Even cyclone Fani had to make way for a bigger wave called Indulge Tiki Taka 2019. The sultry and humid Sunday afternoon saw more than 200 soccer enthusiasts— young and old — participating and cheering in an exciting football match hosted by Indulge The Morning Standard, along with the German Football Academy (GFA) at V/S Sports Arena, on Sarat Bose Road.
The tournament had two categories — Under-10, with 12 participating teams; and Under-13, with three teams. Both groups had two parents and four children in each team.
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The event saw spirited kids and their fathers pitted against each other, in opposing teams, in 15-minute matches. “Tiki-Taka is a one-of-a-kind Foot vs Genes initiative by Indulge and GFA. It was great to see so many parents turn up, and I was amazed to see the fearlessness of the children, dribbling past many bigger-sized players,” said Shatadru Lawrence Dutt, regional head, East and South GFA, and owner of V/S Sports Arena.
There were a total of 15 teams, namely Rainbow, Double Lunge, Hocus Pocus, Step Over, Roll Heel, Single Lunge, Pull Back Vee, Rivelino, Roulette, Fake Cross, Elastico, Cryuff Turn, Okocha, Rabona and Ronaldo Chop, who played in the two categories of the tournament.
The winning team from the Under-10 category was Pull Back Vee, who slayed through the finals, defeating Single Lunge, Rivelino, and Rainbow. “Our captain, Rayan, is a good striker, and we gave him more chances to score,” says Adarsh Garodia of Pull Back Vee team.
Ten-year-old Sashreek Das of the Rainbow team scored four out of the five goals and was the highest scorer of the tournament. “I loved playing with my dad and watching him play with us was a thrilling experience. I am looking forward to the next time,” says Sashreek, who also won a prize for being the top scorer of the tournament.
The winner of the Under-13 team, Rabona, was pitted against the highly competitive Ronaldo Chop, which had defeated Okocha by 3-0. But the finals saw Rabona take away the winner’s trophy, given away by Manish Biyani, owner of Mobel Futniture/Ffover, whose son Arnav too took part in the tournament. “It was a wonderful event and as a parent, I had a great time watching my football fanatic son play,” says Biyani. There was also a match between the parents and the coaches, which the parents won.
“My son loves soccer like me, and it’s great to spend some quality time with family. It would be great to see moms too participating in the next season,” says Ratul Sood, menswear designer, Burlingtons'.