‘The Beautiful Game’ truly rocks

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 16/06/2015 (4066 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Even on the wrong side of matches that saw Germany and China take what they needed to move ahead, the fire in some defeated players’ eyes remained undimmed.

If anything, judging from the scenes around Investors Group Field Monday night, many of those sparks only grew brighter.

Example: after New Zealand battled to a disappointing 2-2 draw with China, midfielder Annalie Longo settled into a chair underneath the stadium. She’d just been named player of the match, but that was small consolation after a result that blocked the Football Ferns from advancing deeper in this Women’s World Cup.

“It’s frustrating, but sometimes it’s football, and we’ll come back, hopefully back to the Olympics in one year,” Longo said, steely. “And… yeah, we’ll be back.”

Those final five words, Longo said them bluntly — uttering them as a promise, not a simple hope. So goes the tightrope of confidence and expectation young teams must learn to walk, on their forward march. They’re getting there: if the Football Ferns “underachieved,” manager Tony Readings said, “we haven’t underperformed.”

Oh, the difference evolving expectations make. After Thailand fell 4-0 to Germany Monday afternoon, German manager Silva Neid had some sharp words for her team, telling the media her side — she rested many of her starters — failed to use empty space, struggled to keep their speed up, didn’t control their passing play.

The Germans can win this whole thing, of course. They won all 10 of their qualifying matches on the road to Canada. They know they have that shot.

On the other side of the pitch, though, Thai goalkeeper Waraporn Boonsing was fired up just to have come and battled.

“Playing in the World Cup has always been a dream,” the 25-year-old keeper said after the match, through a team interpreter. “Now (I) already achieved it, so next goal is going to be coming back here again.”

Perhaps it was that resilient spirit that so charmed Monday’s crowd, which swelled to just over 26,000 by the time the night was over. Boonsing is a sparkplug for a Thailand side that came into the tournament at a deep disadvantage: there are only about 1,000 women in Thailand who play soccer, and there is no women’s league.

That they couldn’t stand up against Germany isn’t surprising. That they never stopped trying is a testament to what this tournament should be all about.

Boonsing, she exemplified that lesson in this World Cup. The goalkeeper delighted crowds in Ottawa with a golden penalty-shot save against Norway; she did it again in their second match, when she helped stretch out one Ivory Coast striker’s cramping legs, and comforted a heartbroken opponent at the end of the game.

That show of sportsmanship earned her warm ovations. As Boonsing sees it, it’s just part of being an ambassador for her nation and its traditions.

“It has been embedded deep in Thai culture already,” she said. “We don’t just compete against each other, but (I) feel we need to help (our) opponent as well. Especially at the end of the game, when we won and Ivory Coast lost, (I) know how she felt and (I) would like to show my empathy for her feelings.”

In Winnipeg, Boonsing delighted again. She was under fire often at Investors Group Field, as even an underpowered German team smacked 36 shots in her direction, 16 of them on target. Boonsing battled back with every type of acrobatics: she leaped, she dived, she threw her body in front of the ball.

At the half she had allowed but one goal and had earned thunderous cheers. Even German fans applauded her efforts.

“The goalie, super,” raved Jurgen Launer, who runs Winnipeg’s Bayern Munich fan club, during the break. “If it wouldn’t be for the goalie, it’d already be 7-0. That goalie is super, no doubt about it.”

So it was that a little-known goalkeeper from Thailand ignited a bright night at the Women’s World Cup, one marked by high drama on the pitch and triumphant surges of emotion off. The latter were driven by healthy and jubilant crowds.

Everyone was there, every team was represented in its fans. German supporters, some visitors and many from Manitoba, dealt out some devastating “Deutschland!” chants. Before that match, members of Manitoba’s Thai community drummed and danced down Chancellor Matheson Road and into the stadium.

“There were a lot of supporters among the Thai community here in Winnipeg, especially in terms of moral support,” Thailand head coach Nuengrutai Srathongvian said, after everything was done. “Every part of the Thai population has been helping us, especially in terms of development for the future.”

Then, in the evening, the most stunning sight of all, as more than 1,000 Team China fans spread through three sections of the north end zone stands, draping giant China flags over the walls. They even came prepared with volunteers to direct their songs and chants, timing it to try and most help China in the match. Considering the entire Chinese-Canadian population of Manitoba is small enough to fit inside the stadium, it was a brilliant turnout.

It wasn’t lost on China’s players. After the whistle blew on their match, the young women took a slow victory lap, waving and stretching up to grasp long rows of outstretched hands. In the north end zone, the sea of people in red T-shirts stayed and cheered until the team entered the tunnel and disappeared from view.

So that’s the beautiful part of sport. But sports can get messy sometimes, too — or maybe it’s power that gets messy, and sports is just collateral damage.

Monday afternoon the Nobel Peace Centre announced it was severing ties with FIFA. The end of that relationship means the end of the Handshake for Peace, a ceremonial meeting of players and referees.

When China and New Zealand faced off, they did the handshake anyway.

“In the spirit of fair play and friendship,” the announcer intoned on the stadium PA, “the captains and referees will now take part in the Handshake for Peace…” They did one more time after the game.

melissa.martin@freepress.mb.ca