The Fab Four (Five?) : WPS season 4

Thanks, Katreus, for that last post. On that topic... (taken from the 'Wither WPS-ers?' thread Upstairs, because it's worthy of discussion but could be somewhat derailing)

Could you entertain the notion that the on-field competition Elsewhere is not worse, and that perhaps the working conditions are better?

By the way: I am not up-to-date with all those "many [USA] players signing overseas". Any big names signing for european clubs in the last weeks?

Oh gosh golly, you don't want someone like me to start in on something like that here, do you?!!

But I don't think there's any question that a few of Europe's leagues are now excellent places for the women's game. It's been that way for a while and with the growth in the game in several countries and talented players coming from them, it's helping take them to another level.

But I'm also not going to diminish the efforts of both WUSA and WPS for their impact on the women's game. I'm not going to diminish the power of dreaming big and I believe the women's game worldwide -- and especially in places like Europe I think the American leagues have pushed and prodded the advancement of the sport by setting the bar higher.

This gives the impression that you view the various nation states of the continent of Europe as a homogenous entity, with identical conditions. As you have argued yourself in other places, this is erroneous. I wonder if you can show that women's football in Cyprus has been changed by the Rise and Fall of WPS? Or in the Ukraine?

Sure, why not? But I don't see much of a point to seriously arguing which country has the 'best competition' because that's like arguing whether a gin and tonic is 'better' than a rhubarbarita. However, it does make me sigh sadly when I read that someone 'can't be convinced' that those two things might be tasty, even if that person never tried either of them. "Nah, I'm good, I'll stick with my Budweiser."

Actually I don't have a problem with that either, everyone has their own preferences and sometimes a cold can of cheap beer is just right. But when someone can't wrap their head around the idea that maybe other people would like to try something else for a while? That strikes me as reactionary.

I could be completely wrong of course; perhaps that poster was basing their statement on their first-hand observations of games in Damallsvenkskan, Frauenbusdesliga, and the W-League. As always, if that is the case, I am happy to learn otherwise.

As far as whether WUSA and WPS were good for the international game, well, sure; a rising tide lifts all boats, as they say. And it was nice for players from here to have an excuse to slum it over there for a while. (my objectivity is wearing off...)

Au contraire. A rhubarbarita is a perfect choice of tipple for a Germany-Sweden World Cup final. (Been there, drunk that.)

How did you manage that? Rhubarb season ends on 24 June. That should be good for a quarterfinal at most.

Can we be off topic in Rivalry? I wonder.

The trick is to make slightly sweetened fruit purees that can be stored in ice cube trays in the freezer. A couple of cubes per drink in the mixer and you're laughing. It can be added to egg whites to make instant sorbet too, but that's really an abuse of good cocktail flavourings.

You can also make fruit cordials to add to drinks, but I find they have to be a little too sweet to survive in the fridge for any length of time.

Now, see, what were we just saying about Tolerance and Trying New Things?

For your pleasure, the rhubarbarita recipe. The author likes to make pies with rhubarb, but notes that 'sometimes a girl needs something a little stronger than pie' to get through the day. Or a football game.

The secret, Micol, is rhubarb syrup, which lasts indefinitely. Or at least through the second half.

Wait, rhubarb ice cubes? Brill!

I was thinking of Marinette Pichon... and Kelly Smith in England. That's exactly the kind of thing I was thinking of and I think that's huge.

You don't think that's huge in terms of the game and taking the women's game seriously when Kelly Smith and Marinette Pichon are paid professional players as opposed to work-office-hours by day and play by night in a glorified recreation-league? And not only paid to play but paid to play internationally!

How can you pooh-pooh that away? In terms of respect for them as players and respect and prestige for the game? In terms of perception of the value of the women's game?

Tee-hee! I enjoy coming to the more European realms of the Women's Forum - it's all very charming but every now and then I have to allow myself to be amused by the anti-American inclinations of the European intelligentsia... (tee-hee!)

Post-Pichon, that's a terrific statement on the worth and value of the women's game when American teams are willing to pay Bompastor and Abily (and Necib as well if she'd been willing to come) to come and play with the likes of Marta and Wambach. C'est extraordinaire!

Vive la Révolution! Vive la Révolution Americaine!

***
oops! Sorry. Looks like I've gone off-topic and the conversation hss passed me by on the way to more aromatic realms...

I'm not anti-American, I'm anti-ethnocentricism. Glad it tickles your ribs.

OK, between those two, we should be prepared. No objections to Germany and Sweden playing the next World Cup final!

I've got objections, for what matters...

Rhubarb or not, next WWC's final has to include Japan.

Zounds! Am I having to fight this on two fronts?!!

I think you're looking at this very narrowly such as whether Pichon was a deciding factor for any current player - it's the status and respect for the game and for them as players. It's a matter of being taken seriously, or at least beginning to by different people.

This depresses me but I don't want to wallow in it right now.

This amuses me. As someone with pretty unadventurous sushi tastes, I was rather surprised to learn recently that there are two different kinds of wasabi and the "real" one is very rare (and rarely found in restaurants) and quite different from the wasabi that one ordinarily finds.

"Real" wasabi is from the root of a plant that grows along the banks of streams in only certain parts of Japan and is difficult to cultivate. It also tastes quite different from the usual wasabi served in restaurants. However, as you'd expect, there is a small but growing number of aficianados who have developed a taste for the real thing leading to a) high prices, but b) some restaurants starting to offer it. Also, c) a few instances of "wasabi" heists, where some restaurants have been broken into and having their real wasabi roots stolen.

So are we talkin' real wasabi wasabiritas here or wasabi paste wasabiritas?!

Dead Thread Walking

I've been doing a little catch-up reading here and there (okay, especially here) and I notice that a less-then-stellar performance in WPS is still being held against some players. Therefore I'm moved to ask the world at large: Is there any player -- Ami, Euro, or what have you -- who excelled/impressed/did 'better' (whatever you want that to mean) in WPS than they did on any other club team?

I didn't see many WPS games at all (and I'm not even going to excuse any given 'underperforming' European player that I'm somewhat familiar with by saying they were just misused or misunderstood (tho' goodness knows... oh, nevermind)). Still, I didn't get the impression that WPS served as a springboard for anyone. Except maybe for sending that magicJack fellow off into the deep end.

The French and English players that went there defnitely improved their game there.

I'm not sure how well Vero was doing before coming to the US (Flash, Red Stars, Independence), but since she's been a key player on top teams in Russia and Sweden. Becky Sauerbrunn also broke into the USWNT thanks to her solid performances in WPS play. And although it was in WPSLE instead of in WPS, Australian players have definitely improved playing in the US as well.

To be more precise Abily and Bompastor mentioned many times that they acquired an athletical dimension that did not exist in France while playing in the WPS because the football is faster and more physical compared to the European one. A typical example is the last USA France game at the Olympic where the USA simply steamrolled France.

Also a player like Eni Aluko improved a lot technically in the WPS, when she left Chelsea she was not able to do the zigzaging between the cones training exercise. She still cannot hit a cow's arse with a banjo but at least can control the ball and give assists those days.

Vero = Veronica Boquete? Yes, true, she has been doing quite alright for herself over here... and of course her current team also acquired at least two other well-known WPS refugees at nearly the same time...

And good to hear about Aluko, I've liked her for a while. 'Went to the US to learn ball control', though, that's a new one to me.

So far it sounds like WPS did its fair part for player development, or at least wasn't worse than any other league.

What happened is in England teams train twice a week only in general although it is starting to change, so any technical weakness you have is not really worked upon. While training daily and doing specifics did really help her. Practice makes perfect...or not but it does help.