Toby and the Greatest Game

By Clive Toye

A story of magical adventures and travel as only the world of soccer - and a special ball named Toby - can give you.

• Language: English
• Publisher: iUniverse
• Release date: Mar 6, 2012
• ISBN: 9781469795171

Clive Toye

Clive Toye is one of the builders of US soccer in many roles - from President of the New York Cosmos (where he signed the great Pele) to youth soccer coach in Westchester County NY. He was inducted into the US National Hall of Fame and that of the international body, CONCACAF.

Book preview

Chapter 1

—Questions, so many questions but the biggest question of all: this couldn’t really be happening? Could it? Really?—

It was such a normal evening, who could have guessed how it would end?

The town of Tamar Crossing was enjoying a warm end to the day and if Cameron had been outside playing soccer, he could have looked up, over the Grecian River where the sun was starting to set, and then let his Mom see his latest skills as she chatted with her friend next door.

Everyone in the local soccer community had plenty of chances to see his skills, too. Cameron not only loved playing soccer, he was good—with a natural ability, especially in front of goal.

There, Cameron’s quickness and accurate shooting often led his team to victory and his tall figure and dark head of hair often out-jumped the opposition to head in yet another goal.

But right now he wasn’t outside. It was an hour before Cameron’s bedtime and he had some homework to do. He knew he had to do that first, and quickly, if he was going to have any time to play at all. But what he didn’t know was that it was going to be the longest, strangest time of his life so far.

Long and full of things no boy, or girl, had ever encountered before until… . until someone new came into his life and changed it for ever.

At that precise moment, Cameron knew he had no more than an hour before bedtime and if he was going to have time to play, he had better find out a few more facts about dinosaurs. He had a project to finish before next Tuesday.

So, he sat down at his Mom’s computer and with all the confidence of a boy whose Mother had taught him just what to do, when he had permission to do it, Cameron pushed the right buttons, logged on and was starting to look for D I N O S A U… . when his fingers slipped and instead of hitting the keys for R and S, he hit the wrong keys.

It was then that something started to go wrong, really wrong… . a noise, a sound he had never heard before, at least not from a computer, though it sounded familiar in some ways, a noise getting louder and louder, closer and closer.

He leaned back with alarm. What had he done wrong? Mom would be mad if he had damaged the computer. What was happening? As he listened, the sound grew and grew. There was a strange feeling in the air, like the wind when a storm was coming, but he was indoors, in a room and outside the sun was still shining.

He leaned further back in his chair, away from the computer screen, back as far as he could go without tipping over… and then it happened.

Because with a roar and a sound like breaking glass, out from the screen flew this black and white object, right into Cameron’s chest, as he fells backwards in shock and surprise… though as he fell, he realized where he had heard that sound before. It was the roar of a crowd, a soccer crowd when a goal was scored.

And there, on the floor next to him, was what had hit him… a soccer ball, twisting around and rubbing grass and mud onto the carpet to get clean, tut-tutting to itself and then finally, when it was clean enough and there was mud and grass everywhere, it looked around and said:

Well, who are you then? It’s a good job that game was just about over or they’d be wondering what happened to me.

I’m, I… I… I’m Cameron, said Cameron, sitting up slowly, just resting back on his hands, and then, when he had gotten some of his breath back, nervously, slowly asked: Who… who… who are you?

Me? queried the ball, with a bit of a frown and a very firm voice. Me? Well, I’m The Only Ball, The Only Ball You’ll Ever Need, The Only Ball Who Knows It All in the Greatest Game There Ever Was and… . . . . he seemed to run out of breath and just looked at Cameron, a very hard stare as if he wanted to be sure Cameron had heard him.

Cameron could not believe his ears… . or his eyes. The computer screen was not broken and the noise of the crowd had gone, so maybe he was dreaming. But, no, because there really was mud and a few strands of grass on the carpet. And there, too, most of all was this soccer ball, looking at him and obviously expecting Cameron to say something.

How, how are… I mean, where did you come from and… and… what’s your name, said Cameron. And what are you doing here?

If soccer balls could look with pained expressions on their face, then that’s what the ball did right then.

Didn’t I just tell you that I’m The Only Ball for this, The Only Ball for that? Didn’t I?

He paused and then went on: "Never thought of this before, never been caught in a situation like this before, nobody ever called me anything… . so let’s do this.

"Let’s take the T and the O and the B from The Only Ball and add a Y for you and then you can call me Toby.

"That’ll do, just for you kid, my name is Toby.

"Where do I come from? I come from everywhere, that’s where soccer balls are, everywhere… everywhere that’s past, everywhere in the world today and everywhere in the future. That’s where I come from, everywhere.

"And why am I here? Well, you called me here, you tell me why you called me here.

"I was busy at the big game in England… . boy, you should have seen the goal Wayne Rooney scored with me… overhead kick that won the game, he called it the best goal he had ever scored… it was just like the bicycle kicks that Pele scored with several times.

"But, of course, Pele was extra special and… . oh well, I shouldn’t get carried away or I’ll be telling you about all the great goals people have scored with me but… why am I here, is that what you asked?

Yes, said Cameron. Yes. I don’t understand, how… . ? And he looked around again, rubbing the back of his head where he had banged it.

Well, said Toby you called, I don’t know how you did it, but you called and here I am and when people call me it’s for only one reason… . to play soccer. So that’s it, where’s the game?

Cameron just looked at Toby in amazement, his mouth opening and closing but no words came out.

Come on, speak up, speak up, said Toby, bouncing himself against the wall and back and landing right on Cameron’s chest. Come on, time to get up too. And from the welcome I’m getting, I don’t even know if you like soccer.

With that, Toby went rolling around the floor, in and out of the legs of chairs and the table, before coming to rest in front of Cameron’s right foot, as he picked himself up off the floor.

Yes, yes, said Cameron nervously but with a little more confidence than before. Yes, I like soccer. I play for my team here, the Storm, we’re pretty good and I… .

Pretty good, interrupted Toby, pretty good? That’s for me to say if I’m going to stay around here for any length of time. I have to get to Spain and maybe Brazil, tonight in any case, so I’ll be missing for a few seconds here and there… have to nip off to get things started, make sure all the other balls, my helpers, are in place and then I can be back here again. If… .

If what? asked Cameron.

If I think you’re pretty good, said Toby, so come on, let’s go outside and see what you can do, we can’t kick me around in here, you know.

Cameron knew that time was short, he had homework to do, his Mom was only next door talking to a