Live from Le Havre: USA - Sweden

This time, the Americans invaded Gare Saint Lazarre. I got there fairly early, due to my arrival from Lausanne (to Gare de Lyon), and it looked like a pretty standard french train station around 12:30. However, by 2:00 PM (there were trains at 2:50 and 3:05), the place was crawling with team USA jerseys, red white and blue, and American tourists.

Getting on the train was equally fun (it didn't help that I mentally flipped seat 12 with seat 21...), but people were just much ruder, in much more of a hurry, and in general just a lot less pleasant than most of the folks on other trains. C'est la vie. Fortunately, it's only a two hour trip to Le Havre.
The Americans were running rampant all ver Le Havre with the occasional, much more dignified, Swedish fan. At least until I started wandering towards the train station and ran into about 300 Swedish supporters marching, parading, singing, chanting, etc. It was great fun.

By the time I got to the train station (which is still about 2.25 miles away from the stadium, there was a huge gathering of American fans in the bar across the street where they were showing Canada versus Netherlands. Canada and the Netherlands were also tied at 2-0, so this game determined who won the group (and will face Japan) and who finishes second and faces the loser of the USA Sweden game! The good news is that Christine Sinclair scored (just after I arrived at the bar); the bad news is that Canada lost 2-1. I have tickets now to see Japan play Netherlands; should be a good game, but not what I was planning.

Anyway, there were shuttles that took players from the train station to the game, so I stayed until the bitter end of the Canada game and then jumped on a shuttle, so I could get to the stadium by about 8:15 (for a 9:00 game). It was a relatively long walk around the space-ship looking stadium and we were subject to the usual bag searching and patting down, but I got eo my seats in plenty of time to see the USA warm up. And who was right in front of me?

The first minute or two of the game looked kind of awful to me. Neither team was able to assemble any kind of rhythm, and the ball get going back and forth between the two teams. And then there was a Megan Rapinoe corner, a ball whizzing across the mouth of the goal, and a Lindsay Horan pushing it into the goal. Just like that, it was 1-0.

This settled everyone down and the US started to look like the US, with Rose Lavalle putting on a particularly awe-inspiring performance in the center of the field. Her ability to dribble out of trouble change direction leap in the air to intercept headers, and basically own the field was breathtaking. I used to love watching Rose play for the breakers and she's so much more of a complete player now. I could have watched nothing but her the entire evening and been quite happy.

Contrary to what some reported, I thought Sweden looked threatening. Their strikers were incredibly speedy, and if they got the ball, things suddenly started looking worrisome for the US. I thought Crystal Dunn did an incredible job shutting them down, but it was scary at times.

The 1-0 lead held for the remaining 41 minutes of the half. The second half started off looking much like the first, albeit with Carli Lloyd in for a maybe-injured Alex Morgan. And then, almost mirroring the first half, in rougly the 50th minute, commotion in front of the Swedish goal, put the ball at the feet of Tobin Heath (always a bad idea). From a ridiculous angle, she took a shot that got deflected off of Lindahl and went into the goal. Initially credited to Heath, it was later changed to an own goal. Nonetheless, it was sharp play by Heath, who was later named player of the match.

The remaining half went much the way of the first. The US maintained possession, but Sweden capitalized on every mistake or sloppy pass. The US sometimes seemed it's own worst enemy passing the ball around the backfield, just a tad too close to their own goal. A couple of these turned into threats from Sweden that Naeher ably handled.

While Heath was great and played the whole game, Lavalle was the star of the first half. And to be honest, sometimes I think the defenders don't get the credit they deserve -- both Crystal Dunn and Kelly O'Hara did outstanding jobs, grabbing balls away from Sweden, flicking tricky headers to their teammates, and in Dunn's case, making precisely the right slide tackle to push the ball away from speedy forwards. This back line (Sauerbraun, Dahlkemper, O'Hara, and Dunn) has not yet been tested through an entire world cup, but they appear to be coming together like the 2015 back line, and it's that kind of defense that is going to be required to win this cup.

Go USA!

I was alone at the game and forgot to take a selfie, so here's a picture of the statue of Le geant et l'enfant, situated just past the Cap de la Heve.



Oh heck, and I might as well show you what the area looks like ...

And in other games:

Monday

• China 0, Spain 0
• Germany 4, South Africa 0
• France 1, Nigeria 0
• Norway 2, South Korea 1

Tuesday

• Brazil 1, Italy 0
• Australia 4, Jamaica 1

Wednesday

• England 2, Japan 0
• Scotland 3, Argentina 3

Thursday

• Cameroon 2, New Zealand 1
• Canada 1, Netherlands 2
• Chile 2, Thailand 0

Live from Paris: It's USA versus Chile

The Americans have invaded Paris!  At least that's what it looked like all over the streets of Paris. There were red, white and blue attired children and adults; there were red USA jerseys, white USA jerseys, black 2015 Women's World Cup jersey's. And there were deely-boppers and glitter and headbands, and scarves, and face paint. Yes, the Americans had most definitely invaded Paris for their game 2 of the Women's World Cup.

I don't know how many noticed it, but even the boats floating around the pond in Luxembourg garden were adorned with the flags of the world cup teams. And yes, the Americans had invaded the gardens as well.

There is something wonderful about the women's world cup (that is different from how I remember the men's world cup). If you're wearing something that identifies you as team USA, random people will stop and talk to you. You'll exchange locales, how long you're in the country, how many games you'll catch, what you thought of the last game, etc. It's a joyful celebration. And there are kids -- LOTS of them -- not just the young girls adorned in the shirts of their heroines, but young boys, who haven't been jaded to think that only men's soccer "counts," as well.




My  seats for this game were quite different, providing an entirely different perspective on the game.

I wouldn't say they were worse, they were just different: great view of the field, out of the blistering sun for the first half and the last quarter. Had it been the Thailand game, they would have been the perfect seats to see the 10 second-half goals.

The USA started with a lineup that differed almost entirely from game 1. The only returning players to the starting lineup were: Alyssa Naeher (goalie), Julie Ertz, Lindsay Horan, and Abby Dahlkemper. By the end of the game, Ellis (coach) had ensured that every field player on the roster had gotten field time.

Even with a different lineup, the first half felt a lot like the Thailand game. First goal, right after the 10 minute mark: beautiful Carli Lloyd volley. Second goal, after about 20 minutes. And around 30 minutes in, Lloyd scored her second of the day. On the other hand, Chile looked to be playing a bit more aggressively than had Thailand. They were sliding to knock balls away from their fleet-footed opponents and they were able to put together better pass sequences, although the USA backline continued to do an outstanding job simply shutting down every attack.

The second half, however, looked nothing like the Thailand game. There were some spectacular plays and outstanding shots on goal, but Chile's keeper, Christiane Endler, was unbeatable. In fact, think about this: The USA beat Chile, 3-0, and Endler was named player of the match -- it was that spectacular. And this was the end where we were sitting, so there was some fabulous action. I forgot to take my traditional game selfie with Nandita Vijaykumar, who accompanied me to the game, so here's a selfie at Luxembourg garden instead!

And, in other games:

• Italy 5, Jamaica 0
• England 1, Argentina 0
• Japan 2, Scotland 1

Saturday

• Netherland 2, Cameroon 1
• Canada 2, New Zealand 0

Sunday

• Sweden 5, Thailand 1

Live from Paris: It's China versus South Africa

I hadn't initially bought tickets for this game, but a friend had extras and since I was already in Paris playing tourist, it seemed like the right thing to do.

China had already lost a 1-0 game to Germany, and South Africa had lost a 3-1 game to Spain.

It was a gorgeous night in Paris - after two days of on and off again rain, it was clear and warm (fortunately, since I had a pile of laundry drying and had only shorts left to wear). The game got off to a somewhat slow start -- neither team looked particularly strong. The ball changed feet a lot. Although the teams felt quite well matched, the ball spent a lot of time in the South African end.

In fact, it wasn't until the end of the half that the 0-0 stalemate was broken by a spectacular sliding plunge by China star Li Ying in the 40th minute. The South African sweeper (Janine Van Wyk) had been doing a fantastic job clearing balls from the box -- she is super fast and an awesome defender and appeared to be an effective captain. The goal cam with Van Wyk on the ball, but Li slding in to poke it into the goal -- stunning and beautiful.

South Africa came out strong in the second half. They demonstrated terrific ball possession and an ability to move the ball around, dominating the first half of the second half. Their speedy strikers, Ode Fulutilu and Thembi Kgatlana, got the crowd excited a number of times, but they were unable to convert. And then in the last five to ten minutes, China seemed to up their game to an entirely new level zipping the ball back and forth up and down the field, placing passes at teammates' feet -- it looked like a whole new game.

End result: China 1, South Africa 0.

Next up for me: USA v Chile in Paris! (Sunday)

Gratuitous Selfie

In other games:

Wednesday:

• Nigeria 2, South Korea 0
• Germany 1, Spain 0
• France 2, Norway 1

Thursday:

• Australia 3, Brazil 2 (upset -- worth the read!)

Live From Reims, it's USA versus Thailand.

Perhaps the most stunning thing about this game was that although it was in a tiny stadium Stade Auguste Delaune and they had sold out all the tickets, the 21,000+ stadium only had 18,000+ fans in attendance. OK, so the outcome wasn't too much in question, but Reims is only 45 minutes outside of Paris, and from what I saw on the train, many Americans had made the trip.

In any case, the atmosphere was charged and it was exciting to see the US Women take the field for their opening match. It didn't take long for the US to demonstrate that they were here to play and score goals. In the fourth minute, reminiscent of the opener, the US had a goal called back, due to an offsides. However, by the 12th minute Alex Morgan had seen to that and put one up on the board.

It is tough to compare the US team with the French team, since they had different opponents, but I have to say, while the US were clearly dominating, they did not look as sharp as the French -- the long balls into the box were not quite as precise. However, there was a fluidity to their play that was different from the French. I continue to anticipate what might be the best game of the tournament in the quarter final ...

Anyway, back to the US. One of my favorite players, Rose Lavelle, the lithe, quick, and magically footed midfielder looked dangerous from the beginning, so it was pleasantly satisfying to see her put in goal number two. By the 33rd minute, Lindsay Horan had also found the back of the net, which took the US women into halftime up 3-0, as the French had done.

The second half was an entirely different game. Quite honestly, there were so many goals in so short a time (10 goals in 45 minutes) that it was hard to keep track. I believe we ended up wit a total of five for Morgan, braces (2) for LaValle and Mewis, and one each for Push, Horan, Rapinoe and Lloyd. It's worth noting that Lloyd came in relatively early in the half (for LaVelle), Pugh for Julie Ertz (which seemed like an odd substitution until Horan came back for some time as defending midfielder), and then Press for Tobin Heath.

And this match's gratuitous selfie:

It turns out that we were sitting in the Thailand section, so after the game, we had the honor of cheering for the courageous Thailand women who never gave up, even in the face of the US onslaught. Their two speedy forwards continued to make attacking runs, annoy the defenders, and do whatever they could to try to erase that 0. I can only imagine how exhausted the defense was -- I was reminded of Bruiser Karen Bowen's, "I feel like a cone." response to our first ever appearance in the California State Cup tournament (where the nascent Bruisers played the top team in Northern California).

Next up is South Africa versus China in Paris on Thursday.

And in other matches:
Sunday:

• England 2, Scotland 1

Monday:

• Canada 1, Cameron 0
• Argentina 0, Japan 0

Tuesday

• Netherlands 1, New Zealand 0
• Sweden 2, Chile 0

The FIFA Museum

TL;DR. It's not worth the 24 Swiss Francs it cost me.

Bad news: You can't carry even a tiny  backpack with you.
Good news: I got to leave mine here:

The place is quite high tech and lots of glass and large (and I mean large) screens on the walls, so it looks spiffy. But, it turns out to be really small. I had been wondering what one would find in a FIFA museum, and the answer is, "not much." Ah well ... the first floor has, I believe, two displays. The centerpiece is a representation of all the FIFA members, represented by their (men's) team shirts, organized by color. Now, this is visually appealing, but does make it rather tricky  to find any particular country, unless you already know their color, in which case, why do you want to see their shirt? It seemed like form over substance.

Then they had a wall with a brief history of FIFA. I was relieved to see that they included the women's world cups and saddened to see just how recently the  women's U-## tournaments were created.



Next, you go downstairs. It looks large, but the main room is actually tiny -- just bracketed by mirrors. There was a display called "Foundations" that was so uninteresting I don't remember anything about it (six hours later). Then they had a "FIFA World Cup Gallery." Yes, there was a tiny women's world cup portion to it, with some cool things.

This is the display for the 1999 Women's World Cup Winners

This is the display for the 2003 final (Germany)

I found these two displays kind of cool for a couple of reasons. First, the scurry gloves are totally cool. Second, I happen to know where the gloves are that could have gone in the 2003 display. If I didn't hate FIFA so much, I might even have thought to donate them (although the only proof I have of their authenticity is the photograph of Silke Rottenberg and the little boy who got those gloves). You should all be delighted to know that since that little boy is pretty grown up, they are now in the hands (no pun intended) of a young woman who plays goalie for a pretty talented futsal team.

The actual world cup (or one of them) is on display, but it seems that the women's world cup trophy was absent.

I can forgive them for that. However, what I cannot forgive them for is making me sit through a movie about "World Cup Finals" that had precisely 0 minutes dedicated to the women. We got to see all sorts of men diving (as well as some beautiful plays), but really, it's 2019 FIFA -- you've had a women's world cup for over 25 years and you can't put together a few minutes of coverage? This completely infuriated me.











The rest of the museum, only accessible if you sit through the movie, has displays on soccer balls through the ages, turf through the ages, and a collection of digital tournament books: precisely three for the women and something like 8 for the men (there have been eight women's world cups, including the current one, which they had). They also had a gallery of games. The third floor was just a fake -- it got you to their gift shop and cafe.

So, I did manage to spend about an hour and a half at the museum, but I left angry  and disappointed. Get your act together FIFA.

Women's World Cup 2019! Welcome to France.

Every four years I treat myself to the Women's World Cup -- it started with a match, then a final, then a trip to Germany, then nearly an entire month in Canada (and look how that ended up), and now an entire month in Europe for this year's installment. I will try to diligently blog this year as I did four years ago.

This years Coupe du Monde Feminine is in France, specifically: Paris, Reims, Le Havre, Lyon, Valenciennes, Rennes, Montpelier, Grenoble, and Nice. Unsurprisingly, the opening match, which always features the host team, was in Paris. So, on June 7, I found myself in Paris, joyfully sharing the experience with Mike and Teresa Olson of Berkeley, Charles River Soccer teammate, Dawn Tesorero, and Dawn's friend and mentee, Madeline (Maddy) Hernstrom-Hill.

The Paris games are all being played in Les Parc du Princes, home of Paris Saint-Germain. It is located just outside the Peripherie (the ring around Paris -- think something like I-95 around Boston, assuming that the entire Metropolitan area inside were all Boston) at about 8:00. I chose a hotel that was about a half hour walk away; Mike and Teresa has one about 10 minutes away (8 to be precise), and Dawn and Maddy opted for something closer to all the sites (a 45 minute metro ride). We all descended on Porte de St. Cloud for dinner and ticket exchange, and a joyful toast to Paris, the World Cup, old friends, and anything else that we felt warranted a drink.

Our goal was to hit the stadium for the opening ceremony at 8:30 and we thought we would have plenty of time getting to the stadium around 8:00. After all, how long can it take to enter a stadium? Quite some time as it turns out ... we got through the gates at precisely 8:30 and after some confusion regarding the gender-based lines for searching and frisking (I cannot imagine how a non-binary soccer fan would have experienced this; the word uncomfortable comes to mind, putting it mildly; also four lines for men to two lines for women for a freaking WOMEN'S WORLD CUP????).

Nonetheless, we got to our seats as the field was being transformed for the opening and we were seated right next to the place where all the performers came into the stadium. That was the good news; the bad news was that the show was mostly directed at the bigwigs across the field, so we never got to see the front of the cool city signs that beefy young men carried via fancy "backpacks."

 

  The opening ceremony was a high-energy, joyful performance, featuring a large number of dancing young women, representing all the teams in the tournament. 

And then, of course, the match! It was France versus South Korea. While France was expected to win (they were a 2-goal favorite), none of the pre-match analysis prepared the crowd for the dazzling performance of the French. Not only did they dominate their guests, but they displayed speed and precision that was breathtaking. Even before her tenth minute goal, Le Sommer, made her presence known - there were at least three plays that were close enough to goals to elicit the collective gasp or groan of the 45,000 assembled fans. Finally in minute ten, she got one in -- not just a goal, but a pretty goal.

The rest of the half continued in a similar fashion -- quick runs up the field by French players and crosses from the wings dropped in front of the goal with laser-like precision. One particularly beautiful play to zippy center back Griedge Mbock Bathy ended with the ball in the net, but FIFA's VAR (virtual assistant referee) technology, which they used in last year's world cup, showed that she was offsides by the tiniest of margins. It was the right call and in prior world cups would have been counted -- in this case, the VAR did not affect the outcome of the game, but my prediction is that it certainly will before the tournament is over.

So with that goal called back, it was Wendie Renard, stalwart defender, who broke the game open. She is quite tall and France's secret weapon (or not so secret it would seem) on set plays. Her first goal came off a gorgeous cross and there wasn't really much for the Korean goalie to do. And then, at the very end of stoppage time, there was a repeat performance instants before the whistle, taking the French into halftime with a 3-0 lead.

And just to show that I am really quite terrible at the selfie, here is the gratuitous halftime selfie, with Mike and Teresa (who have mastered this art form way  better than I have!)

The second half saw similar domination -- Korea's first shot on goal didn't occur until the 78th minute! And then, captain Amandine Henry, made it 4-0 with a gorgeous, curling shot in the 85th minute that entered the goal just on the correct side of the far post.

Even though there was never a question about the outcome, it was a fun game to watch. The French women are dazzling in their speed and precision and look like a pretty formidable opponent. If the tournament goes according to plan, they could meet the USA in the quarter final in Paris on June 28; should it come to pass (i.e., both teams win their bracket and their round-of-16 match) that will be a match for the ages (and unfortunate that it happens so early in the tournament.

And for those of you who do not follow the cup, but humor me by reading my blog:

Saturday's results were:

• German 1, China 0
• Norway 3, Nigeria 0
• Spain 3, South Africa 1

Today's results so far are:

• Italy 2, Australia 1 (upset)
• Brazil 3, Jamaica 0

Up next: England versus Scotlant

The Great Cat Migration of 2019

Mission: Transport three physical felines (which shall be multiplexed onto two virtual felines) from Boston to Vancouver.

Who: Yours truly, trusted daughter Teagan, and brave friend/colleague, Gabriella.

When: 0700 January 1, 2019.

Previously: Acquisitions: Three Alaska Airlines compliant cat carriers; two cat harnesses and leashes; one dog harness and leash (the Feline heretofore referred to as Fuzzer is what we call, "large."); cat hormone spray; kitty drugs (gabapentin); wet wipes; three spare carrier pads; ziploc bags.

Phase 1: Lincoln to Logan and Airplane

4:00 am wake-up.
4:20 three cats are contained in three rooms
4:45 I am showered and cats are drugged
4:54 cats are in boxes

The most harrowing part of the experience takes place between 5:00 AM and 6:38 when humans and felines are all on board their plane. The feline referred to as Fuzzer does not enjoy car rides and reacts by soiling his carrier.

Upon airport arrival, Gabriella and Teagan undertake mission Fuzzer-Cleanup while I take on mission, "pay for cats on plane." Alaska Airlines agent is extraordinarily helpful and understanding, even though she must ring up each cat separately and needs each of us to appear with a cat. Timing is such that each human is released from cat cleanup duty at precisely the right moment to process paperwork.

Next stop security. We were mostly prepared. Cats come out of carriers, so we have them harnessed and leashed. However, TSA insists on swiping hands of cat carrying humans while said humans are holding the cats. Cats stay out of the carriers until hand swipes have been declared safe.

Excuse me, but who thought this was a good idea?  Why not allow us to place the cats back in their boxes and then swipe hands rather than asking humans to juggle cats while swiping hands?  Really?

All three humans and cats survive security. Cats are pretty droopy thanks to drugs.

Phase 2: Boston to Seattle

The three of us are scattered about the plane, although Gabriella and I are only a row apart. On my right is a lovely woman who is flying Boston->Seattle->Anchorage->Nome->small town several hours outside of Nome. She is at the beginning of a very very very long day, but is lovely. On my left is one parent of two children sitting across the aisle with other parent (the two parents swap regularly). One child throws biggest airplane tantrum I've ever witnessed for about 30 minutes -- 15 prior to take off 15 after. I am no longer stressed about some meowing escaping from my cat carrier.

Kimi wins the title of star traveler. She was quiet and pleasant the entire flight -- so much so that Gabriella got a good four hours of sleep on the flight.

Sushi came in second. She is a bit unhappy and meows quietly, but is light enough to spend most of the flight on Teagan's lap. The small side window is just the right size to insert hand and pet her.

Fuzzer is not terribly happy.  He meows -- alternating plaintive, "Why are you doing this to me?" meows with periodic accusatory, "I am really unhappy and you are not doing anything about it." meows. I put the carrier on my lap for a couple of hours, but Fuzzer is heavy and eventually I give up. By this time, he is relatively well drugged and more docile.

We arrive in Seattle without further incident.


Phase 3: In SEATAC

We had a comfortable layover, so we sought out the "pet relief area." Good news: in our destination terminal. Bad news: we missed it first time around. I sense a bit of specism.  They couldn't have a litter box too?

In any case, we decide to let the felines out of their boxes, on leash, of course. They were somewhat apprehensive.

Ultimately, all three cats ended up hiding behind the metal sheeting in one enormous pile of felines: sushi on the bottom, Fuzzer and Kimi on top.

Phase 4: SEATAC to Vancouver

Back in the boxes they go ...

This time, Fuzzer and Sushi were allowed to sit next to each other with their humans, but Kimi was relegated elsewhere. Fuzzer was pretty chill, but Sushi did not enjoy being on a plane again. The side of the carriers have a tiny hand-sized opening through which you can pet the cat. Sushi didn't quite understand this -- she thought it was designed for the cat to stick her head out, then a paw, and then a second paw. About this time, Teagan and I got wise to her antics and proceeded to figure out how to shove half a cat back through a very small hole. This was sufficiently challenging that there is no documentary evidence that we succeeded.

 And Finally: Vancouver!

Mission accomplished: Three humans and three felines arrive at YVR, Vancouver airport. We weren't sure what customs would be like ... none of us are very good at reading. When we were asked if were bringing any of the following into the country: Meat/meat products; dairy products; fruits; vegetables; seeds; nuts; plants and animals or their parts/products; cut flowers; soil; wood/woodproducts; birds; insects, we kind of missed the "animals" and focused on the meat, meat products, parts/products and answered no. We were kindly informed that this was wrong. Nonetheless, we would have had to go talk to the nice man at the booth anyway. He looked at the three boxes, the three rabies certificates and welcomed the felines to Canada.

As all of UBC was starting up the next day, the taxi line was LONG. We finally got to the front and the first cab to which we were directed had a driver who pleaded "cat allergy."  The next one was accommodating and we loaded three humans, three backpacks, and three felines into the car. 

The felines were clearly a bit spooked by this whole endeavor, choosing to hide in the one familiar place available ... yup, that's fuzzer hunkered down in the litter box.

Fortunately, it didn't take them long to feel at home -- they were happy not to be flying, enjoyed some catfood, and started exploring.

Happily, they seem to have settled in quite quickly.