There
were many stand out performers for the Red Devils in this tournament, however,
true success has always come their way whenever they have managed to play well
as a team. One must give credit to all the squad players, as the team's strength
in depth proved to be crucial.
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| Champions Red Devils F.C |
Despite
not being a regular starter, Zaki Ahmed
played a part in every game from the bench and often gave the team a boost with
his all round play. The strength while on the ball, deft touch and a powerful shot
often cause opponents trouble. Zaki was instrumental in changing the pace and
nature of the Devils game whenever the chips were down and his impact in the all-important
group game against Piranhas was massive.
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| Ecstatic Zaki |
Abbas
Taqi often added stability to the midfield and could always be called upon
the play the role of a defensive midfielder with great discipline. Muawia Khan, a bit of an unsung hero of
the final, injected incredible energy into the team, and chipped in with vital
goals in the most crucial games. His calmness on the ball in the final stood
out; however, the jumping ability he showed for his headers has to be his
highlight of the tournament. Umair
Iftikhar aka Buntu had a bit of a shaky start to the tournament, but always
gave his all in defense. Buntu was one-third of the great wall of Red Devils
F.C in the tournament that saw Devils keep three clean sheets in knockout
stages. He also gave the team an option of calling upon a trusty defender from
the bench while closing out games.
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| Super-sub Muawia Khan |
The
starting line up from the knockout stages took the tournament by storm. Bilal Liaqat proved himself to be a key
man in the tournament. He proved to be a very tough target to beat in between
the sticks and often saved the defenders' blushes. He almost made a memorable
save per game; however, his distribution from the back was far superior to any
other keeper and made him completely stand out. He also received the official
'Goalkeeper of the tournament’ award. Musti
was not playing up to his very high standards during the beginning of the
tournament, but that quickly changed. The more crucial the games became, the more
reliable Musti's defending became, and often playing as the last man back, he proved
to be a rock at the back. By the end of the tournament he once again proved to
his critics that he is still one of the best defenders around.
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| The ever-reliable Prince of Hunza |
Musti's eventual
partner in defense, Usman Mashood,
made a colossal mark on the tournament. His endless running, chasing, harrying
and tackling of opposition players, lung busting forward runs, and skills make
him a teammate's dream. He made countless tackles and interceptions, scored a
crucial goal, and contributed very effectively in attack; however, his
highlight of the tournament has to be the fact that he once made up ground so
quickly to make a contribution in attack that he actually had time to call out
a teammate's full name, twice. He sprinted down the left wing, and while running,
raised his hand and shouted, "Haaris Ghafoor, Haaris Ghafoor!!" I
guess that also says a lot about Haaris Ghafoor's playing style. Usman was the
managers' pick for the player of the tournament.
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| The man with 4 lungs, Usman Mashood |
Moving
on to the midfield, the Red Devils had a lot of options in this department.
Everyone's favorite, Haaris Ghafoor
had yet another impressive tournament. His best performances came in the knockout
stages when he dropped deeper and got more time to play his killer passes.
Apart from his trademark elegant touches and brilliant passing, his positional
sense was remarkable. He often had to drop back and used to find himself in the
sweeper position; yet he defended very effectively, made many interceptions and
used his height well to counter the opposition's aerial threat. He claims that
he had a personal best when it comes to the number of assists in a single
tournament. However, that cannot be confirmed since the information arrived through
one his random tweets. He could have
his own highlight reel for the tournament. One has to be his surreal sprint to
chase down and defend Niazi, a very speedy Thudda United striker. I literally
had to rub my eyes to believe that one. The second has to be the fact that one
of his many fans called his name in the middle of the semifinal, while the ball
was still in play, just so that he could wave to his idol, and get a smile
back. The fan got his wish. Haaris also won the official 'Player of the
Tournament' award.
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| Bilal Liaqat and Haaris Ghafoor |
The new captain of the team, Sameer Hussain, found himself playing a bit of an unfamiliar role,
as he often used to be the sole figure in between a defensive mid and two very attack
minded players. His form fluctuated frequently in the tournament, and often
started games slowly. However, just like the team, he became better as the tournament
went on. Moreover, he showed further signs of settling into the role as captain.
He remains an ultimate team player and an integral part of the Red Devils. He faced
a lot of hardships during the final; his highlights consist of that Maradona
like run he made during the last few minutes of the final, and the Roy Keane
like header from the corner, which unfortunately hit the bar.
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| The man who led the Devils to victory |
The
attacking combination of Omer Mashood and Harris Qamar was a nightmare for
every defense in the cup. Omer Mashood's
instant ability to make an impact in a match was unprecedented. He was always a
nightmare for the defenders with his direct running, no look passing (when it
came off at least), and his uncanny ability to always find space in between
defenders. It was no surprise that he ended up with his fair share of goals in
the tournament. His highlight of the tournament was when he came off the bench in
the last group game to score with one of his first few touches against the so
called 'unbeatable' keeper. Harris Qamar
is the most experienced regular starter in the team. He once again proved
himself to be a reliable goal scorer. His incredible hunger and ability always
ensures that once he gets on the score sheet, he hardly finishes the game with
only one goal. He scored all sorts of goals in the tournament and maintained his
amazing record of scoring in finals. Furthermore, he seems to thrive in the biggest
games and scored one of the goals of the tournament in the final. Despite now
having a reputation of being singled out by opposition defenders, his ability
to beat a man and score still makes him the club's most lethal striker.
Needless to say, he is the Red Devils' all-time leading scorer (no stats
available on that). Like always, he provided us with many personal highlights
in this tournament. His reaction to getting substituted cannot only be regarded
as a highlight just for this tournament, but more of a career highlight.
Scoring from a penalty kick can also be considered one. However, his biggest
highlight in my opinion was the fact that he actually let someone else take a free
kick in the final.
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| The Dynamic Duo of Harris Qamar and Omer Mashood |
Last but definitely not the least, no words can describe the amount of
credit which goes the think tank of the team. The Red Devils would not have won
this tournament without the leadership, management, tactical astuteness, and
sheer presence of Ammar Zaheer and Saqib Akbar.
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| Finally, the Think tank |
