No Draws Allowed

  I had a neat opportunity come my way this last weekend.  I got to see Brazil play Paraguay last Sunday. I went with my Argentine brother, Pablo and a couple American friends from school.

Pablo and the field

Me, Sophia, and Daniel 

   Now, let me explain the significance of this soccer game.  This was a quarter final game between Brazil and Paraguay in the Copa America.  So, this game could not end in a tie.  Someone had to win to advance.  It was bound to be great!
  As you probably know, Brazil is known for its soccer team.  They were definitely the favorite.  We were behind Paraguay's goal (for the first half), and we gave up our seats for standing room closer to the field.  Brazil started somewhat strong with a few early shots on goal.  But, they couldn't seem to put one in.  The first half was mostly Brazil, and it wasn't until the second half that we saw a little bit of offense from Paraguay.  Overall Brazil controlled the first 90 minutes, and the score was 0-0. They had several shots on goal, but he keeper controlled them pretty well.

The other end of the field

  The crowd was pretty good.  The venue holds about 36,000 people, but I don't think that the stadium was quite full. But, 30,000 people yelling all sorts of crazyness is still pretty impressive. It's a nice stadium that was just completed this year.  (It's the only covered soccer arena that's covered)  Imagine, 25 people down on the field and almost all 30,000 chanting obscenities at just one.  Who would that be?  The center referee, of course.  I believe that was after he handed out two red cards, one for each team.  
  So, we went in to overtime.  To use Daniel's words "Thirty minutes of free soccer."  The biggest difference was the pace.  The players were tired, and as the tension mounted, the energy on field dropped.  Brazil possessed the ball most of overtime, but at the end of each 15 minute half, when Paraguay was on a fast break toward the goal, the referee called time.  And the final score: 0-0.
   So, the game would be decided by penalty kicks! The tension in the stadium was incredible.  The PKs (penalty kicks) were taken on the opposite side of the field, and we were disappointed.  Everyone's yelling as Brazil begins.  No one could believe that he kicked it over the top!!  The Paraguay fans thought that they had won the game, until Paraguay missed its first PK!  Two missed PKs, what is going on?

Estadio Único 

  But it didn't stop there.  Brazil went on to miss the second one.  Paraguay made the second.  The Paraguayans felt a little confident.  When the third Brazilian PK was saved by the keeper, I thought that the stadium was going to come down!  The third one from Paraguay was good.  So if Brazil missed the fourth it was game over...lo and behold, the Brazilian missed.  Four missed penalty kicks is unheard of and extremely embarrassing.
  Paraguay had played a less than impressive game and come away with the victory!  And a ticket to the next round.  The MVP went to, of course, the goalie.  Brazil didn't show up for the penalty kicks, and that's all that matters, as far as advancing is concerned.


*Photo credits Sophia Chumpitas