Climbing the walls: Falling back in love with the beautiful game

I haven’t played so much football in the garden since I was about 10 years old, when I acted out entire Premier League fixture programmes between two makeshift goals of bikes and bins.

Since the days of Dennis Bergkamp scoring a hat-trick every week on the hallowed turf of my mum and dad’s lawn – the Dutch master was always the best – I have hoped for and fallen desperately short of any sort of football career.

Those hopes and dreams turned into Saturday afternoon adult league football, losing a record 29-0 in a cup game while playing in goal – in my defence, there was no defence – and then became an excitable yet not even bang average five-a-side player.

Even that has waned in recent months as my one talent, owning a pair of goalkeeper gloves, has succumbed to not being able to see very well – a fact I only discovered when I readied myself to save a shot from distance, only to take it flush in the face because I couldn’t judge how close it was.

However, I am nothing if not a trier and I have busted out my son’s size three football to help me not only get fit again, but perhaps make a late run – well, saunter – for Gareth Southgate’s Euro 2021 squad.

I will be 34 come the next Euros – it’s never too late.

So, with my three children wondering why on earth I was borrowing their toys, I set up a series of drills I remember from my youth football days.

Weaving in and out chairs with the ball at my feet, I felt like I was Bergkamp in my mum and dad’s garden again, ready to complete another magical treble past Peter Schmeichel or Tim Flowers. This time, though, with three little defenders trying to take the ball off me as well.

And I don’t think I am the only one who has rediscovered a love for backyard football.

In the gardens surrounding me, you can hear kids acting out goals from Raul Jimenez or majestic passes from Joao Moutinho.

Elsewhere, I’m sure it’s Matheus Pereira, Grady Diangana, John McGinn, Jack Grealish, Wes McDonald and Josh Gordon or Shaun Whalley and Josh Laurent.

Children have rediscovered the outside as their free time again. I just hope they go on to have better football careers than me!

I want to hear and see what you are up to sporting-wise during lockdown – the good and the bad – so email your pictures and videos to derek.bish@expressandstar.co.uk or contact me on Twitter @DerekBish_Star. I will include the best ones in this column and retweet plenty of ideas that everyone can get involved with.