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Viewing Practice
I have been an
enthusiastic fan for Argentine for almost four years. Yet I have
never had a chance to see their practice or rather I have never
asked. But this time I asked Quaini whether they allowed me to watch
their practice. Without any doubt he said "yes, of course." Well, it
was a good answer, but I was just surprised. I hesitated to ask for
last three years. Was it a waste of time or what?
July 11th was the first day I was able to watch Argentine's practice
for the first time. We didn't know where and what time the practice
was. The information was available at the Information Desk of the
World League in the hotel. The place of their practice was
Polideportivo where the Final Rounds were going to be held. When we
got to the venue, there were already over 20 fans, and they were
watching the practice of Brazil. As you know, Argentine and Brazil
are eternal rivals. Even so that doesn't mean they hate each other. Players of both teams know each other quite well.
The practice was
scheduled for 2 hours, but Argentine team did only for an hour. The
other days I went to see their practice to other locations. Two local
sports clubs were used for practice venue. They were quite old and no
sophisticated equipment provided for the national teams. Even this
Polideportivo didn't have shower rooms and heating facility.
They spent quite long time for stretching maybe because it was very
cold. The practice itself didn't seem to be special. They didn't do
any formational or technical practice. I wondered if it was always
like this.
In the night, there was a friendly match of Argentine vs. Russia. Due
to heavy wind during the daytime, there was blackout. Because of this
the friendly match delayed for an hour, started at 8 p.m. I was not
able to watch till the end of the friendly game. That was because my
friend didn't feel well and was staying at the room. I couldn't leave
her alone for long time.
At last I was able to watch Argentine's practice for all four days. Some people might think that watching practice is not so fun. Maybe
that is true. Yet, I never had a chance before so it was a good
memory to me.
