Only once we have been playing against my former “Wednesday team”， we lost 12-0， and only thanks to the outstanding German goalkeeper of Lao Niu an even worse disaster had been avoided， for the others might easily have scored 30-0. Of course the match was annoying for me， the opposing goalie (my ex-colleague) got absolutely nothing to do while I did not get to breathe， attack on attack was surging against my goal. In the end I could be proud of having kept more than I conceded， but my teammates were sorry for me， my friends of Wednesdays， however， said that now for once I had been really busy and very good at it....
The matches often take place in a technically very good level and are very fair. Although we are playing with referees， players often indicate themselves if some move had been a foul， they stop the ball and put it down for a free kick even before the whistle was heard. But watch out if someone feels wronged by the referee or in his opinion was badly fouled on purpose – within seconds screaming may turn into a wrangle between four players， a few seconds later there is a brawl between ten of them， and the referee tries in vain to stop it by whistling. Just as quickly the emotions may cool down again， but sometimes it can also lead to the match being abandoned.
Often the goalkeeper makes the difference： If I’m in really good shape (I am not always)， I am able to keep two or three shots that I would classify myself in retrospect as “unstoppable”， and my team-mates will claim later： “I had seen that shot already in the goal， how did you ever block it？” Yes， sometimes I succeed in surprisingly good automatic reactions. I like matches in which the opponent dominates the match and often shows up before my goal. Then out of a few counter-attacks we just have to shoot one more goal than our opponent and win 3-2， although at least two of our goals had been simple shots and might have been kept， but the other goalie let them pass in a very unlucky manner because often he is no real goalie at all.
Well， like that it is， but a win is a win， and after those matches when he had been inferior in skills and yet scored three out of four attempts while the opponents scored two out of 20 (three of them being 100% bets)， our dinner together is a veritable celebration. And LaoWei – this is my Chinese name which I had received after a few months in China on another occasion， more about that later – is then the hero of the day.
It is not always like that. Some times LaoWei has to face criticism， even on the pitch： “Why don’t you pick up the ball and have some calm enter the match？ Don’t pass that on at once！” Now try to understand that in mid-action – in Chinese！ Or： “The 2-2 draw you ought to have prevented， you were standing too far off the goal.” Certainly， sometimes the criticism is justified， but then again， not every time， because the pitch players commit many more errors than I do， just that my errors almost always mean a score or at least a very dangerous situation. And also – although very rarely， maybe twice a year – I may commit a very silly mistake when underestimating a simple stoppable shot and it slips right through while I am falling down. Then I would prefer to crawl under the grass and avoid the other players during half-time， so embarrassed I am....
The player on the pitch may miss the ball， but the goalkeeper has to keep it in any case， even if it dodges around on uneven ground. Especially in the early years we had sometimes very serious discussions. “TianLong” (天龙) I had to remember that we would sometimes like to win， too， that I do not always want to concede more goals than the opposing goalkeeper， and that I expect my advance mates to run and fight. They would rather just play nicely. We have changed that.
“LaoNiu” (老牛) I had to inform that criticising me on the pitch is not helpful even where it is legitimate. Criticism on the pitch just makes me feel less sure of myself， I cannot digest it at once， anyway I understand only half of it， answer only a quarter of it， it makes me angry and I may miss the next shot， that is no benefit for anyone.
Sometimes – very rarely – I reach for the very last resort， if I perceive the criticism as inappropriate I reply： “Oh， you know what， you may accept another， better goalkeeper， there are plenty of them. Incidentally， I have an offer from TaiYangQiu (太阳球， loosely translated： Sunshine Football)， they do not only offer me that I do not have to pay， but they even are going to pay me 100 RMB in addition for each match！”
Then， the debate quickly disintegrates into roars of laughter.