Tag: Soccer

  • Short Story Review: “The Soccer Balls of Mr. Kurz” by Michele Mari (Translated, from the Italian, by Brian Robert Moore.)

    (The short story “The Soccer Balls of Mr. Kurz” by Michele Mari appeared in the May 29th, 2023 issue of The New Yorker.)

    (This story will be SPOILED, so beware!)

    Illustration by Guido Scarabottolo

    The old “losing your ball over the fence” story. It’s nice to know that boys in other countries have this issue as well. Seems like most kids grow up with this situation – the ball goes over the fence, and it is never seen again. Then the imagination takes over allowing wild stories to be created about the owner of the yard, and their dark evil soul, for only the vilest of humans would refuse to return a ball. I would say, “The Sandlot” comes to mind for most people when you talk about this situation. And it is a wonderful premise/structure/metaphor to address youth, nostalgia, coming of age, and a host of other ideas that writers have when they create stories about boys.

    Michele Mari’s story, “The Soccer Balls of Mr. Kurz,” in essence is no different. Here the boys are in a boarding school playing soccer, and one of their goals abuts against a wall that belongs to Mr. Kurz’s backyard. When a soccer ball goes over the wall, Mr. Kurz, though polite about it, does not return the ball. Out of complete frustration, the boys hatch a plan to send one of their own over the wall to retrieve the balls.

    Though a predictable plot, Mari’s story does rise above the cliché. This narrative exists in a world of nostalgia, and I wouldn’t say the narrator is unreliable, but he does take some liberties with the truth, and in a very funny speech given by one of the boys, acknowledges this liberty. What this creates is a very charming world that these boys exist in, where their desire to have a fair and regular soccer match becomes the most important concern in their lives.

    I did have two minor issues with the story. First was the delivery of backstory, especially the rules that govern how the boys acquire new soccer balls. Most of this story, information is given directly to the reader from the narrator, but in this one situation, the boys explain the rules to each other. It felt clunky, and didn’t fit with the overall flow of the story. The second, and this is very nit-picky, is that I don’t know a single European male who speaks English that calls “soccer” soccer; it’s football. In Italy, the term is “calcio” which means “kick.” This makes me believe that this was a translation decision. Soccer is an American used term, and in this setting, it left a taste in my mouth that the story was “Americanized.”

    Now, what drew me in with this story was the well-executed climax. One of the boys does go over the wall late at night/early morning only to discover what Mr. Kurz has been doing to the balls, as well as how he spends his time in that yard. I’m trying to not spoil this, so forgive my vagueness, but when this boy receives a new ball from his father, and does what he does with it, all of the threads of this story are tied nicely together. I appreciated that Mari used that final moment to show this boy’s new understanding of the world. How the boy is essentially still the same, but his viewpoint of the world had expanded. That this boy knows he is now part of a moment in time.

  • World Cup Dispatch (UPDATE): Today’s Matches 12/1/22

    The Belgians are out! I really didn’t see that coming. I don’t think anyone on the planet saw that coming.

    And did anyone pick Morocco to win the group?

    Group F was just nuts. I thought Belgium and Croatia would easily take the group, with Canada making a good showing. This one proves that not only do I have no idea what I am talking about, but so does everyone else.

    As for the late matches, I’m watching Japan rally from being down a goal against Spain, to being up a goal, in the span of ten minutes. The tides of a match can sway in the matter of seconds. Spain looked relaxed and in control, and now they are panicked and reeling. I would love, nothing more for Japan to win, but a draw that helps them advance is an outcome I would also accept.

    Then there is Germany against Costa Rica. And I just looked down at my phone and the score is now tied. If Germany goes down, in flames, at the bottom of this group, that will be two Cups in a row that they haven’t made it out of the Group Stage. I hate to say it, but could this be the start of Germany becoming the new Italy?

    Looks like we have another exciting day of football!

    UPDATE: That was a tense second half for the Spain v Japan match. Spain had a couple of good chances to score, and I don’t think anyone will ever doubt their ability to pass the ball, but Japan’s defense was tight and solid. Nothing was getting through, and I might also add that Japan looked really relaxed in their defensive lines. They weren’t rattled at all. Japan deserves to be top of the Group.

    And thus Germany is gone.

  • World Cup Dispatch (Update): USA v Wales, and other Stuff

    It’s halftime and Team USA is up 1-0 over Wales. That was a pretty goal by Weah and I am sure it is a huge weight off the team after scoring it. Over the first half of the game, USA has been the more aggressive team, fighting for every ball. I was put off at the start of the match by the Referee, as the two yellow cards he handed out to Dest and McKeennie within two minutes of each other seemed rather heavy handed. Things are looking good, but I will feel a lot better once we get the three points.

    I did feel bad for Senegal going down 0-2 to the Netherlands. I would like to know how those tricky Dutch always produce good teams for such a small nation?

    The other thing I noticed today as I ran errands around the neighborhood – There are no signs that the World Cup is going on. In Cups past, for the Men and the Women, there are signs, bunting, banners, and all sorts of things out on store fronts and in the streets. This time around, there is nothing. I know the timing of the Cup isn’t the best for us in the States, with Thanksgiving and Christmas happening. But still, I was expecting to see something out and about.

    UPDATE:

    That didn’t end the way I wanted it to. Yup, can’t foul Bale in the box; he’ll make you pay. And now Wales is all charged up, and will go out there gunning for Iran. That leaves the Welsh with a point off of us, three off of Iran, and then I see them losing to England, for a total of four points. And USA is also playing for 4 points. They have 1 now, and sadly I don’t think they will beat England. That means it will come down to the final match against Iran, which should be a win. But, this is the Wold Cup, and I can see Iran pulling out a tie for national pride and all of that stuff. The path to the knockout round just got harder for Team USA, but not impossible. They just need to score a ton of goals from here on out.

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