forward team as wingers. The Colonials are combating that with a classic Cattenacio formation. This combats the strong offense of the Aguileros by creating a two-tiered defense with team captain, Mitchell, serving as Sweeper. It emphasizes teamwork over individual skill and should make the Aguileros work hard for every goal."

"I'm impressed, Dawn. That was an excellent analysis of what we're seeing. Ferguson throws the ball to Kawase, who chest-carries it--Foul! Interference by Roche. Free kick awarded to Kawase. Well, that's one way to break a chest-carry. I'm pretty certain the defending team is better off with a free kick than a chest-carry. I predict that technique will be a problem for the long-term development of the Martian game."

20 minutes later...

"And that's the half time whistle. The score is 4 to 3 for the Aguileros. We'll be right back with an interview with Roberto Aguilar-Serrano, after these messages."