It’s that time of year when the sound of cleats on the dressing-room tiles rings in your ears; when you feel the tightness of those shorts and wonder why they keep ordering them so small; when you smell the wet grass again after a long summer break (ok, so we play on artificial grass – bear with me on this one); and when you make your first touch and the ball ricochets away from your feet as if it’s scared of you… It’s the start of the new season.

At all levels, from the U14s to the veterans, from the stade communale to the Bernabeu, and all over the European continent, this time of year fills so many souls with unparalleled excitement. The counters have been reset and the competition starts again.

That same excitement has been filling the air at Euroatlas FC as we roll into September. The new season finds us in the second division of Luxembourg’s corporate league, facing some usual suspects from last year, but also some new challengers like the Commune of Dudelange, which will be an interesting away ‘trip’, and FC Europa, our intra-institutional derby rivals.

Last season was a good one overall, with the team building on the strengths of the previous year and significantly improving its final position, going from just avoiding relegation in 2015-2016 to almost challenging for promotion. But we felt we could do more.

We haven’t lost any players from last season, Kevin is back from injury, Johannes is fit again and there’s a long list of potential new signings too. We know that we can play good football. We can defend well (let’s just not talk about E**h, ok?), we can keep possession and we can challenge any team we come across. You could say we’re just a few clicks off Cruyff’s total football. Or not. Up to you really.

Our first friendly last week against Luxair confirmed that we have a lot of potential. There were moments of passing brilliance, some explosive attacking action and we also showed a lot of character. I’m sure I’m not the only one who was reminded of Kiko’s header against the same opponents last year that brought us level, completing a legendary comeback after finding ourselves down 1-4 with 5 minutes to go.

Exaggerated over-glorification aside, we all know there’s a lot we will have to work on if we want to win the league and get selected to represent our respective countries in Russia next June. We will have to move better together as a team, slow down our attacking moves, and – perhaps most importantly – improve our physical condition.

But we have a strong squad, we’re gelling as a team, there are some great new signings that could really make a difference and there’s a lot of positive energy in the dressing room. Is it too early to talk about promotion? Probably, but there are lots of reasons to be excited about the new season.

by L. Souza