Category Archives: Duke’s World Cup

Blue Devils anticipate Sunday’s World Cup final

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The following story was written by Danny Nolan.

American sports aren’t exactly having the greatest summer. Between two major lockouts, Roger Clemens’ trial, and incredibly insensitive remarks made by James Harrison, the last week alone has been one to forget.

Enter the Women’s World Cup.

In what can only be described as an emotional thrill ride, the United States women’s soccer team has taken the country by storm with their run to the FIFA Women’s World Cup final. Americans across the nation have found themselves stopping what they’re doing to catch a glimpse of the team’s games.

“When the World Cup started, I don’t think very many people knew about it,” Duke forward Mollie Pathman said. “But now, for every game, I have so many people texting me telling me how excited they are.”

Pathman, along with several other members of the Duke soccer team, have been keeping up with the action in Germany. While the games are entertaining, players said that watching the high-level soccer also teaches different techniques and styles.

“There’s a lot to learn watching the [United States] team and even watching other teams,” Pathman said. “You can learn different aspects of the game from different players.”

As a veteran of three World Cups with the United States, Blue Devil assistant coach Carla Overbeck understands what the women in Germany are going through. Overbeck was a 23-year-old reserve defender in 1991, and played a key role in 1995 before captaining the 1999 Cup-winning team. Looking back on her playing days, Overbeck says that this national team has the intangibles that helped her teams succeed.

“This team is the same in that their true determination and will a lot of times propels them to victory. We as Americans… pride ourselves as being the fittest team and the one that goes after it.”

This 2011 squad has been compared to the 1999 national team several times the past few weeks, high praise considering the latter’s plethora of quality personnel and accomplishments. Perhaps the best example of this came just last week in the quarterfinals, when the United States defeated Brazil in penalty kicks, 12 years to the day after their predecessors won the World Cup in penalties. The late game dramatics are just another reason why many have found themselves watching this World Cup.

“[Americans] love underdog stories and seeing them succeed,” Duke senior defender Molly Mack said. “I think it will be the perfect catalyst for the sport.”

Mack’s enthusiasm about the future of women’s soccer is due in large part to her own experiences watching the 1999 team take the title when she was little.

“I was 9 years old looking at players like Mia Hamm and Julie Foudy and they were like superheroes [to me],” Mack said. “I was lucky to be exposed to soccer at an early age and it looks like it’s happening all over again.”

A huge reason for the increased viewership of the tournament has been through the usage of social media. Services such as Twitter and Facebook are used periodically by both players and fans, allowing an even greater connection be made with this national team.

“It’s unbelievable to see the number of Americans that are behind this team,” Overbeck said. “You’re hearing on blogs and tweets about how people are changing schedules to see [these games].”

Soccer isn’t the most popular sport in the country, but one thing is for sure: when the United States plays Japan this weekend, America will be watching.

Duke’s World Cup: Gretchen Miller

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Duke athletes hail from far and wide—including several countries currently competing in the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. This is part three in a running series.

Gretchen Miller, a senior central-defender from Fairport, N.Y., has been hard at work this summer in Beaverton, Ore., at an internship with Nike, but the nine-hour time difference between South Africa and Oregon hasn’t kept her from following the United States’ magical run to the round of 16. This transcript comes from a phone interview conducted on the eve of the Red, White and Blue’s colossal showdown in Rustenberg with Ghana. The questions are in bold.

How closely are you following the World Cup?

Well I’m on the West Coast, so usually when I get up there’s one game just starting and one already played, so I’ll watch the games before I go to work [at Nike], and then while I’m there people usually have the games on.

Where were you when the group-clinching goal against Algeria was scored?

I was at work, and my manager actually didn’t come in that day, so a bunch of us went into his office to watch the game. We were kind of freaking out because the game was coming down to the last two minutes [with the US needing a goal to advance], and the people I was with didn’t really follow soccer, so it was pretty interesting. But when Landon scored, you could hear screams from the hallways and everyone was high-fiving.

How big of a controversy would there have been if Landon doesn’t score, and we get eliminated?

From the coverage I’ve seen after the game it’s been one of the main talking points of the commentators. I know there was complete outrage after [Maurice Edu’s] goal was called back in the Slovenia game, but one of the interesting things I’ve heard [from experts] is that we shouldn’t have put ourselves in that position in the first place. To go down 2-0 in the first half [against Slovenia] and have to fight back like that…while disallowing that goal hurt us, in reality we should have never put ourselves in that position.

There have been a few questionable calls and disallowed goals in the tournament, but FIFA has continued to take a stand against implementing any kind of replay system. Is that something you would like to see in the international game, and perhaps even at the college level?

If you look at the other major sports [in America], they have replay systems in place. Referees are human, and they make mistakes. The game moves so quickly that having something where they can look at [plays] again and slow them down, like in the NFL, I think would be beneficial. However, I think that soccer’s such a free game that’s quick and on-the-move, that replay might take something away.

We’ve got a favorable draw in front of us if the United States can get past Ghana, so how far do you think the US can go?

I think the next match [against Ghana] will be the most difficult match we’ve had thus far. Ghana is an incredibly athletic team, so I think they pose some interesting challenges to us. I think that if we’re smart in trying to break them down, and try to play like we did against Spain [in the 2009 Confederations Cup], then I think that we have a really good shot to beat them. If we get past Ghana, hopefully we wouldn’t have a let-down game [against either Uruguay or South Korea], but I think making it to the semis would be really feasible.

We’ve seen throughout the tournament that the traditional soccer powers aren’t invincible, and that just about any country can win on a given day. The round of 16 starts today, but who is your pick to lift the trophy in Johannesburg come July 11th.

You know, I’ll probably go with Brazil. I know they’ve gone away from their typical Brazilian flair, and are focusing on winning no matter how it looks. It’s hard to say though, I think on any day there could be an upset.

Aside from the soccer, one of the biggest stories of the Cup, at least in the American press, has been the Vuvuzelas. Do you hate them, or would you like to see them in Koskinen this fall?

I think it might add a bit of flair to Koskinen…but it might not help us out on the field too much. From everyone I’ve talked to, people just can’t stand them. I’ve gotten to the point where I’m not noticing them, because [the sound] is so constant.

Duke’s World Cup: Charles Marquardt

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Duke athletes hail from far and wide—including several countries currently competing in the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. This is part two in a running series.

Charles Marquardt, who is a fencer, is a rising sophomore from Windsor, Great Britain. His team—England—was last seen limping to a 0-0 draw with Slovenia. This abbreviated transcript comes from a phone interview conducted after the 1-1 tie with the United States. The questions are in bold.

The English fans and media are known for overhyping the World Cup. That the case this year?

There’s a huge hype this year compared to other years. There’s big expectations for some reason. The country always expects us to do well…. Some years it’s over-hyped, and I think it might be one of those years this year.

What are your thoughts on Robert Green? It seems like some in your home country are making him out to be the worst person on the planet.

He is the worst person on the planet [laughs]. There’s been excuses made about the ball, which are just ridiculous. [Tim] Howard made amazing saves, but Green couldn’t make that one…. He’s inexperienced on the major level. In the run-up, it was really close about who should be the goalie, and David James has that experience.

If England underperforms this year, will there be a major change with the team?

I don’t think so. A lot of our players aren’t too old. So we have continuity on the team. We should be okay, just keep plugging on.

You have a pick for who will win it all?

I don’t know… I think Brazil will probably screw up again. And France has serious issues…. I guess Germany could do surprisingly well…. If [England] can pull it together, play really well like they can, we could get through the quarterfinals and make a run at it.

Duke’s World Cup: Alain Michel

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Duke athletes hail from far and wide—including several countries currently competing in the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. This is part one in a running series:

Duke Tennis’ Alain Michel, a rising senior, competed in 13 singles matches this year, as well as many doubles matches with partner Torsten Wietoska. Michel hails from Sao Paulo, Brazil, whose team was last seen dismantling Ivory Coast, 3-1. His answers, in normal font, come from an email exchange.

How closely are you following this 2010 World Cup?

I usually watch two out of the three daily games, so I would say very closely.

With a team like Switzerland recently beating Spain, this looks to be a wide open WC year, and anywhere from 6 to 10 teams look like they have the talent necessary to make a run to the final. Who’s your pick?

I would still say Brazil, for its experience in the tournament.

What would’ve been the national reaction if Brazil had lost that game to the US in the Confederation Cup?

It would have been pretty bad, and the press would be very harsh about it, but what people care about most here in Brazil is the World Cup. The whole country stops to watch it, and that is all people talk about during the month. When or if Brazil loses in the WC then the whole population feels depressed for the next few months. We don’t expect anything but winning it.

Much has been made of Dunga’s approach to international football— that he focuses too much on the result and not enough on the traditional flashy football, especially after he left Ronaldinho and Neymar off the WC roster. If Brazil wins ugly, is that okay with you?

Yes, despite enjoying watching some very talented players from our country playing the beautiful soccer they can, I only care about the win.

With such a focus placed on winning with style in football, is that something you think about with tennis as well?

Not really, tennis is a very different game where one single point can change the whole match, so there is not too much space to focus on winning with style. You just have to win.

Group G is considered by many to be the toughest group in the tournament. Do you think that will provide Brazil a good warm-up for a deep run?

Definitely. The fact that Brazil is having some tough games already in its group makes the team tougher and humbler for the next rounds of the tournament.

The World Cup comes to Brazil in four years (the Olympics are on the way, too). Are you looking forward to that already?

I cannot wait for that. I want to watch as many games as possible in 2014.

Next up: Rising sophomore fencer Charles Marquardt, a Windsor, Great Britain native.