Viva Italia!

Well... the Italians were a tough foe tonight.  The US lost 2-0, with both goals given up in the first half.  After a day of rain, wind and cooler weather, we faced Italy at a quaint stadium in a city outside of Toulon called La Valette.  This was a little east of Toulon and was a very nice area with great views of the mountain range.  The Italians are a formidable opponent and will be tough to beat in the Olympic games as well.  This tournament is unique in that not too many fans attend the games; rather, the stands are filled with scouts and coaches representing hundreds of teams from all over Europe.  This tournament is an ideal setting for them to scout young players to recruit for their soccer clubs.  Many of our guys were talked to by representatives of various teams, even Manchester United, which is a well-known  club in England's Premier League.  At any rate, many players will be heading home tomorrow or the next day.

This has been fun, tiring and an overall great experience.  I look forward to sharing more of my endeavors with the US Mens Olympic Soccer team in July and August as we play in Beijing.

This is Marcus Holliday signing off...

Tough loss to Ivory Coast

The US suffered a tough loss to the Ivory Coast 1-0 on Friday with the only goal coming from a penalty kick late in the game. The US goalkeeper, Chris Seitz, played a fantastic game and came up with great save after great save. He kept the US in the game the whole time with his high pressure saves. Today will be a light day with an easy practice so as to give the guys as much rest as possible before the match vs. Italy tomorrow night. A win vs. Italy would allow us to end the tournament on a high note. Most players and staff will head home or to their respective teams on Monday or Tuesday. We will do some sightseeing this morning or this afternoon if at all possible. There are some great outdoor markets offering food, linens, exotic fabrics, etc...

Beautiful day in the neighborhood

What a great day today in Toulon! Sunny, cool and clear all day with a nice breeze. The best day yet. Not a cloud in the sky. We had a light practice this afternoon, as well as an easy pool workout this morning. We play tomorrow at 12:30 Bradenton time. The kids from Oneco have really been sending some great questions. It's hard for me to remember each of them as I type, but I try to do my best. The desserts here are great. We have various sweets after lunch and dinner such as tarts, brownies, local cheesecake, chocolate mousse. Today someone bought some candies and sweets from a local shop that were absolutely amazing. We think they were candies made from carmelized apricots. They basically heated up some apricots and cooked them until they became liquid and then add sugar and then they can take that liquid and let it cool into whatever shaped candies they want. VERY tasty!
Mrs. Freer's Class Questions: What's the coolest thing you've seen so far? ... I think the view of the harbor from Mt. Faron.
Do they practice every single day? .... Yes, we practice every day, but on days in between games we practice at a lower intensity so no one gets hurt or gets too tired before the next game.
Does the food you eat smell bad?.... The food does not smell bad. We have eaten some strong smelling cheeses which may smell bad to some people, but I like those types of cheeses.
How far away are you from Paris? ....From what I've heard, we are about an 8 hour drive from Paris, which is pretty far. However, if you take the Bullet Train, which is a special passenger train that travels at speeds greater than 200mph you can get there in 3-4 hours, I believe. Ms. Freer can explain the bullet train to you.
How sore are your legs after a game? ... My legs are fine after games since I don't play. :) But, the players legs are very tired and sore after a game because they run so much and the game is very physical. A game of soccer has two 45 minute periods. There are no timeouts, except for injuries or fouls, like in other sports. During a soccer match, players may run up to 5-6 miles and they have to do that at a fast pace. It is a very physically demanding sport. I hope you guys have a great day and be sure to root for the USA tomorrow versus the Ivory Coast!!

Tough loss today

Tough match today. The US lost 3-2 to Turkey in a close game. We will have an easy day tomorrow, including a light practice and workout in the pool to help with some muscle soreness and recovery. We will play Ivory Coast on Friday; another tough team. Maybe tomorrow we'll be able to get a little rest and work hard to prepare for our next game. Thanks for so many comments today. FYI..they do not ride horses here, but use cars just like the US. They drive much smaller cars than we see in the US, I think because the streets are so much more narrow than ours. The time difference between here and Florida is 6 hours. So, right now as I'm typing this it is 12:15 a.m. (I'm ready for bed!!) and it is only 6:15 in Bradenton. It makes it difficult to go to bed at the appropriate time here because your body is not used to going to bed so early. Make sense??

Game Day Tomorrow!

We had our final practice today before playing our first game of the tournament tomorrow afternoon. Once again, some ominous dark clouds hung around most of the afternoon, but the rain and lightning held off. After practice we returned to the hotel and had dinner. We always have some great desserts with dinner. Tomorrow is game day, so we try to keep our schedule as simple as possible. On game day, after a mid-morning breakfast we will get the guys out of the hotel and go for a short walk around town to stretch their legs, etc...We'll have our pre-game meal around 12:00 and then begin getting players ready for the game (taping ankles, etc...) around 1:30 or so. We will leave on our team bus for the stadium in downtown Toulon around 2:45. Hopefully we will get a win against the turkeys from Turkey!!
Thanks to all of you for the great questions !!
First of all, MLS stands for Major League Soccer, which is the highest level of professional soccer in the United States.
I have seen a number of sites, but I am not sure if I have seen the Roman Cathedral/Church here in Toulon. I'll try to find it and take a picture of it for you.
There are some cheeses here in France that are definitely smelly. But, just because it's smelly doesn't mean that it tastes bad. :)
It sounds like you guys are getting just as much rain as I am here in France. Liam, I'll bet you had a rainout today, right?? I know Jonas did, which always makes him quite disappointed.
It will be tough for you to watch our game tomorrow, which is at 9:30 your time, unless you pretend you have a sudden illness. :)Maybe your parents can record it for you or TiVo it. Anyway, look for me whenever someone gets hurt because that is when I have to run out on the field and tend to them. Actually, hopefully no one will get hurt and I will be able to just stay on the bench and relax!!

Next two posts

This is Rachel, not Marcus...he has been updating the school blog that the kids' gifted teacher set up, but he had not updated this one in a couple of days, so I just copied and pasted. :) He is responding to comments and questions that kids from the program have sent him. Here is that website if you want to check out the kids' comments: http://xit.manatee.k12.fl.us/index.php?blog=holliday

Why we are in France

I forgot to mention that the reason our team is in France is because the US team was invited to play in the Toulon International Tournament 2008 from May 20-29.
This invitation-only event, held annually in southern France, is departing from its traditional under-21 format to feature some of the world’s top under-23 national teams in advance of the Summer Olympic Games in Beijing. It is considered the most prestigious youth tournament in the world.
Check Fox Soccer Channel, which will show all the games, for exact game times but our schedule is as follows:
Wednesday, May 21 - 3:30 p.m. ET United States vs. Turkey
Friday, May 23 - United States vs. Ivory Coast
Sunday, May 25 - 12:00 p.m. ET Italy vs. United States
Tuesday, May 27 - 12:00 p.m. ET Semifinals Tuesday, May 27 - 2:30 p.m. ET Semifinals Thursday, May 29 - 12:00 p.m. ET Third Place Match Thursday, May 29 - 2:30 p.m. ET Final