I will attempt to keep updates from Argentina (Scotland if I hear from them)...
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Argentina - March 22nd:
Saturday, March 22
Change of plans…due to a set of severe thunderstorms that blew through sections of the country last night, the team we were scheduled to play this morning had to cancel. Evidently a small tornado hit the area so getting their team together for the match would have been nearly impossible. The match has been rescheduled for Wednesday.
So we used our morning to let the boys sleep in a little…breakfast at 9am, followed by a 10:30 departure for a training session. We actually used the session for a 4-a-side tournament where we mixed the teams (‘91s and ‘93s) to make things a bit more interesting and to let the boys continue to get to know each other better. It turned out to be a spirited tournament and everyone had a great time.
The boys are showering up and getting ready to head down town to the Recoleta area, a street fair type of setting. We’ll have some free time downtown, followed by a return to the hotel for some study time (yes, we’re keeping on the boys about using their down time wisely), and then it will be off to dinner and tango lessons. I think we’re all looking forward to seeing the tango lessons!
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Argentina - First games
Friday, March 21
(Continued)
We just returned from touring Buenos Aires, including a tour of La Boca and the stadium of Boca Juniors. It was a great trip…the boys seemed to really enjoy walking around the stadium, including the chance to see the locker room of the home team. Tons of pictures were taken and lots of smiling faces after the boys had a few minutes to walk around the fan shop inside the stadium. I’m sure they’ll all be wearing their new Boca Juniors gear tomorrow.
Tomorrow is a match with Tristan Suarez at 9:30 for the ‘93s and 11am for the ‘91s. Following the conclusion of those matches, we’ll be touring the Recoleta Area and experiencing the street fair.
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Friday, March 21
Breakfast was followed by departure for our first set of matches. After a good warm up, the ‘93s took the field against Defensores de Belgrano It took about 10 minutes to get some of the nerves out and then we settled into what turned out to be a fantastic match. The Argentine team created the earlier chances in the first half, but we certainly created a fair number of chances for ourselves, especially toward the latter part of the half. The second half saw us continue to do a good job of defending. We were winning the ball back earlier and doing some nice things on the ball, moving around the opponent and creating spaces to attack. Somewhat against the run of play, Defensores scored their first goal of the afternoon off a deflection that resulted in a fortuitous bounce for them. Almost immediately after the kickoff, we created a couple of great scoring chances but were unlucky not to finish. As we pressed higher up field and pushed more numbers forward trying to pull back an equalizer, we gave up a second goal on a counter attack. The final score ended in a 2-0 defeat, but the coaches feel that a tremendous effort was put forth by the boys, and we learned a great deal about the soccer in Argentina. This is definitely going to be great preparation for the ODP season!
Following the ‘93s, the ‘91s kicked off against the older Defensores de Belgrano team. The opponents had the better of the play in the first half but our boys fought hard, defended well, and gave a great effort. We gave up a goal off of a free kick which rebounded off the post, allowing Defensores to follow the shot and put away the second chance. At halftime Coach Miranda made some slight adjustments to the team and the results paid off with about 10 minutes to play. They did a much better job of keeping possession and not allowing so much time and space for the opponent to play. A Maryland goal came from a tremendous individual effort by one of their players to maintain possession for his team and beat 3 defenders. His cross was met inside the penalty area, chested down, and the resulting shot brought the Maryland bench and our few spectators to their feet! It was clinical finishing. The remaining few minutes of the game saw some hard challenges by both teams as both felt they wanted to press for the win. In the end, the ‘91s were able to finish the game with a well earned draw.
Both teams put on a great display of soccer…sticking to their game plans and playing some very attractive soccer. Several Defensores fans commented about the quality of our play for both teams. We are definitely earning respect! The boys are exhausted but I think proud of their efforts.
The games were followed by a nice lunch at the hotel and the boys are currently showering up as we’re about to head out for a city tour of Buenos Aires, including La Boca area at 4pm. Dinner is scheduled for the hotel at 8pm
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3/21 - Short e-mail from Scotland:
Keith: Good morning. We made it safely to Scotland. Accomodations are excellent. Food is great. Fields are outstanding. We have had two training sessions and have our first game this evening. All players are fine and ready to play. Internet access is limited and expensive. Will try to write again soon. All the best, Steve Pfeil
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Argentina:
3/20 - Wednesday, March 19, 2008
Leg one of our journey began with our departure from Reagan International…the flight was a few minutes delayed but once airborne, it was smooth sailing. We landed in Miami on time to a beautiful sunny afternoon. We have a three hour lay over so the boys have been going in groups to the Pizza Hut or Nathan’s for dinner. The next leg of our journey begins at 8:30pm when we depart Miami for Buenos Aires.
Thursday, March 20, 2008
The journey from Miami to Buenos Aires was very smooth. The flight left on time and touched down on time. Most of the boys slept for most of the long flight. Getting through customs was a breeze…in fact one of the hosts who met us at the airport commented that we set a record for getting through customs faster than any group he’s ever worked with. Also important to note, several flight attendants commented to us about how well behaved our group was on the flight! Upon arrival at the hotel, we gave the boys a chance to get to their rooms and take advantage of some of the down time to rest up. A few decided to venture out into the downtown areas with the coaches and chaperones…we needed to stretch out legs a bit.
Lunch is scheduled for 12:30pm in the hotel. It will be our first meal in the hotel, where we will actually eat a majority of our meals for the week.
Just returned from lunch. It was a delicious meal that consisted of salad, soup, chicken, and french fries. The boys ate like it was the first time they’d ever seen food so we know they thought it was good too!
Next up is a training session at 4pm. We departed the hotel at 3:30pm and traveled about 30 minutes across the city to a modern field turf training facility, very much like what we’ve trained on at the SoccerPlex. Both teams spent time working on getting the kinks out of their legs and on keeping possession of the ball. Later both teams worked on free kicks, both attacking and defending. It was a hot, sunny afternoon so both teams ended the session a bit early….approximately 5:30pm. Then it was back aboard the bus to battle the traffic back to the hotel.
Dinner is planned for 8pm in the hotel, to be followed by team meetings with the respective coaches. The plan is to have the players get to bed early tonight in preparation for a full day tomorrow. Both teams play against Defensores de Belgrano…the ‘91s kicking off at 10am and the ‘93s kicking off at 11:30am. Following the conclusion of the matches, we will return to our hotel to shower, change, eat, and then head out for a tour of the city.
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More on the games to come tomorrow.
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