There are completely different parts of Dresden. The old city which was bombed and rebuilt beautifully is surrounded by modern and ugly socialist government style buildings. Then, further out, you have the old Dresden part untouched by war, which is very nice and there are lots of trees and parks. Dresden is almost like Paris in its commitment to art and beauty, as well as the myriad outdoor cafes surrounded by ornate architecture. Double click on this below to hear one of the many street musicians we encountered in Dresden.....
There are also many horse-drawn carriages you can hire.....
There are tons of great museums in Dresden. We just choose one..it is in the Royal Palace and has an exhibit of some of the royal treasures, including the famous green diamond. All the gilt, gold, elaborate workmanship, fancy clocks, jewelry, goblets...our eyes glaze over in about an hour.
It is now time for the US v. Brazil quarterfinals game. It is instant elimination for the team that loses....Brazil won their division (we came in second) so the pressure is on. We also hear the game is sold out - which I think is a first for a non-final women's world cup game. The stadium is in a green forested park within walking distance of our hotel. The stadium is full....we are in our full US regalia and waving our US flags I brought from home! The stadium is packed and Jerry swears he can feel the stadium sway with the crowd. This is a shot that show all the US fans (but a lot of Europeans are rooting for the US, including the Germans sitting next to me.)
So here is a rather in depth report - it was, after all - one of the greatest US Games ever!......
We are nervous, because the last US game we went to the US lost to Sweden. But right away the US scores a goal. It was a cross from Shannon Boxx (love her!) and one of the Brazilian defenders accidentally kicks it in. Man! It feels good to be winning! We manage to hold on to the win until half time. I run and get drinks for everyone so as not to miss any plays.
Second half, the Brazilians show us who they are. They have mad, mad ball skill....and it isn't only Marta. They all do! But we are fighting back with our athleticism and heart in defense and a strategy of double teaming the Brazilian forwards. Our defender, Lepeletier, who caused I believe the penalty kick in the Sweden game, is just incredible in defense this game. It is not easy to steal the ball from Marta and she does it a couple of times.
Okay, now about Marta. She is by far the most skilled female player in the world and is recognized by FIFA as such. During the game, there was much arguing and drama by the Brazilians over ref calls. Marta among the worst. My admiration of Marta changed when she was given a yellow card for spitting on Abby Wambach. Don't know if you'll read that in the papers, but that was what happened. Interestingly, after that Marta was booed almost every time she got the ball and, truly, it was mostly the Europeans who were booing. But the Brazilians have skill and they are just unlucky that their great shots do not go in. There are seemingly hundreds of fouls and cards in the game (all referees in the women's world cup are female....a tough job regardless of gender).
Then Marta is fouled in the penalty area and Brazil gets a penalty kick. Christaine takes it and Hope Solo catches it and there is huge celebration. But then the penalty is ordered re-taken. Either Hope or one of our team moved off the line too soon. Hope also gets a yellow card. (?) This time Marta takes it and she scores. It is now 1-1. US player Rachael Buhler gets a red card for tackling Marta from behind and we have to play short 9 players versus Brazil's 10. And we need a goal to win. It isn't happening. The clock runs out, tie 1-1.
So, because of the tie, we go into extra time. Two 15 minute halves. After a short water break, the team takes the field again. Abby is pounding her chest to admonish her team to have heart. That is the American hope...we might not have the skill, but we are known for our heart and will. But will it be enough. We get all our players back...the red card has no effect in overtime play. In the first 15 minute half, Marta makes a beautiful goal. Bad sport or not, you cannot deny her familiarity and control and even playfulness with the ball. The first overtime half ends. We are down a goal for the second overtime half, but we have 15 minutes to score. But we can't get it in. The time is ticking...we can't score. Both Grace and I agree our team is waiting too long to shoot/cross the ball...too long and the Brazilians are on top of them and blocking any shots or passes. It is nerve wracking as we are running out of time.
The terrible thing is the Brazilians are doing everything they can to run out the clock. Kicking the ball out of bounds is probably acceptable. But on every play, a Brazilian player falls to the ground pretending to be injured. They also substitute incessantly. The crowd boos. The clock runs out and we don't score. We are on the edge of our seats. But we have 3 minutes of stoppage time (what the referee adds on to every game to reflect lost time for stoppage of regular play). The pressure is great. We pull our players up...going from a 4 person defense to a 2 person.
It is frightening....Marta almost scores again with our skeleton defensive line. Our best chance for a goal is a corner or cross with a header in goal from Abby. And that's what we get.....a nice cross from Rapinoe and Abby Wambach heads the ball right in the upper corner of the goal with about ONE MINUTE of stoppage time left. The crowd goes wild...we can hardly believe our eyes...we were preparing ourselves for the worst. But as my daughter says,"aren't the Americans famous for pulling off miracles?" So, at the end of extra time, we are tied 2-2 and we go to penalty shots.
Penalty shots. All eyes are on Hope Solo. At least she has been around the block a few times. She has trained for this. She has envisioned this and even wanted this..this chance to be the hero for her team. Five players from both teams are chosen by their coaches to take the penalty shots. Shannon Boxx takes the first -good choice- she too has been around and can set the tone for the rest. Incredibly, the Brazilian keeper catches her shot but, wait, the ref orders a re-take and Shannon makes the goal the second time. The Brazilian shoots and makes it. Hope seems like she just stood there. The second US player takes a shot and makes it. The next Brazilian makes it. Again, Hope just stands there. My daughter asks me what is wrong with Hope. I say I don't know' but I have a sinking feeling. The third US player makes it. The third Brazilian shoots and Hope dives and catches it! This is the determinative play. Penalty shots are easy to make and hard to defend. If your keeper can catch just one, it could mean the game. The next US team member comes up and makes it. Brazil makes their shot. Now, if the US makes this 4th penalty shot, we win. I can't even look....I am stressed and feeling the pressure as if I was on the line....and I am pretty sure I would choke! But the shot is good and THE US WINS!!!
The crowd goes crazy!! Standing up and cheering and yelling and waving US flags for a good 15 minutes straight!
The US team comes over to the fans..thanking us and showing their appreciation for the fan's support. Abby is almost in a prayeer of thanks and you can see she is fighting back tears. But you can see it is not for her but for her acknowledgement of the faith and power of the fans. Many of the players, including Hope Solo, jump in the stands to give autographs.
My girls go down to where the players are. Hope was going to sign their program, but the girls in their excitement forgot a pen. We hand around the field with the players for about 40 minutes. Finally, we walk back t othe hotel. It is a nice balmy night...we get some looks from the locals as we walk by cages in our crazy USA garb....but for once my girls don't care. We see a few Americans and give each other shout and high fives! I have a sense that this was a great game in the annals of history and am glad I was there.
-Mom, Coach and Tour Guide
Location:Dresden, Germany
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