Devastation

7/5/14

The gang got back together, as Fe and Filipe met us in Salvador just in time for the next Costa Rica game. Sadly, I had a horrible head cold (maybe from sleeping under A/C? Who knows.) and the cold medicine made me so drowsy, I couldn’t be very sociable. But not to worry – there was a regimen of soccer to watch, so no need to be on my A-game. We got to the stadium early to try and avoid the crowds and grab a bite to eat at a restaurant just outside the gates. Good thing we did because we barely got a table before the restaurant (I will not need to eat pizza for a very long time after this trip) became standing room only – both inside and outside – to watch the Argentina v. Belgium quarterfinal (glad to see Argentina – or rather Messi – advance). It once again took forever to walk around the stadium to find our seats but it afforded us some great people watching. There were a lot of Mexico fans in attendance, probably because they were stuck with group tickets for the Netherlands games. It was great to see the new slogan they had adopted, “no era penal,” which rightly sums up why I desperately wanted Costa Rica to win this game. Yes, it would be AWESOME for Costa Rica to advance to the semi-finals for the first time ever (after an already amazing performance), but I also can’t stand the idea of the Netherlands advancing based on the false penalty awarded to Robben against Mexico. It’s such a horrible practice and really ruins the game for me. I realize almost every team takes dives to try and get ahead, and that it’s just a normal part of the game, but I still don’t like it. I think its horrible sportsmanship. But, oh well.

 

Mexico Fans

Mexico Fans

On our way to our seats, the “Costa Rican beacon” was once again stopped by a reporter and interviewed (this time for Chinese television) about the Costa Rican national team. He’s definitely become a small-time celebrity at these games ;o) [Nick: I cornered the billion+ people Chinese market.] Our seats were wedged between some very bitter Englishmen on our left (who didn’t stop complaining and cursing about the game the entire time) and a Spanish father and son on our left, whom Nick made quick friends with explaining all about La Sele. [Nick: They were fantastic and were rooting for Costa Rica, though they warned me that the team they were rooting for lost every game. So I told them to root for Holland :-P Of course, they followed Spain’s La Liga and so were very excited to watch Keylor Navas and both thought he was the best goalkeeper in Spain. Keylor did not disappoint. And it is great to see this love of the game passed from father to son (one that was actually interested). At an earlier game we sat next to an Italian father and son, where the son seemed like he couldn’t care less.] Fortunately for us, the seats in front of us were empty and Fe and Filipe were able to seat with us for the first time on this entire trip! It was much more fun to have our friends with us rather than just texting back and forth during the game. [Nick: I got to annoy them with my cheering and then prodded them to join in. It was fun.]

Our View

Filipe, Fe, Nick & Cat

Brazilian fan wanted to take a picture with the Costa Rica sash

Ugh, and what a stressful game. It was such a hard game to watch: Costa Rica was all defense and no offense! I realize that a good defensive line (and Keylor Navas) is what has helped them get this far in the tournament, but to not see them try and make the attack was utterly painful. Their only striker is Campbell and each time he got the ball, he was completely alone. There was no way a single Tico can outrun two or three defenders on his own and make a successful shot; this team just doesn’t have those skills. [Nick: I was disappointed in how defensive Costa Rica played. Mexico attacked Netherlands and showed they were vulnerable; Costa Rica attacked Mexico in the last game of qualifying and beat them handily. I think Costa Rica did not give themselves enough credit that they could take the game to the Dutch and beat them, but still they played valiantly. I’m just a fan of more offense.] The crowd was a lot more Brazilian than anything else but instead of chanting for the Ticos, they were all chanting for Neymar (Brazil’s “savior” who had cracked a vertebra and was now out for the rest of the Cup). It’s a HUGE bummer that Neymar is injured and won’t be able to play in Brazil’s next two games, but hopefully they’ll do OK without him. It was also nice to see the country’s solidarity and support for their star player, but the Ticos could have really used their support too! I was happy to hear the crowd booing Robben, though; that was kind of a bonus :o)

Pregame Huddle

Robben #11

So there we were, still 0-0 at the end of overtime, and it was once again down to penalties. I kept steeling glances at Nick the entire game – he couldn’t really talk he was wound so tight. So we stood, and we waited and we watched. And goddamn it if Holland didn’t bring in a “surprise” goalie at the last minute. A fucking 6’4” penalty specialist who had the gall to walk up and taunt the Costa Rican players before each shot. How the hell is that not a yellow card at least?!?! [Nick: At least the crowd booed him for that. It was the first time ever such a goalie move had been used in the World Cup.] Oh my god, it was so painful to watch the shootout. Nick was clutching his flag and I was holding my breath and then, it was over. Just over. The last four weeks, the last five games, everything La Sele had accomplished so far, over. Holland blocked two penalties and Costa Rica was out of the Cup. It was devastating.

Preparing for overtime

Regroup

Christian Bolaños' penalty score

It was so sad. I couldn’t really say much after the game for fear of tearing up. While Nick, on the other hand, will never express disappointment like that – everything always has to be “on the bright side.” (Which was total B.S. to me because it’s his home team, not mine. I wanted to grab him and shake him and yell at him to show a little emotion!) :P [Nick: Sure I wanted Costa Rica to win and they had at least a 50/50 chance, but I cannot complain; they gave us a great trip.] It helped that Fe and Filipe were there to console and cheer us up. I think they knew how heartbroken we were and they were very supportive and congratulatory about how well Costa Rica had done throughout the tournament and that that’s what would be remembered more than their loss to Holland (no doubt Andy Lopez was over the moon about it.) ;)

We ended the night by wandering around for a cab and – good lord, once again – headed to the mall for dinner. [Nick: Actually, the big malls are one of the best places to get dinner if you don’t know where exactly to go because you can get some diversity in food. It is amazing how most restaurants only sell Brazilian or Italian cuisine; you’d think they would want to differentiate themselves by offering different choices. Also, did we mention that this mall was conveniently only about 200m from our hotel and so was great after a long day?]