The plan is to stay here as long as the U.S. team remains in the tournament, but I booked a June 23 flight on the hunch that they wouldn't make the second round. After last night's 3-0 pounding at the hands of the Czech Republic, that prediction looks pretty darn good.
The Czechs totally outclassed the Americans, who can no longer surprise good teams in the wake of their upset of Portugal four years ago. No one takes them lightly anymore, but that doesn't mean that they're as good as the best teams in the world. America has never produced a player with the skill of Pavel Nedved, and his successor in the playmaking role, Tomas Rosicky, could turn out to be even better. Last night, however, Rosicky did the most damage in the uncharacteristic role of shooter, not playmaker. His 30-yard strike, one of the best goals of the tournament, essentially doomed the U.S. to defeat.
The American fans came out in force, but when things didn't go their way, they turned awfully quiet, and the giant Czech contingent (dressed all in red -- what a sight) was naturally more boisterous.
We left Gelsenkirchen at 12:40 for a train back to Hamburg, which arrived at 4:30 a.m., just as dawn was breaking. I took advantage of a relatively slow day to sleep until 2 p.m. Best decision I've made on the trip so far.
Tonight, it's to the Hamburg Media Lounge, where the city's tourism board wines and dines us in the hopes of getting good press. Even better, Brazil will be on the TVs there. Should be fun.
2 comments:
No, they served slightly upscale dishes (very slightly). I did, however, have a hamburger in Hamburg tonight. Pretty cosmic stuff.
The Americans definitely took a pounding from the Czechs. That was the first game where a team completely dominated the other.
Hopefully the Americans put up a little more fight in their next two games.
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