It was 4.53 p.m. on Friday, and a metro train left the Maharaja’s College Ground station for Aluva.
As it passed by the ground, many heads popped up by the window to watch the Brazilian youngsters out there hone their skills.
Sitting along the freshly painted gallery was a band of five friends from Fort Kochi who chose to stay back to watch the practice after their Plus Two classes at SRV HSS.
“We have never seen a Brazilian team live in action. We went to see them practise at Veli ground at Fort Kochi the other day,” said Rizwan, who also plays for a local club at Fort Kochi. Clad in blue, instead of their famous yellow jerseys, the Canaries stood along the centre circle and passed the ball even as three among them tried to intercept it. A cheer went up when they managed to grab the ball. Around 5.06 p.m., players went into a huddle.
Three goalkeepers moved away from the group to the face of the goal where they kept on moving from side to side as the trainer asked them to do catching practice. The rest of the players split into groups of three and started a passing manoeuvre among them, with the distance between them increasing with each pass. Before long, it turned into a drill of long balls.
Another set of players was engaged in bringing down high balls with little fuss, reminding of that famous tap down by Brazilian magician Ronaldinho. The players were arranged along the sidelines around 5.12 p.m. where they went through a touch-and-sprint drill before the drinks break.
The manager organised them into two lines on either side in front of the goal at 5.17 p.m. Each player then made a brief sprint with the ball, manoeuvred away from the free-kick-training mannequin and shot at the goal. Most shots went in except for a few which were either saved by the keeper or rifled over the goal post, bringing into play ball boys deployed across the length of the pitch.
Ten-year-old Sreehari, a promising player who is about to try his luck with Kerala Blasters Academy, remained glued to the pitch. His favourite team is Argentina, said the youngster. However, the question as to why he was watching the fiercest rivals of his favourites simply went unanswered.
