Soccer Anyone?

Basketball, Major Sports, Soccer

Posted by SK, June 26, 2008 - 9:01 am

If you’ve spoken to a soccer fan this month, chances are they’ve been engrossed in the UEFA Euro 2008 tournament, which will determine European soccer bragging rights for the next four years.  And if you haven’t been following, Sunday’s final will pit Germany against the winner of today’s semifinal match between Russia and Spain.

Perennial powerhouse France was bounced unceremoniously in group play in this year’s Euro.  Which means French players like Thierry Henry, who thought they would be playing deep into the tournament, will have to find other things to do with their time.

 

Luckily for me and a few hundred other New Yorkers, Henry had dinner with Steve Nash last week, where Nash reportedly asked Henry to play in his upcoming charity soccer game.  And luckily for us, Henry said yes.

Nike Field in Sara D. Roosevelt Park is one of 15 soccer fields that Nike and FieldTurf have created in communities across the country to give pickup soccer players a place to play in urban areas.  On Wednesday, the park was host to a joint effort between Steve Nash’s foundation and Claudio Reyna’s foundation.  Billed as “The Showdown in Chinatown”, the match pitted superstars, from the worlds of both basketball and soccer, and even a couple of members of the media, in an 8-on-8 match. 

Nash and Reyna were joined by players who have represented the United States at the international level (Jozy Altidore and Gregg Berhalter), a handful of former and current players from the English Premier League and MLS (Steve McManaman, Robbie Fowler and Salomon Kalou, Juan Pablo Angel) and a few current NBA players (Jason Kidd, Baron Davis, Leandro Barbosa, and Raja Bell).  And yes, your faithful correspondent was there, starstruck but still on the job.  A few thoughts:

• This is soccer in its purest form.  Two goals, one ball, no hands.  The beauty of the game is in its simplicity, and never have I ever seen it on display like this, with professional athletes playing like we played in our backyards as children.
• I guess they underestimated the kind of crowd they would draw.  Even though it was a weekday afternoon, throngs of fans showed up, some climbing fences and trees to get better views of the action.  And although some of the crowd were just rubberneckers joining the crowd just because there was a crowd, there were plenty of soccer diehards.  If they do this again, I’d love to see it in a bigger venue.  It’d also be great if I could get press credentials, hint hint.
• Thierry Henry is absolute poetry in motion.  We’ve watched him lead his teams to victory in the Champions League and the World Cup, so we know he’s good.  But seeing him perform his magic from such a short distance away is an experience in and of itself.  He orchestrated the Team Nash 9-4 victory, and included a healthy dose of showmanship by balancing the ball on his head, or firing in volleys from long distance.
• Steve Kerr must have been shitting bricks.  Three of the top 7 players on his roster were playing and exposing themselves to injury.
• Props to Baron Davis for keeping things light.  He brought his beard, his horn-rimmed glasses, and his jokes with him, since he had no prior experience playing soccer.  Unfortunately, his antics earned him two yellow cards that resulted in penalty kicks taken by Team Nash.
• I knew Nash plays regularly in the offseason, and Barbosa is Brazilian so it has to be in his DNA somewhere.  But the shocker to me and most of my crew in attendance was how well Jason Kidd played.  I know, I know, you’re thinking “Jesus, when is this SK guy going to get off J-Kidd’s nuts?”  But he managed to notch two assists on Team Reyna’s four goals, and I think it’s safe to say that nearly everyone was as pleasantly surprised as I was.
• Three words.  Hot sideline chicks.  I need to go to these charity things more often.
• I would be remiss if I didn’t mention that ESPN’s Marc Stein and NBA TV’s Simone Sandri not only managed to keep up with the professional athletes, they played pretty well.  Way to represent the weekend warriors, guys!

All in all, I got to watch world-class athletes play soccer up close for an hour before walking over to Chinatown and stuffing myself with dumplings.  For a random Wednesday evening, I don’t think it gets much better than that.  Want to see pics?

People found seats wherever they could:

Baron Davis, before the game:

From left to right, Raja Bell, Jason Kidd, Steve McManaman, Salomon Kalou, and Steve Nash:

Thierry Henry and Jason Kidd:

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