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...