Can Trana United finally break the "Nearly" jinx this season?
In the past two seasons of ACES Football League, Trana United have been the league's most consistent side. They are a modicum of ambition, endurance, strength, and an undying will to win every time they step on to the football pitch.
However, that consistency has not yielded them that title. In fact, it has eluded them in heartbreaking fashion for the past two seasons. In Season 2, they lost the title on the final day of the league by a solitary point having lost points towards the final stretch of the season. And history repeated itself in Season 3 as well. Just when it felt like it was going to be their season, back to back losses in the closing weeks meant they finished second in their group and eventually had to settle for the Contender's Cup.
Last season in particular would have been a massive sore thumb for Trana given that they had the Golden ball winner in Zaid Ansari, and the joint top-scorer of the league in Muhammad Mojawala. Normally, two award winners on your side means that you wrap up the league. But it did not happen for them.
Trana’s owner, Tabish Armar, is a man who wants to win. His will to win is infectious, because even his teammates play the same way as him. For a man who prides himself on winning, these close finishes would have definitely been a massive punch in the gut. So safe to say that he will be coming in this season with a massive chip on his shoulder.
“In Season 2, we unfortunately lost the league on the last day despite leading it from the start. And in Season 3, our lack of players and the late-season slump meant that we were playing catch-up towards the end,” said Tabish about those two near misses.
Tabish made it very clear that at Trana his preference is always going to be the people who are close to him and familiar with the way Trana play. And the core that Trana have built oozes with that familiarity from top to bottom. Wren D’abreo, arguably one of the best shot-stoppers in the league, is back in the Trana fold. Showkat Ansari, Zaid and Moja are back too, along with Abdaar Chashmawaala, who last season was with Umang Foundation Trust FC.
Everytime Trana play is an event in itself. You get a little bit of everything, which makes the game must-watch and full value for entertainment. Good football, aggression, and some argy-bargy on occasion as well. All these make Trana not only an intimidating prospect, but an entertaining one as well. When asked about whether we will see the same Trana this season, Tabish was rather measured in his response.
“Firstly, thank you for believing that our games bring entertainment to the league in general. Secondly, we are only aggressive when we enter the pitch. We want to win every single time on the pitch. Outside the pitch, we are just a group of friends and close people who just want to play football, have some good banter with others, and then go home. So yes, there is little aggression, but it stays on the pitch and not beyond that.”
As far as their pool is concerned, Trana are in Pool A, where they will once again clash with Casuals FC, who they beat twice last season. Bluelock FC will also have some sense of familiarity with a few players in the erstwhile Matero Power 8 side who beat Trana twice and finished over them to make the final. Youngblood, Cathect, and Wasted Potential make up the rest of the group.
When asked about which team he and his side are eager to face in the pool, Tabish said, “All of them. We do not have any particular team as such. We have to beat all the teams to make it to the final and we will take it one game at a time. Each of them are good and strong teams in their own right and we'd like to face them, and hopefully get the better of them come the final whistle.”
After two seasons of coming so close to the title but going empty-handed, Trana and Tabish will definitely want to be third time lucky. Tabish definitely believes that this could be his season. “The third season in every tournament we played has given us a trophy, so let's hope that the magic of three comes in handy for us in ACES Football League.”
“All heart and no quit” are the words Tabish swears by. And by the looks of it, Trana are definitely not quitting until they win ACES Football League.
Comments