A new team captain has voiced his joys captaining the squad a few months into the season. Jordi Fairs, 20, is leading Borussia Modernlangbach in their first ever season as an 11-a-side after making the step up from the 7-a-side league.
He said, “We’ve started off really well. The team’s good and we’ve got a good group of players and having good socials, I’m loving it.”
Jordi, a second year Journalism student at Newcastle University, took charge of the team after a host of players left the team, saying, “We had to get a full squad of players, we didn’t have anyone, and we’re doing really well.”
“It’s been better than I expected, I thought it was going to be hard.”
Moderlangbach are currently on 7 points and have 2 games in hand, delivering some impressive results such as a 6-1 victory over Axe Wielding Baboons and a 5-0 win over second-placed NUAS.
An inviting pass over the top from the Modernlangach winger gets called offside. Credit: Jordi Fairs (with permission)
“We’ve got a good chance of promotion, and that’s the aim.”
Modernlangbach are starting off in division 3 due to being new to the 11s league, and already have their sights on rising to division 2.
Modernlangbach celebrate hitting the back of the net. Credit: Jordi Fairs (with permission)
The team’s name, ‘Borussia Modernlangbach’ is a play on German football team, Borussia Mönchengladbach , who play in the Bundesliga . The clever pun pays homage to the original team being made up of Modern Languages students.
The team is adapting well to the step up to 11s football despite the group being new to each other, with Jordi adding, “There is a real sense of community when we play together.
It feels like everyone has become quite close from it and there’s nothing better than playing football with your friends really.”
Jordi, originally from London, took on the captain’s role this season after being involved with the team last year, taking on a big responsibility by taking over a new group of players.
He said, “I knew last year’s captain because he went to my school at home so I decided to play for the team with him.
Because he is now on a year abroad because he does actually do languages, he recommended me and I ended up winning the vote.”
But with a new role, there has naturally been some challenges, saying, “There has been quite a lot going on. I’ve had to do a lot more admin than I thought. The main issue is getting people to bring a pound for the ref to be honest.”
Players are responsible for paying their share towards the referees, which officiate the games weekly at either Cochrane Park or Longbenton Sports Ground.
Jordi also added, “People can be unreliable, it’s quite hard to get everyone to be in a certain place at a certain time, and people show up late. Once we play it’s all fine, but it’s just the bits before that that can be a bit challenging.”
The team will round off first semester with a league clash against Bumfica United, currently sat in mid-table.
Modernlangbach will be hoping to enter the second half of the season after Christmas in fine form, and picking up the winning results they need in order to seal promotion, kicking off the rise to the top for this new intramural club.
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