First, some Unfinished Business

Find myself sitting virtually alone in the SMC at Manaus, early Sunday morning of the US-Portugal match. The Internet in the hotel is not very good, and the air conditioning in the SMC is very good, so thought I would come over to get some catch-up work out of the way prior to the match.

The first blog to be cranked out this morning is a quick recap of the England-Uruguay match, Thursday, in Sao Paulo. Yes, due to schedules and travel, I am that far behind keeping you, my few loyalists, in the know about my experiences in Brazil.

In Sao Paulo, there is no good way to get to Arena Corinthians, the Sao Paulo venue, from our hotel, the Tryp Higienoplois. Seemingly the best method we have come up with to date is to ride the express train from the Luz station, as we did for Match 1. Less crowded than the day of the Brazil opener, of course, the train was nonetheless quite full, mostly of enthusiastic Uruguayan fans.

An interesting note is the two young girls in the middle in the Columbia jerseys. They had tickets to the Columbia match, that same day, but no way to get to the match, so they went with their family to the Sao Paulo match. I know this because they both attend 'The American School', and their English, even the younger one, was quite good. The older, a rising high school sophomore, hopes to go to college in the U.S.

Another fan in the same group, was in a divided kit, but his loyalties were solidly behind one player.

As it turned out, his choice was an impeccable one, the night Luis Suarez made his return to the Uruguay stating 11, after a minor knee surgery following the English Premier League season. It was also interesting England chose to start five of Suarez' Liverpool teammates, but as the match progressed, it was obvious Suarez was choosing to pick on the defenders from Chelsea (Gary Cahill) and Everton (Leighton Baines and Phil Jagielka).

Speaking of defenders for a moment, it appears Uruguay has replaced their, in the politest terms, 'enforcer' from 2010, who was Diego Lugano, with Diego Godin. It was Godin, who in the ninth minute received a just yellow card from Spanish referee Carlos Velasco Carballo.

After being booked, however, Godin continued his persistency, being warned on a couple of corner kicks of holding Gary Cahill, up as an obvious target player, then in this sequence, pulling Daniel Sturridge off a ball he would have easily won and turned into a dangerous attack at the top of the box. Strangely, Uruguay remained at full strength the entire match, with Godin playing perhaps beyond the boundaries of the laws for the more than 80 minutes remaining in the match.

It was Suarez slipping Cahill's mark on a back post header in the first half, naturally on the far end of the field from me, that gave Uruguay a one-goal halftime lead. England returned with a renewed vigor after intermission, and finally drew level in the 75th minute, again on the far end of the pitch from my position, when Wayne Rooney finally tapped in a back post sitter for his first World Cup goal in 10 matches. 

The entire second half, Suarez maintained pressure on England's back line in every contestable situation. Sadly, it was a great player, in a strong case of deja vu, who would make the critical error.

In a seminal match, late in the English Premier League season, Liverpool and England captain Steven Gerrard, a player of impeccable accomplishments and day-in, day-out sound play, misplayed a ball, which turned into an opposition goal, a goal that very likely could have cost Liverpool the EPL title. In the 85th minute of this World Cup match, it was Gerrard's misplayed attempt at a headed clearance that would bloop backwards, with a voracious Suarez immediately pouncing on the loose ball, driving to net for the winner, blasted over goalkeeper Joe Hart's right shoulder.

Indeed, it was a triumphant return for a player playing for his country against five of his club 'mates, and securing bragging rights in the Liverpool changing room for the duration of his recently extended stay on the red side of the Mersey.

The actual 'bragging' however, will very likely always go unspoken in that clubhouse, for on the other side that night in Sao Paulo, a stellar career of the Reds captain most likely ended for England. It was the bittersweet moment, and it was Suarez first, then other Uruguayan players later, who sought out Gerrard to console him. Where there are winners and great triumph, there too are always heartbreaking stories of the losing side.

All contents of this blog, written and photographic, are copyrighted 2014, all Rights Reserved, by Perry McIntyre - Atlanta, GA.