‘But I …’
‘I know,’ Nannu interrupted. ‘I know.’
He took a few seconds to catch his breath. ‘You won.’ His face wrinkled into an all over smile.
‘How do you know?’
‘That medallion round your neck,’ Nannu nodded, ‘and my lucky socks.’
Jasper laughed.
‘There’s something I need you to do for me.’
Jasper wiped the tears away with the sleeve of his jumper and sat up straighter. ‘Sure, Nannu. Anything.’
His grandad swallowed again with difficulty. ‘I could really use a drink of water.’
Jasper jumped out of his chair. ‘Sure. Coming right up. Stay here.’
‘Where else am I going to go?’ he answered gruffly.
Jasper laughed even louder and hurried out of the room. He found his mum and dad and Lil and her family in a lounge area across from Nannu’s room. He ran over to his dad. ‘He’s okay. Nannu’s okay. I have to go and get him a drink. He wants water.’
Jasper ran down the corridor to the nurses’ station feeling light and happy. Into a world where things were how they should be and finally back where they belonged.
‘I’m not going to the dance with Tricky.’
Lil and Jasper sat on a bench in front of the hospital.
‘You’re not?’
‘I told him that he needed to ask Josie. After he apologised to her.’
‘What’d he say to that?’
‘He wasn’t sure why at first, but when he thought about it, he got it.’
‘Josie likes Tricky?’ Jasper scowled.
Lil shook her head. ‘Why do boys take such a long time to get things?’
‘I don’t know. Guess we’re made like that.’ Jasper looked down at the ground. ‘Lil?’
‘Sure,’ she answered happily.
‘You don’t know what I’m going to ask you yet.’
‘I said boys took a long time to get things. Girls are usually pretty quick and, yes, I’ll go to the dance with you.’
Jasper smiled. Asking Lil had been as easy as Nannu said. Only he hadn’t really asked, Lil had, just like Nanna did. Either way, the sky didn’t fall in and the world didn’t explode. Everything stayed as it was, and all felt perfectly normal.
JOHNNY SAYS:
Shooting isn’t a mystery or a matter of luck. It may seem like a simple skill because the great players make it look easy, but your ability to find the back of the net depends on the amount of work you’re prepared to put in. Work on your technique at practice, in the park with your friends – or just shooting against a wall by yourself!
‘It’s Grandma’s special. What do you think?’
Noggin stood before Jasper, Lil and Nippy in a long multicoloured cape and held his arms out.
‘It’s … very clever,’ Lil tried.
‘The judges will have to notice you at least,’ Jasper added with a smirk.
‘But wait, you haven’t seen the best part.’ Noggin turned around and on the back was a giant love heart pierced with an arrow.
‘Very romantic,’ Lil decided and looked around the room, ‘but which one’s your partner?’
Noggin blushed and nodded. ‘She’s right here.’
Lil’s face exploded into a smile. ‘Nippy!’
‘Yeah,’ Noggin blushed even more. ‘There wasn’t anyone else I wanted to ask.’
‘Me too.’ Nippy wore a long white dress with silk and feather wings on her back.
Diego pushed his way through the crowded red and green lit hall decked with hearts, flowers and mirror balls. ‘This is Maria.’
Diego introduced a small girl who looked about eight. ‘She’s my cousin,’ he whispered in explanation. ‘Mum made me take her.’
‘Well, look who’s here,’ Lil’s smile was even wider as she saw Josie and Tricky enter the hall.
‘But I thought she hated Tricky?’ Diego asked.
‘Me too,’ Jasper shrugged.
‘Everyone having fun?’ Jasper’s mum and dad stood behind them. His mum wore a long, frilled velvet coat over a red dress and his dad wore green tights, peaked hat and a puffy white shirt. ‘Maid Marion and …’
‘Robin Hood,’ Jasper winced. ‘I think we guessed.’
Lil elbowed him in the side. ‘You look great,’ he added quickly.
‘The award for the best dressed couple is going to be announced soon, so don’t go anywhere.’
‘Hey! What’s he doing here!?’ Nippy cried.
They saw Coach Wallace and his wife walk through the door. He spied them and hurried over. ‘Well, if it isn’t the champions of the Western District? I’ve heard all about the game. Couldn’t have played better apparently. Guess that means I’m not needed after all.’
‘No!’ Josie almost cried, then calmed down. ‘I mean, we might need you next season. If you’re free.’
‘I’m sorry Coach Riley had to leave suddenly like he did. Must have been tough on you.’
‘Yeah, we were pretty broken up about it,’ Jasper sighed, ‘but we had Lil’s brother to get us through.’
‘Should I be worried about my job?’
‘No,’ Lil added. ‘Vince has gone back to playing state and … it’ll be good to have the old coach back again.’
‘Ladies and gentlemen.’ The principal took hold of the microphone and poked it with his finger. He looked offstage from the painted and flower-strewn balcony he was standing on. ‘Am I on? Good. Firstly, I’d like a big clap for all the parents and friends who have helped to make this wonderful night possible.’
The room exploded into applause and whistles.
‘These very special events we have wouldn’t be possible without their support, but I know you don’t want me to rave on …’
‘Why doesn’t he ever say that at school assembly?’ Diego asked.
‘But it’s now time to announce the winner of the best dressed Romeo and Juliet.’
Jasper felt his face twitch and he suddenly had this intense need to use the bathroom.
‘You okay?’ Lil asked.
‘Sure,’ Jasper lied and squeezed his knees together tighter.
‘And the winners are …’ The principal tore open an envelope. ‘Jilly Leonard and Samuel Farley!’
The hall filled with the cheers and screams of the crowd. A heart-shaped spotlight clumsily stumbled over the crowd, trying to find the lucky winners, until it landed on Nippy and Noggin.
The rest of the Rovers screamed and blew kisses at the winners as they were bustled to the balcony to accept their award. Noggin’s face was as red as the metallic heart trophy he was handed. He fumbled it and Nippy laughed and caught it for him. Noggin managed to thank his grandmother before he looked like he’d stopped breathing and had to be helped off the stage.
The music started again and the dance floor filled with a swirl of capes, dresses, hats and tights.
‘Feel like an ice-cream?’ Lil yelled over the noise and pointed to an ice-cream freezer.
Jasper laughed. Softly at first, then louder.
‘What’s so funny?’
‘Nothing. I’d really like an ice-cream.’
Jasper took Lil’s hand and led the way around the crowded dance floor of parents, teachers and kids. It had been so simple for Lil to ask, and next time he’d make sure he could ask as easily as she did.
Like Johnny Warren used to say, ‘Life is like soccer – if you don’t take a shot, you’ll never score.’
Backs: The defensive positions in soccer. Your duty is to protect your back third of the field from attacking players. Don’t stray too far away from your duties; a clean breakaway from the opposition will leave your goalie helpless.
Boofhead: Something Jasper is called when he’s been caught daydreaming on the soccer field and ends up scoring an own goal for the other team. This is a good one to try to avoid.
Chip: A short kick over an opponent to a team-mate. If a goalie wanders too far out of the goal area, this kick can be used for
a cheeky goal.
Corner kick: If a defending player is the last to touch the ball before it goes out of bounds over the goal line, the attacking side gets a free kick from the corner arc at the nearest corner flagpost. This is a great opportunity to crowd the goal area and go for a winning header.
Cross: Passing the ball across the field in the direction of an open player. An accurate cross is deadly to defenders because they’re more focused on you than your team-mates.
Curve ball (also known as a bent or banana ball): When the ball is kicked across its side, causing it to spin and fly in a curve. Great for passing to avoid defenders or confuse a goalkeeper. This is David Beckham’s bread-and-butter and few do it better.
Dribbling: Running fast and in control with the ball at your feet. This essential soccer skill lets you evade an opponent or break away from a pack of defenders, opening up chances to score down the field.
Feint: Making an opponent think you’re dribbling in one direction and going in the opposite direction. Feints are skilled, practised moves, not just hocus-pocus. Brazilian players like Ronaldo are known for faking out opponents. Olè!
Flick: A quick, often unexpected pass with your foot or head. Skilled players are good flickers.
Forwards: The offensive positions in soccer. Your job is simple: keep the ball in your offensive side of the field, make clean passes to set up your team-mates and, if the opportunity is there, put the ball in the back of the net. If you’re a ‘striker’, you’re the go-to-forward with the best chance to score.
Free kick: A kick awarded to the fouled team at the spot where the foul happened. The ball must be stationary before the kick. In an indirect free kick, opposing players must stand at least 9.15 metres away from the ball, often shoulder-to-shoulder in a wall. A direct free kick means no one stands between you and the goal. Which means you have less of an excuse if you miss.
Goal area: The boxed-off area within the penalty area in front of the goal where the goalie stands most of the time (hopefully not daydreaming).
Goalkeeper: The last line of defence, the goalie stands in front of the goal and can use any part of their body to block, punch, deflect or trap the ball against their chest. Top goalies know exactly where to position themselves to block shots on goal.
Goals: The gateway to glory. Made up of a frame (two posts and a crossbar) and a net. This is where you kick or head the ball to score a goal. The ball must cross completely over the goal line for it to count. Hitting the crossbar, while common, gives you nothing more than frustration.
Header: A shot or pass taken with your head when the ball is delivered through the air. The header is frequently used to score goals from corner kicks. Consider your head your ‘third foot’.
Interception: Stealing a pass meant for another opponent. Great midfielders and defenders are known for their pick-pocketing abilities.
Marking: Sticking close to a particular opponent, preventing them from getting the ball or passing to their team-mates.
Midfielder: The position between the defenders and the forwards. Your job is to see the ball safely through the middle third of the field with clean passes. This is where the game is controlled and scoring opportunities created. Good midfielders know when to go on the offensive and when to give their backs support.
Offside: A foul occurring when a team-mate passes you the ball and there are not at least two players (including the goalie) between you and the goal. Play stops immediately and the other team takes a free kick. This stops glory hogs from camping out by the goal, waiting for the ball to come to them.
One-touch pass: Receiving a pass from one team-mate and immediately passing it to another with the inside of the foot (without trapping it). A volley is a one-touch pass taken in the air with your head.
Penalty area: The large boxed-off area around the goal area where the goalies can use their hands but other players can’t.
Penalty kick: A direct free kick taken by a team-mate when the opposing side commits a foul or a handball within their own penalty area. The shot is taken from a designated spot right in front of the goal and, more often than not, the goalie doesn’t have a prayer.
Penalty shootout: Often used to decide who wins games that are tied after regulation time and overtime. Both coaches choose five cool customers each to step up for a penalty kick. The team with the best out of five shots wins (or defeats Uruguay and goes to the World Cup like the 2005 Socceroos).
Push pass: A pass made with the inside foot for the best control and accuracy.
Sliding tackle: Sweeping along the ground to knock the ball from the opponent with an extended leg. You must slide from the side, not the back, and go for just the ball. A poor or overly aggressive tackle can result in a foul, a card, injury and dirty looks.
Through pass: Passing the ball through opponents to a running team-mate. An accurate through pass creates breakaway opportunities.
Trap: Controlling a passed ball – either on the ground or in the air – with your feet or chest. Keeping possession of the ball allows you to quickly pass, dribble or shoot.
Wings: The outside lanes of the field. Midfielders called right and left wingers look to deliver the ball to open forwards in the centre of the field.
Yellow card: A warning given by a referee for severe fouls and bad sportsmanship, like overly aggressive tackles or complaining about a bad call. If this happens twice, you’ll receive the yellow card’s mean cousin, the red card. See one of these and you’re out of the game immediately.
Deb has always been a mad reader and writer and often gets lost in her imagination. After studying teaching, she travelled to America, the UK, Africa, Europe and Asia, and drove around Australia. She studied Communications before working in TV for nine years, most of it as the producer/writer of Cheez TV at Network TEN. She then began writing the Max Remy Superspy series. Deb grew up in Sydney, Australia, and lives there now with her partner Todd. Deb says: ‘I grew up playing lots of sports, but despite how hard I trained, I was never very good at any of them. Like Jasper, though, I loved playing! Especially as part of a team. My grandad was also born in Malta, just like Jasper’s. I’d love to be a soccer legend too, but I guess I’ll have to be happy with my own daydreaming and kicking the ball around the park with my friends.’
Johnny Warren MBE, OAM, was nine when he was rejected by his local Under 12’s team because he was ‘too small and needed to go home and eat more porridge’. Despite this, he went on to lead the Socceroos as captain and vice-captain through three World Cup campaigns, from 1964 to 1974. Johnny witnessed every stage of Australian football for over fifty years, from the days when you were called names if you played soccer to today, when players such as Harry Kewell are celebrated in Australia and prized by overseas clubs. In 1988, he was inducted into the Australian Sports Hall of Fame, and in 2004 soccer’s world governing body, FIFA, awarded Johnny the prestigious Centennial Order of Merit. Johnny died in 2004, but his contribution to Australian football will not be forgotten.
Jasper Zammit is going to be a soccer legend. He can see the crowds roaring his name, can hear the commentators saying how fantastic he is, can see the soccer ball whizzing towards the goal … But right now he needs to concentrate, instead of daydreaming about the future right in the middle of a game with his actual team, the Rovers Under-11s!
When a new girl, Lil, joins the team, Jasper thinks he’s found someone as obsessed with soccer as he is. She even has a plan to help Jasper get his soccer-mad grandad and his dad to start talking to each other again after their big fight over Jasper’s dad quitting his job. There’s one hitch – Lil’s dad is the reason Jasper’s dad lost his job in the first place. Can the two still be friends?
Available Now
There’s a new kid at Jasper’s school. Aamir can’t speak English, but he knows a few tricks on the soccer field, and he’s soon invited to join the Rovers. The problem is, Eastville Kings player Badger Mackenzie can’t resist doing what he does best – badgering his oppone
nt to put them off their game. This time his target is Aamir. Someone will be sent off the field with a red card – but who will it be? And will it affect the Rovers’ dream of playing in the finals?
Available Now
www.maxremy.com.au
or visit Random House
Jasper Zammit Soccer Legend 3 Page 12
