Training in Paradise

One of the most critical decisions each nation's federation makes in preparation for a World Cup is the choice of a home base and training facility. The way it worked for the 32 participating nations in the FIFA World Cup teams was FIFA set a date, and after midnight of that date, federations could put their requests to FIFA for training sites.

U.S. Soccer had been on the ground in Brazil, scouting club facilities well in advance of this time, and the nearly universal feedback was the Sao Paulo FC training ground was among the, if not the, best in the country. At 12:01 a.m., of the FIFA date, U.S. Soccer made their request, beating several other countries, all in line to jump at the chance to use this wonderful ground.

On off days, when the U.S. team is in Sao Paulo, there are generally press opportunities to meet with selected players and observe the first 15 minutes of each practice. Thursday was such a day, so I made my first visit to Sao Paulo FC, wanting to see for myself the source of these rave reviews.

As one can readily see, the U.S. has in no uncertain terms made this their home ground for the duration of the team's run in Brazil. Such visibility also comes with the attendant security each country receives from the Brazilian army and federal police.

Once one clears the obvious need for a security checkpoint, then turns into the training ground, the first impressions are strong. This is a beautiful training ground.

The field where the team trains has a good-sized grandstand and is a match field for scrimmages and the lower age group developmental teams. There are also two more full-size pitches, one with a nice shooting wall, which as a coach, I really like for interjecting some 'fun' into training.

The other amenities of the club are equally as nice. There is an outside patio, which overlooks the training pitches, and is perfect for the variety of entertaining, sponsor, and media functions, which go with running any successful club.

Once inside, the first thing one sees is the indoor 'recovery' pool, which is also suited for some soccer-related fun. Upstairs is a large press conference room, on a level with anything I ever experienced in the NFL, and an open area, outside the press conference room, for 'roundtable' interview situations.

It is in this open area the selected players for the day; Kyle Beckerman, Fabian Johnson, and Jermaine Jones held court with the media.

Straight from these sessions, the players hit the field to join the rest of the team in warmup running, stretching, juggling, and even sword play.

Once it is time to get down to work, Jurgen Klinsmann pulls the group together to give them their thoughts and topics for the day, then preparation for the next match, in this case, Portugal, begins. Can't really tell you anything about those preparations, as that's when the media is led back to their bus for the ride back to the hotel to file their stories and images.

One gets to stay behind, and that is my colleague, John Todd, who as owner of ISI, the official photo agency of U.S. Soccer, gets a different level of access than the rest of us. It is my privilege and honor for John to have selected me to help with ISI's coverage of this World Cup, and so far, I seem to be holding up OK, in all the ways previously discussed.

Tomorrow morning, Saturday, the Media Program groups leaves very early in the morning for Amazonia, the state where the host city of Manaus resides, and Portugal awaits.

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

Notes from Natal

Thought it might be interesting to follow up the match report from US-Ghana with some other images and facts about the match. One of the things I think is really cool is for every match the past three World Cups I have attended, the match balls are specifically printed with the date, opponents, and venue. Don't know what happens to these balls after the tournament, but talk about a great collectible!

I know of at least one fan in South Africa who received such a gift, as at the conclusion of the Algeria match, Landon Donovan kicked the match ball he was holding up into the US crowd.

Speaking of crowds, the US fans in Estadio Das Dunas in Natal did significantly outnumber the Ghana fans in the announced crowd of 39,760. Most came in at least US colors or kits, but others as well, in some more unique presentations.

There were also couples, and even some friendly interaction among fans, there to take in a match that certainly had no feel, or import as a run-of-the-mill match, or 'friendly'.

Once the respective national anthems played, the crowd went into full partisan mode, with both sections being heard loudly voicing their passions. Ghana was first, and the largest of their contingent was energetic well more than an hour prior to kickoff, and through their national anthem.

Then the Star Spangled Banner played, and the Stars and Stripes in the crowd came alive in full voice. It was clear from their conviction, one thing was one their collective minds.

When kickoff came, then the show truly was turned over to the rest of the world watching. For every venue in Brazil, FIFA's television service provider, MBS, has 34 camera positions, some mobile, and this system is an upgrade from the 29-camera system used in South Africa four years ago. There are of course the traditional positions, such as field level on the midfield stripe, on both sides, then the more unique, such as everyone's favorite, the SpiderCam.

Then, the match kicked off, and very quickly from my lone camera position, I was in great position for the 29-second lightning bolt Clint Dempsey unleashed. Unfortunately, four Ghana defenders were blocking my view of the shot, and as he always does, our captain, 'Deuce' took his celebration directly away from me....

But from that point on, through the final three blasts of the whistle, there was one pervasive sentiment in the US crowd. Were it to be said, as the sign below indicates, possibly even from Deuce's part of east Texas, that sentiment was then, remains now, and continues on to Manaus and Portugal:

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

Worth a Few Thousand Words, but for Now, a Few Photos

Wow! Where to begin?

The rematch with Ghana, for the third straight World Cup, was a dramatic entrance for the U.S. to the samba line that is forming in group play during the 2014 edition in Brazil. Most dramatic perhaps was Clint Dempsey becoming the first American to score in three straight World Cups, and doing so in startling fashion.

A pass out of the back, just after kickoff, sent by DeMarcus Beasley up the left side to Jermaine Jones, who in turn found Dempsey making a run towards the box. Four tight touches and turns by 'Deuce' split two Black Star defenders, and with a cool, back-post finish with the left foot, the U.S. was in front a mere 29 seconds into the match. It became the fifth-fastest goal in World Cup history and staked the Americans to the  earliest lead imaginable.

The goal, in fact, may have come too soon, as Ghana was forced to abandon their previous game plan and chase the game for an equalizer. The aggressive change of play by the opposition nearly resulted in a second goal by Jozy Altidore, but his shot was handled by the 'keeper. Very soon after, in the 21st minute, Altidore took off on a promising run down the left flank, but after no contact with a defender, Altidore came up lame and had to leave the match with what is for now, being called a hamstring strain. I truly hope this photo is not of his last touch of this World Cup.

Altidore was subbed by his former Dutch club teammate, Aron Johannsson, who paired with Dempsey, but found little service. As Ghana pressed for what would end up being 21 shots at goal, only three were on target. Much of the work was done in the midfield by Michael Bradley, Kyle Beckerman, and Jones, as well as the defensive line anchored by Geoff Cameron, kept Ghana at bay.

It was a defensive change at half that at first puzzled observers, as essentially rookie defender John Brooks came on for Matt Besler, who has been the other stalwart in the central defense. It was later learned Besler had a tight hamstring, which is not expected to be serious, but as fate would have it, the change would have dramatic impact on the match.

Ghana finally found their equalizer in the 82nd minute, but the lengthy pressure and energy spent in search of their goal caught them flat four minutes later. Barely seeing the ball since coming on the first half, Johannsson played a ball through to an overlapping Fabian Johnson coming from right back. The effort would win a corner, which was taken by Grahama Zusi, a 77th-minute sub on the flank for Alejandro Bedoya.

The perfectly placed corner would find Brooks outmatching his mark eight yards out from goal, and the young Hertha Berlin player rose, driving a forceful header into the ground, which then saw the ball bounce into the roof of the net. The 86th minute goal once again displayed the heart and effort through the final whistle that has become the U.S. team's trademark.

With four minutes, then five minutes of stoppage time to kill, the U.S. mustered the energy and held off Ghana's last attacks to salvage two points, but in the end, finally, the Americans heard the three blasts from the Swedish referee's whistle and had their hard-fought, so long in coming, win over their Black Stars nemesis.

Brooks was quickly met by elated teenager Julian Green, and the rest of his teammates. Then a moment later, veteran goalkeeper Tim Howard, who had made some clutch, decisive plays of his own, had a few quiet words for his young defender. The contrast of these two images tells me something about the make up of this team, and gives reason to believe, as in: 'We Believe, We Believe that We Will Win!

Am wrapping this report here. We flew all night to return to base in Sao Paulo. It is time to reacquaint myself with the bed upstairs. Many of my best images were not shared here, as I shot the match for ISI Photos, the official agency for U.S. Soccer. You may view the gallery of my photos, as well as ISI colleague, John Todd, at isiphotos.com. I am pretty proud of my shot of Tim's save, which was the ISI featured gallery cover shot.

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

Before the Show Begins

Wanted to give just a brief glimpse of Natal, our host city for the first match of Group G in the round-robin stage of the 2014 FIFA World Cup. The easternmost point in Brazil, Natal is actually closer to Africa, than the southernmost point in Brazil. Being a beach town, I naturally felt obliged to have a seafood dinner, before going to my room to watch the Argentine- Bosnia-Herzegovina match.

Oyster Stew and Ao Alho Poro, shrimp in a cream-based sauce, rice with shrimp sauce, and potatoes au gratin. Yep, yummy.

Waking up early, I felt obligated to take a walk down to the beach from our Holiday Inn Express, as it is essentially across the street.

On the walk back up to the hotel, had to chuckle when coming across a sign that indeed, they may be taking over the world...

And when I say walk 'up' to the hotel, this should give you some idea. That tall building on the skyline is the HI Express. It was NOT an express walk to return.

For a variety of purposes, need to get to the SMC (Stadium Media Center) at the stadium early, one of those purposes, of course, was to get up a couple of blog updates. Will follow up after the match with some game action imagery, and as you likely know me, some individualized commentary.

For now, simply: U! S! A!

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

Our Show Begins - US Match Day -1

Natal is know as 'Cidado do Sol' - The City of Sun, and Sunday was our day to get our first glimpse of it, but not much. We had arrived the day before to steady rain and Sunday began the same, though tapering off as the day progressed. For all the talk of heat and humidity the reality is, y'all, it pretty much feels like June in Georgia.

Sunday was also when we got our first glimpse of Estadio das Dunas - Arena of the Dunes. The US would hold a short press conference, then training, which was open to media for the first 15 minutes. There has been much talk of the venues being 'not quite ready' and I could post a number of images to attest that, but the scene as we arrived says it to some degree.

Much of the area that would be traditionally paved around such a venue is not, there are stacks of construction materials everywhere, signage is marginally informative, and most of the staff outside really don't know much about what and who should go where. The part that should be most embarrassing is they have already hosted one World Cup match here, so one would think they'd have a better handle on things.

Once inside the stadium, what you see on TV, it is a very nice facility.

It has expanded seating for 43,000 for the World Cup, but will reduce to 31,000 in its permanent configuration, after the tournament.

The US press conference was the usual very orchestrated session. Still photographers were only allowed for the first two minutes, then asked to leave. We were able to watch the remainder back in the SMC, which is where we also watched the first two matches of the day.

Once Juergen Klinsmann, captain Clint Dempsey, and midfielder Michael Bradley entered, it was refreshing to see all relaxed and seemingly quite ready to get the show going. Please also notice the strategic product placement in most of the photo angles....;)

That, by the way, is the closest to a smile you normally get from Michael. As on the field, he is very much all business, and a great role model for the professionalism of this generation of USMNT players.
Once they hit the field, most of the brief photo op was jogging a stretching. Here's a close-up look at teenage sensation Julian Green.

And in closing this post from Sunday, one of the most reassuring things I noticed was actually getting two shots in one day of Clint smiling. He seems very relaxed, focused, and ready to hit the pitch for the first match, US-Ghana, Monday, 6:00 EDT.

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

Back Into the Fray

First, if you have read the first post for this edition of my World Cup blogs, I eluded to my intentions to put together some posts from my having traveled through a significant portion of the US team's Hexagonal qualifying campaign.

My apologies for that not happening. Several weeks ago, I suffered a back injury resulting in a bulging disc in my back. There was some considerable doubt during this time as to whether I would even be able to make the trip to Brazil, that uncertainty lasting right up until just days prior to my scheduled departure.

After x-rays, an MRI, two epidural injections, and the miracle of modern pharmaceuticals, Dr. Hal Silcox, and his able team, had me to the point where I chose to shoot the last US 'send off' match, against Nigeria in Jacksonville, June 7th. It was my decision to use the drive and shoot as a 'field test' to gauge my ability to tough out this, my sixth, and likely last, World Cup as a photojournalist.

There is some professional journalistic regret on my part for falling down on the build up background to the US making their seventh consecutive World Cup. The "Snow Bowl" win, in Denver over Costa Rica in March 2013, was certainly one of my most unique sports photo experiences.

I also traveled to Jamaica and Panama for dramatic, last-gasp wins by the US, both of which had ramifications, not just for the home team, but for most of the other members of the six-country CONCACAF qualifying group, only three of which, would automatically advance to Brazil.

During the Hexagonal I also shot the home match with Panama in Seattle's fabulous home team environment, the September home match against Mexico in Columbus, Ohio, which resulted in the now legendary and traditional 'Dos a Cero' (2-0) scoreline, and the October home return match with Jamaica in Kansas City, another energetic MLS city and venue. All of these wins would ultimately result in the US taking first place in the Hexagonal, locking down their spot among the 32-team World Cup final groups.

When the draw was made by FIFA in December, US fortunes would change dramatically. Drawn into Group G, the Americans round-robin opponents to advance into the tournament's 'knock out' phase turned out to be two of the pre-tournament favorites, Germany and Portugal, and the team which sent the US home from the past two World Cups, Ghana. The 'double whammy' would be the travel, so opposite to the favorable draw of South Africa in 2010. Added to the oppositional challenge in Brazil, the US also faces daunting travel of over 9,000 miles during the Group Stage.

So we're now up to present, and I find myself on the ground in Sao Paulo. The day of my arrival, June 12th, was declared a national holiday in Brazil, helping at least in small part by easing the experience in the normally horrendous Sao Paulo traffic. That would not mean there was not waiting, which began immediately, on the jetway headed for Customs.

The wait to get through Customs was about two hours, which started a day of WAY too much time on my feet, which is of course, the worst thing related to my back condition. Clearing the agony of Customs, I met longtime friend, New York writer, Michael Lewis, who like me, is participating in the US Soccer Media Program, which encompasses all in-country transportation, lodging, access to US press opportunities, and some other nice amenities. Our base hotel in Sao Paulo is a very nice Melia' property, the Tryp Higienopolis.

Unfortunately, the hotel, though located in a nice section of town, is a long way from the Arena Corinthians, which is the World Cup venue for matches in Sao Paulo. To travel to the Opening Match, Brazil-Croatia, our contingent, without a media bus parking pass, would travel first by bus, to the Luz train station, the end of the line, but offering game-day express service to the stadium.

Once arriving at the stadium train stop, it was a very long walk, through an energetic Brazilian crowd, and up and down lots of stairs, and a fairly steep hill, for me to first stop at the Accreditation Center for my Media Credential. Then, another long walk to the opposite side of the stadium, up another pretty good hill (dragging backpack and rolling camera case), to the Stadium Media Center, where all photographers are required to pick up their photo bibs and a Match Ticket for that specific game, which is tied to a specific seat number on the pitch. Suffice it to say, this process was not well-organized, resulting in lots more standing, but in the end, I got one of my favorite shooting positions, along the sideline, between the top of the penalty area and midfield line.

All of those blue and white seats in the upper deck on the opposite side are the Media Tribune where writers, broadcasters, and some photographers are during the match. This visual should give an indication of the numbers of media on hand, especially since this was the first match, featuring the host team, against as it would turn out, sacrificial lamb opposition, Croatia. A Brazil own goal in the 11th minute would shock the crowd, but the the visitors' lead would last only until the 29th minute, when national and international sensation, Neymar would dribble midfield, hitting a shot from outside the box to level the score.

With the game knotted at half, the stage was set for a dramatic finish, but unfortunately, as is too often the case, the officiating interjected itself, becoming more the story than the match itself. In the 71st minute, Brazilian forward, Fred, backed into a Croatian defender to receive a ball passed in the general direction. As the defender backed out of the contact, the Brazilian flopped backwards to the ground, conning the Japanese referee into granting a penalty kick, which Neymar converted into a 2-1 lead for the home side.

A Croatian equalizer was waived off a few minutes later for a perceived foul on a 50-50 ball between the goalkeeper and forward. Then, in stoppage time, the referee let a Brazilian foul go without a whistle. The resulting counterattack would establish the final scoreline of 3-1, when an Oscar toe poke from the edge of the box would nestle home, just inside the near post.

With a match under my shooting belt, we leave early Saturday morning for the first US match, Monday, three hours up the coast, in Natal.

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