It is Sunday and the Finals are here. For many of the referees, it is a day of fun in the sun. For the 8 of us that have matches, there is one more game before we can celebrate. Most of us slept in this morning and had breakfast at 8:30am instead of 7:30am. After breakfast, I met with my team for pregame preparation. We are excited for the match this afternoon and are looking forward to ending the tournament on a very good note. Kick-off is at 3:30pm so we will leave the hotel at 1:15pm. I know that many of you are wishing us well. We are hoping for a very good match.
Thanks to all of you who have been following along on my journey! I hope you enjoyed the blog.
Sunday, December 7, 2008
Saturday, December 6, 2008
The Final Assignments
So morning came quickly for some and not so quickly for others. I slept great. Perhaps that little tasting of wine took off the edge. :) We had breakfast as usual and then headed out for training. In the bus, Sonia had the long awaited news - the appointments for the finals. Sonia first congratulated the semi-final referees and then announced the teams for the finals.
She announced the 3rd/4th place match: Bennett, Walker, Rojc and Gonzalez. That is FIFA talk for myself, Natalie (England), Lada (Croatia) and Carolina (Chile). There was a round of applause. What a great feeling! I am very happy with my appointment, but also very happy with my crew.
Sonia continued with the appointment for the 1st/2nd place match: Ihringova, Caro, Nystrom and Melksham. Translation - Sasha (England), Helen (Sweden), Anna (Sweden) and Jacqui (Australia). 4 Confederations are represented in the referee crews - quite amazing.
Of course everyone applauded and then everyone started giving each other hugs. I was sitting in the back of the bus so my first hug was with Natalie who was sitting in front of me, but then Cindy (who was sitting across the aisle) came over to give me a hug. The hugs were contagious and everyone spent the next 5 minutes squeezing through the bus aisle to hug each other. This is a great group of referees and despite that some referees were disappointed that their name was not read, they were sure to congratulate the others who had been selected - a great show of comraderie.
Our training was the usual "-1" training - warm-up followed by 2 x 4 min accelerations. However, today was a bit different - our last training session. We divided into teams of 4. We gave our flags, whistles and cards to the players who have been helping us with training for the past several weeks. We now get to see what they have learned from us. We became the players and the players became the referees. It was comical to say the least, but also great fun. We had a lot of laughs and really enjoyed our last day together.
We headed back the hotel around 11am. I headed straight for a massage and then lunch. After lunch, we gathered for our final debriefing. We went over the semi-final matches including the yellow cards, teamwork and offside decisions.
Fortunately both matches went really well so the debrief was short. At 4pm, we loaded the bus and headed out for a city tour. Our LOC (local organizing committee) referee coordinator was our tour guide. We stopped at the Art Museum and the old city square, but by far the highlight was a visit to the Presidential House. The President does not live here, but does work here. We were very fortunate to have a private tour despite it being closed. At first when we arrived they told us we could not go in, but after some persuasion from our LOC coordinator, we were allowed in for a private tour - unbelievable. It was fantastic!
I am reminded all of the time how very lucky I am to have such amazing experiences. I know I will look back and be extremely grateful for my good fortune.
She announced the 3rd/4th place match: Bennett, Walker, Rojc and Gonzalez. That is FIFA talk for myself, Natalie (England), Lada (Croatia) and Carolina (Chile). There was a round of applause. What a great feeling! I am very happy with my appointment, but also very happy with my crew.
Sonia continued with the appointment for the 1st/2nd place match: Ihringova, Caro, Nystrom and Melksham. Translation - Sasha (England), Helen (Sweden), Anna (Sweden) and Jacqui (Australia). 4 Confederations are represented in the referee crews - quite amazing.
Of course everyone applauded and then everyone started giving each other hugs. I was sitting in the back of the bus so my first hug was with Natalie who was sitting in front of me, but then Cindy (who was sitting across the aisle) came over to give me a hug. The hugs were contagious and everyone spent the next 5 minutes squeezing through the bus aisle to hug each other. This is a great group of referees and despite that some referees were disappointed that their name was not read, they were sure to congratulate the others who had been selected - a great show of comraderie.
Our training was the usual "-1" training - warm-up followed by 2 x 4 min accelerations. However, today was a bit different - our last training session. We divided into teams of 4. We gave our flags, whistles and cards to the players who have been helping us with training for the past several weeks. We now get to see what they have learned from us. We became the players and the players became the referees. It was comical to say the least, but also great fun. We had a lot of laughs and really enjoyed our last day together.
We headed back the hotel around 11am. I headed straight for a massage and then lunch. After lunch, we gathered for our final debriefing. We went over the semi-final matches including the yellow cards, teamwork and offside decisions.
Fortunately both matches went really well so the debrief was short. At 4pm, we loaded the bus and headed out for a city tour. Our LOC (local organizing committee) referee coordinator was our tour guide. We stopped at the Art Museum and the old city square, but by far the highlight was a visit to the Presidential House. The President does not live here, but does work here. We were very fortunate to have a private tour despite it being closed. At first when we arrived they told us we could not go in, but after some persuasion from our LOC coordinator, we were allowed in for a private tour - unbelievable. It was fantastic!
I am reminded all of the time how very lucky I am to have such amazing experiences. I know I will look back and be extremely grateful for my good fortune.
Concha y Toro Wine Tour
Friday morning, I woke up at 7am and headed out for a short jog around Temuco. I wasn't quite sure where to go, but we were in the center of town so I was confident I could find my way back to the hotel. The temperature was cool, but nice with a bit of fog in the air. On my jog, I past the Korean team who were out ensemble for a short walk around town. I met up with the crew for breakfast at 8am and we headed out to the airport at 9am.
When we arrived at the airport, we were told that our flight was delayed due to weather. The runway at the airport is quite short for the Airbuses that fly in and out of the airport. Apparently, the day before the pilot attempted a landing, but had to pull up because he ran out of runway. So, with fog, they generally delay the flights until the visibility is better. Once the visibility cleared up, then the flight from Santiago left. So at 10:30am, we were notified that the plane had left Santiago and would arrive at 11:30am. Just after noon, we boarded the plane and headed back to Santiago. As we were boarding the plane, we realized that the entire Korean team was also joining us. Carol-Anne and I were sitting in the window and aisle seats respectively waiting for whomever would be joining us in the middle seat. Well, we found out soon enough who that would be....the Korean head coach. We kindly offered him to swap seats with Cindy which he graciously accepted. The players had a good laugh when they saw that their coach would be sandwiched between two referees. It was really great to see these young girls laugh. On the field, they often seem like soldiers - very focussed and serious so it was great to see their young girl side as well. Fortunately, the flight was uneventful and we arrived in Santiago without any problems.
After a short trip back to the hotel, we were greeted by all of our colleagues. They were boarding the bus to head to the Concha y Toro winery. Sonia gave us the option to stay at the hotel or join them at the winery. What do you think we did? It did not take any convincing; we ran up to our rooms, changed quickly into our casual clothes and jumped on the bus with everyone.
The trip to the winery was about 1 hour, but the time went very quickly as we caught up with our colleagues. After passing many rural housing areas, we finally arrived at the gated winery. You could not miss it. Concha y Toro is the largest wine exporter in Chile so this was not your run of the mill mom and pop winery. The grounds were amazing - over 350 acres of vineyards. We had a short tour of the grounds and then headed into the cellars where they ferment the wine in oak barrels.
To my surprise, the barrels were much smaller than I was expecting, but apparently they hold 300 bottles of wine. As I gazed across the rows and rows of oak barrels, I could not fathom the amount of wine in this modest cellar. The tour guide described the difference between the American and French oak barrels and how the French barrels are used for the more expensive wines. Those French always have to have one up on the Americans - ha, ha. :) We also went down to the Devil's Cellar where the famous Casillero Del Diablo wine is fermented. We had two wine tastings as part of our tour - a chardonnay and a cabernet sauvignon. Both were 14% alcohol. Our tour guide noted that 14% is quite strong for a white wine, but in fact, that is one of the trademarks of the Concha y Toro wines.
Everyone had a great time at the vineyard. We headed back to the hotel and met to receive the appointments for the final matches. Of course, everyone was anxious and excited. We waited for about 30 minutes, but apparently, Sonia was unable to get confirmation from Mr. Villar, the Chairman of the Referee Committee. After apologizing, Sonia informed us that we would have dinner tonight and receive appointments in the morning. Of course, we all took the news in stride - you learn to expect anything at these tournaments. We had a few good jokes and then headed to dinner. We'll have to wait until the morning for the BIG news.
When we arrived at the airport, we were told that our flight was delayed due to weather. The runway at the airport is quite short for the Airbuses that fly in and out of the airport. Apparently, the day before the pilot attempted a landing, but had to pull up because he ran out of runway. So, with fog, they generally delay the flights until the visibility is better. Once the visibility cleared up, then the flight from Santiago left. So at 10:30am, we were notified that the plane had left Santiago and would arrive at 11:30am. Just after noon, we boarded the plane and headed back to Santiago. As we were boarding the plane, we realized that the entire Korean team was also joining us. Carol-Anne and I were sitting in the window and aisle seats respectively waiting for whomever would be joining us in the middle seat. Well, we found out soon enough who that would be....the Korean head coach. We kindly offered him to swap seats with Cindy which he graciously accepted. The players had a good laugh when they saw that their coach would be sandwiched between two referees. It was really great to see these young girls laugh. On the field, they often seem like soldiers - very focussed and serious so it was great to see their young girl side as well. Fortunately, the flight was uneventful and we arrived in Santiago without any problems.
After a short trip back to the hotel, we were greeted by all of our colleagues. They were boarding the bus to head to the Concha y Toro winery. Sonia gave us the option to stay at the hotel or join them at the winery. What do you think we did? It did not take any convincing; we ran up to our rooms, changed quickly into our casual clothes and jumped on the bus with everyone.
The trip to the winery was about 1 hour, but the time went very quickly as we caught up with our colleagues. After passing many rural housing areas, we finally arrived at the gated winery. You could not miss it. Concha y Toro is the largest wine exporter in Chile so this was not your run of the mill mom and pop winery. The grounds were amazing - over 350 acres of vineyards. We had a short tour of the grounds and then headed into the cellars where they ferment the wine in oak barrels.
To my surprise, the barrels were much smaller than I was expecting, but apparently they hold 300 bottles of wine. As I gazed across the rows and rows of oak barrels, I could not fathom the amount of wine in this modest cellar. The tour guide described the difference between the American and French oak barrels and how the French barrels are used for the more expensive wines. Those French always have to have one up on the Americans - ha, ha. :) We also went down to the Devil's Cellar where the famous Casillero Del Diablo wine is fermented. We had two wine tastings as part of our tour - a chardonnay and a cabernet sauvignon. Both were 14% alcohol. Our tour guide noted that 14% is quite strong for a white wine, but in fact, that is one of the trademarks of the Concha y Toro wines.
Everyone had a great time at the vineyard. We headed back to the hotel and met to receive the appointments for the final matches. Of course, everyone was anxious and excited. We waited for about 30 minutes, but apparently, Sonia was unable to get confirmation from Mr. Villar, the Chairman of the Referee Committee. After apologizing, Sonia informed us that we would have dinner tonight and receive appointments in the morning. Of course, we all took the news in stride - you learn to expect anything at these tournaments. We had a few good jokes and then headed to dinner. We'll have to wait until the morning for the BIG news.
Semi-Finals are Over, What's Next?
The semi-final match is over and in an exciting final second goal, Korea DPR advances to the final. Carol-Anne led the referee team to a successful match. At 75 minutes prior to kick-off, I went to the locker rooms to check the players. Both locker rooms were very quiet and the players seemed nervous. This was a big match for both teams and the tension was quite evident. I wished the players good luck and headed back to check on the referee team. Carol-Anne, Rita and Cindy were ready to go. Of course, just like the players, the referees also experience nerves before a big match and our crew was no different; however, we try to keep things light in the locker room. After warm-ups, the teams lined up to enter the field for the anthems. This match was special as FIFA was celebrating anti-discrimmation. I was asked to carry 2 microphones out to the field and give them to each captain to recite a speech. The captains were nervous about speaking in front of the large crowd (about 12,000) and I was nervous that I would not turn on the microphones properly. Of course, I checked once, twice, three times before handing them over the captains. I was tempted to give my own little speech, but I refrained. :) Fortunately, everything went off without a hitch and before we knew it, the match was starting.
The first half was uneventful, but the teams made up for the lack of excitement and intensity in the second half. Carol-Anne did a great job of managing the players. France went up early in the second half so the match was not marked with Korean delay tactics that we have seen in many of their matches. It was nice to see both teams playing football (soccer) and not displaying gamesmanship. The Koreans had a goal disallowed by an offside decision. It was an extremely close decision. At the 4th official table, there is a tv broadcast with replay. Although I was busy managing the benches at the time, the media officer watched it on the replay and thought the decision was good. Only 4 minutes later, the Koreans tied the score. The team erupted with excitement. Both teams continued to push forward hoping to get the better of the other team, but at 90 minutes, the score was still tied at 1-1. I displayed the additional 2 minutes and dug the coin out of my pocket to get ready for possible extra time. For those who do not know, the additional time is actually the MINIMUM time to play which means that if the referee indicates 2 minutes of additional time, there can be up to 2:59. Well, at 2:20 of injury time (i.e. 92:20), Korea DPR scored the decisive goal. The Korean bench cleared and the players piled on top of the goal scorer. Of course, the French players held their heads in their hands with disappointment written all over their faces. The French coaching staff was in shock, but at the same time, trying to encourage their team to regroup. Despite playing another minute of additional time, France was unable to equalize. Korea DPR advanced to the finals and France to the 3rd/4th place match. Despite dominating play with an average of approximately 59% possession, France was unable to capitalize on their opportunities. The disappointment of the players and fans alike was evident. So close and yet so far....
After the match, we headed back to the hotel to watch the second semi-final, USA vs Germany - another match that promised to be a barn burner. Although we were unable to watch the match on the television, we were able to watch the match streamed over the Internet in the FIFA office. Both teams came to win and they did not disappoint the Chilean crowd. It was a great show of skill and teamwork by both teams, but the US put a lot of pressure on Germany and it was this pressure that ended up scoring them the winning goal. The US moved extremely well as a team both on offense and defense. It was quite a show by both teams. At the end of the match, we ate dinner and then headed off to bed.
Thursday, December 4, 2008
Semi-Finals
Last night, was a rough night for me. I woke up in the middle of the night with an upset stomach and rushed to the bathroom to be sick. It is no fun being sick, but particularly when you are in a hotel room. Fortunately that seemed to make things better, but 7am came very quickly as you can imagine.
Once again, we had training albeit with a much smaller group. Some of the referees were already heading home. We said our goodbyes to those who were leaving. On the training agenda today….aerobics, always a crowd favorite. Let me tell you, the referee group is not the most coordinated group so aerobics is always a good laugh. Today did not disappoint. I just wish I had my camera! After aerobics, those of us who have a game tomorrow did a brief speed workout (typical -1 match preparation).
We returned to the hotel around 11am. I went straight for a massage and then caught a little shut eye before lunch. After lunch I had a couple of hours to catch up on emails and pack my bags. At 5pm, we were once again heading off to the airport. Many of the departing referees were also going to the airport at the same time so instead of being transported in a van, we all went together in a bus. There were even some referees who were staying in Santiago that joined us for a trip to the airport. It was a great show of support from our fellow referees. After the 30 minute trip to the airport, we bid our friends farewell and headed off to Temuco.
We arrived in the hotel in Temuco at 9:30pm. After dropping our bags off in the room, we headed down to the restaurant for dinner. Once again, our choices for dinner were: fish, chicken or beef. You may think I am kidding, but I'm not. Although I think the chicken from the night before had made me sick, I chose the chicken. The meal arrived with a plain piece of chicken and white rice. This is a no frills hotel - just my style after the prior night. :)
It's Thursday morning and our team is gearing up for another big match. We are ready! We started the day with breakfast at 9am and a pregame meeting at 10am. We will be leaving the hotel at 2pm (just 2 hours away). We are hoping for the best, but preparing for everything.
Once again, we had training albeit with a much smaller group. Some of the referees were already heading home. We said our goodbyes to those who were leaving. On the training agenda today….aerobics, always a crowd favorite. Let me tell you, the referee group is not the most coordinated group so aerobics is always a good laugh. Today did not disappoint. I just wish I had my camera! After aerobics, those of us who have a game tomorrow did a brief speed workout (typical -1 match preparation).
We returned to the hotel around 11am. I went straight for a massage and then caught a little shut eye before lunch. After lunch I had a couple of hours to catch up on emails and pack my bags. At 5pm, we were once again heading off to the airport. Many of the departing referees were also going to the airport at the same time so instead of being transported in a van, we all went together in a bus. There were even some referees who were staying in Santiago that joined us for a trip to the airport. It was a great show of support from our fellow referees. After the 30 minute trip to the airport, we bid our friends farewell and headed off to Temuco.
We arrived in the hotel in Temuco at 9:30pm. After dropping our bags off in the room, we headed down to the restaurant for dinner. Once again, our choices for dinner were: fish, chicken or beef. You may think I am kidding, but I'm not. Although I think the chicken from the night before had made me sick, I chose the chicken. The meal arrived with a plain piece of chicken and white rice. This is a no frills hotel - just my style after the prior night. :)
It's Thursday morning and our team is gearing up for another big match. We are ready! We started the day with breakfast at 9am and a pregame meeting at 10am. We will be leaving the hotel at 2pm (just 2 hours away). We are hoping for the best, but preparing for everything.
Release Day
Today is Tuesday and we started the day with breakfast and training. The scheduled fitness training was a speed work. After some warm-up drills, the group of 32 split in half and lined up at opposite corner flags. There were 5 cones equally spaced along the length of the field along the median line (i.e. 1 at each 18 yard box, 1 in the center circle, and the other 2 equally spaced between the 18 yard box and the center circle). We would sprint to the first cone, jog to the other corner flag and then walk to the starting point. Then we would sprint to the second cone, jog to the other corner flag and walk to the starting point. This continued for each cone. 5 cones constituted a set. We completed 3 sets in total. After the speed workout, we divided into 5 teams and played some relay games. Our team ended up winning all of the preliminary relays so for the final relay, we started last. The final relay was a race around the track with obstacles (hurdles) that we had to go over and under. Each team had 6 people who had to remain together holding hands as we moved around the track. Everyone really enjoyed this last training day together as a whole team.
We headed back to the hotel for lunch and then a group debriefing for the quarterfinal matches. Today we were joined by Angel Maria Villar Llona, the Chairman of the Referee Committee. He greeted us and then we continued with our debriefing. Of course the debriefing sessions always bring a bit of apprehension from the referee teams. Fortunately, the debriefing went well for our team. We were given accolades for a well managed match. Surprisingly, there was only 1 tight offside decision in all of the quarterfinal matches so much of the feedback revolved around the referees and primarily misconduct. There were a few incidents in the Japan vs Korea match that were highlighted for instructional purposes, but overall the feedback was good for most of the referees. After the debriefing, they announced the list of referees who would be staying for the remainder of the tournament. To my delight, my name was announced. I was also very happy for my fellow referees who were asked to stay including: Carol-Anne (Canada), Bibi (Germany), Sasha (England), Sachiko (Japan), Jacqui (Australia) and Carolina (Chile). The assistant referees included: Rita (Mexico), Cindy (Trinidad and Tobago), Nykasie (Guyana), Milena (Costa Rica), Helen and Anna (Sweden), Lada (Croatia), Natalie (England) and Airlie and Allyson (Australia). They also announced the appointments for the semi-finals. Carol-Anne will be refereeing the Korea DPR vs France match along with Rita, Cindy and I. Sachiko will be refereeing the US vs Germany match along with Airlie, Allyson and Jacqui. So we head back to Temuco tomorrow. Carol-Anne had just returned from Temuco earlier today, but of course she is thrilled to be assigned to a semi-final.
Tonight is the final day together as a big group so we had a dinner planned at a restaurant. This is one of the few occasions when we get to wear our own casual clothes which is always a treat for the referees.
We were entertained by some traditional Chilean dancers. After each dance, the dancers grabbed some audience members and brought them to the dance floor to teach them the dance. Of course this always brought cheers from everyone. Lada, my Croatian friend, is always a good sport so when they were looking for a participant, I guided them to Lada. She was quite embarrassed, but as always a good sport. When she returned to the table, she made sure to let me know that I would be next. So everytime they came looking for participants, I made sure to have someone else lined up to volunteer.
It was a late night. We returned to the hotel after midnight.
We headed back to the hotel for lunch and then a group debriefing for the quarterfinal matches. Today we were joined by Angel Maria Villar Llona, the Chairman of the Referee Committee. He greeted us and then we continued with our debriefing. Of course the debriefing sessions always bring a bit of apprehension from the referee teams. Fortunately, the debriefing went well for our team. We were given accolades for a well managed match. Surprisingly, there was only 1 tight offside decision in all of the quarterfinal matches so much of the feedback revolved around the referees and primarily misconduct. There were a few incidents in the Japan vs Korea match that were highlighted for instructional purposes, but overall the feedback was good for most of the referees. After the debriefing, they announced the list of referees who would be staying for the remainder of the tournament. To my delight, my name was announced. I was also very happy for my fellow referees who were asked to stay including: Carol-Anne (Canada), Bibi (Germany), Sasha (England), Sachiko (Japan), Jacqui (Australia) and Carolina (Chile). The assistant referees included: Rita (Mexico), Cindy (Trinidad and Tobago), Nykasie (Guyana), Milena (Costa Rica), Helen and Anna (Sweden), Lada (Croatia), Natalie (England) and Airlie and Allyson (Australia). They also announced the appointments for the semi-finals. Carol-Anne will be refereeing the Korea DPR vs France match along with Rita, Cindy and I. Sachiko will be refereeing the US vs Germany match along with Airlie, Allyson and Jacqui. So we head back to Temuco tomorrow. Carol-Anne had just returned from Temuco earlier today, but of course she is thrilled to be assigned to a semi-final.
Tonight is the final day together as a big group so we had a dinner planned at a restaurant. This is one of the few occasions when we get to wear our own casual clothes which is always a treat for the referees.
We were entertained by some traditional Chilean dancers. After each dance, the dancers grabbed some audience members and brought them to the dance floor to teach them the dance. Of course this always brought cheers from everyone. Lada, my Croatian friend, is always a good sport so when they were looking for a participant, I guided them to Lada. She was quite embarrassed, but as always a good sport. When she returned to the table, she made sure to let me know that I would be next. So everytime they came looking for participants, I made sure to have someone else lined up to volunteer.
It was a late night. We returned to the hotel after midnight.
Back To Santiago
When we arrived at the stadium, we were greeted by our fellow referees who came by bus earlier. They congratulated us on a good match. At halftime, Bibi (German) sat next to me and recounted a story from the night before. Apparently, my match had been televised and all of the referees were gathered together to watch the match. At one point, Karine (France) started to laugh. Bibi asked her why she was laughing and she told her that the commentators had made a comment to the effect of "this referee, Jennifer Bennett, is much smarter than the tall German referee from the previous match". In my prior posts, you can see that Bibi is also blond, but much taller than I am. She is a policewomen by trade and one of the nicest people you will ever meet. In Bibi's match, there had been a situation where there was a foul at midfield, but just as Bibi blew the whistle, the ball went to a wide open attacking player. As the camera zoomed in on Bibi, you could see the attacking players pleading for an advantage call and reading Bibi's lips you could see that she was saying "I know, I'm so sorry". It has happened to all of us at one point. At the moment you realize that you should have applied advantage, you just wish you could suck the wind back into the whistle, but unfortunately, once you blow the whistle, play must stop. So apparently the commentator was making a reference to this particularly incident. Bibi was a good sport about it. With a big smile on her face, she told me that at this moment, she hates me, but for sure, I would be the one buying a round for everyone. :)
The Japan vs Korea DPR match did not disappoint the crowd. As expected, both teams played with great intensity and skill. Japan displayed finesse, but in the end the Koreans delivered another winning performance. Unfortunately, the match was marred with several delay tactics employed by the Koreans which were not well received by the crowd. The fans would whistle with disapproval at every attempt to delay. There were players rolling around on the ground with cramps miraculously subsiding after a short trip on the stretcher to the touchline. The trainer who came on to access the injured players attemped to parade around the pitch giving instructions to the players to the dismay of the referees. At the end of the match, the fans did not applaud the winning team. It was the losing team who had won their approval today. The Japanese lined up facing each section of the stadium and bowed to the thunderous applaud of the fans. It was certainly an emotional moment for the players and for the fans alike.
After the match, we headed back to the hotel. We were hoping to watch the second quarterfinal being played in Temuco, but unfortunately, the Irish pub could not find the match on satellite. So we ended up having an early dinner and watched part of the match being streamed on the Internet. The second quarterfinal match pitted Brazil against Germany. Germany took a 3-1 lead, but Brazil came back making for a thrilling finish. All of the referees in the dining room were gathering around one small laptop watching the final 10 minutes.
With Christmas just around the corner, the hotel staff has decorated the lobby with a Christmas tree. I am joined by Helen (Sweden), Bibi (Germany), Marina (Germany) and Anna (Sweden).
After the match had ended and dinner was finished, a small group of us headed over to the corner cafe for some fellowship. Tomorrow we will find out which referees will be staying for the finals and which will be heading home so we wanted to make the most of our remaining time together.
The Japan vs Korea DPR match did not disappoint the crowd. As expected, both teams played with great intensity and skill. Japan displayed finesse, but in the end the Koreans delivered another winning performance. Unfortunately, the match was marred with several delay tactics employed by the Koreans which were not well received by the crowd. The fans would whistle with disapproval at every attempt to delay. There were players rolling around on the ground with cramps miraculously subsiding after a short trip on the stretcher to the touchline. The trainer who came on to access the injured players attemped to parade around the pitch giving instructions to the players to the dismay of the referees. At the end of the match, the fans did not applaud the winning team. It was the losing team who had won their approval today. The Japanese lined up facing each section of the stadium and bowed to the thunderous applaud of the fans. It was certainly an emotional moment for the players and for the fans alike.
After the match, we headed back to the hotel. We were hoping to watch the second quarterfinal being played in Temuco, but unfortunately, the Irish pub could not find the match on satellite. So we ended up having an early dinner and watched part of the match being streamed on the Internet. The second quarterfinal match pitted Brazil against Germany. Germany took a 3-1 lead, but Brazil came back making for a thrilling finish. All of the referees in the dining room were gathering around one small laptop watching the final 10 minutes.
With Christmas just around the corner, the hotel staff has decorated the lobby with a Christmas tree. I am joined by Helen (Sweden), Bibi (Germany), Marina (Germany) and Anna (Sweden).
After the match had ended and dinner was finished, a small group of us headed over to the corner cafe for some fellowship. Tomorrow we will find out which referees will be staying for the finals and which will be heading home so we wanted to make the most of our remaining time together.
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