Por El Wildcardo

Here’s to The Goalkeeper

The forgotten hero

Always excluded, ignored

Stood aside from the rest

He dresses differently

He plays by different rules

He only thrives

when his teammates have failed

See him lean ‘gainst the post

Yawning

While his side is on attack

See him barking out orders

To his defenders

They call him crazy

Reckless

It’s one

And ten others

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Picking the ball out from of a tangled net

His hunched figure casts a long shadow

He had one task, the goalkeeper, to protect his empire

To keep his goal, safe and unspoiled

He has failed

Yet there was nothing he could have done

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At school it’s the fat kid

Or the slow kid

Or the crap kid

Someone’s got to do it

His role so crucial

Yet his position maligned

He accepts the blame

When he did no wrong

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A through ball

Rushing out

Towards the striker

Diving at his feet

Valiantly

Desperately

They collide

Ball in his hands

A whistle blows…

Penalty

The dreaded spot kick

Filled with anxiety

He has prepared for this moment his entire life

Yet when it arrives

He’s left helpless

“There’s no saving that one, Jack”

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The forward fights to conquer

While the keeper fights to preserve

He is the last line of defence beyond the last line of defence

He is the first line of attack

He is the canny warrior that sees the entire field before him

Master of his area, his fortress, his castle

The Goalkeeper does not just ‘bail out’ his defenders

He carries them and harries them

He is the striker’s nightmare

The protector of the goal

Abandon all hope ye who choose to enter

The Penalty Box

For this is the domain of the Gloved Man

Custodian of cover

Towering bastion of resistance

Worship his stability

Adore his stoicism

Light a pyre to his sacrifice

When all else seems lost

He is there

Poised

Ready

Waiting