Interview with Allyson Latta

Sunday, July 1, 2007

Postcards

Okay, perhaps this is not the tournament where the postcards will arrive home before the Scottish players. The Japanese, like the Chileans and the Argentinians play like small dogs run - fast and close to the ground. All lower body, excellent ball control, speed, agility. Scotland and Canada appear gangly and awkward next to their opponents. Is it all physique effecting these games? Of course not. Part physique, part mentality, part passion and culture. What I love about World Cup soccer is all that; how a country's traits are representative in their players. Each player has their individual characteristics, skills, but the overall country's can be seen in its team. Scotland like Canada has a team full of skilled players, like England's internationals,(not its youth team), packed full of stars, pros, but when you lump them together, they can't seem to pull off the grand win. Is it representative of the country? Am I getting political? No. Just an observation.

Off to the second half of the Canada vs Chile game. I think Canada needs to stop thinking so hard and play with their hearts, like the Chileans; their passion and drive is channeled through those speedy feet, just where it should be, an eye on the goal helps too!

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

True enough about Canadians - self-conscious, seemingly not in the moment. The South Americans schooled them with skill but were also more passionate. Then again, soccer takes years and years to develop and we must concede that we're greenhorns when it comes to the beautiful game . . .