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You are here: Home / Sports / France v Ukraine Open Thread

Reader Interactions

57Comments

  2. 2.

    dr. luba

    Bilozhar? No. Bryndza!

    Ukraine, either way. Let’s hope Shevchenko can perform a miracle on grass.

  4. 4.

    Gex

    Are these open thread open threads? Or are they only soccer related open threads?

    I’ll proceed anyhow. You know how we keep adding these rules to schools that specifically exempt religious speech from anti-bullying rules? Basically we’ve been arguing that anyone in a school may express their religious beliefs unhindered in the name of religious freedom?

    How come that doesn’t apply here? I would fucking love if those pro-gay hatred rules in the guise of religious freedom rules means they gave this lady those same religious protections and that they can’t fire her without paying her a ton. Serves them right. They want people to freely express their religious views, they got it.

  5. 5.

    Randinho

    @dr. luba: I believe I already mentioned bryndza, that’s why bilozhar comes up.

    @Gex: I don’t have an issue with anyone posting on anything, but the primary goal (pun intended) is for the game itself.

  6. 6.

    Steeplejack

    Again, thanks for the reminder. Was sitting here getting more and more depressed about political bullshit. Screw that. ¡Fútbol!

  7. 7.

    Amir Khalid

    for a moment there, I thought you offering a choice between Gruyere and biohazard.

  10. 10.

    handsmile

    Ukraine’s fairy-tale victory over Sweden, with the reportedly geriatric Andriy Shevchenko scoring two superb headers, was a revelation for most observers. The squad, little known but widely disregarded, demonstrated attacking flair, tactical nous, and composure under great emotional pressure by coming back from 0-1 down.

    A question that might be answered by today’s contest then: is Ukraine the surprise team of the tournament (in a good sense; Holland earns the contrary distinction) or was Sweden just that bad in that match?

    France has defensive frailties as well, especially in central defense. In its match against England, Les Bleus, like a Moulin Rouge entertainer, revealed tantalizing glimpses of beauty but withheld true satisfaction. France needs to do more than tease today, and unwrapping their supple gams (offensive pace) should be the move to please the customers.

    I do expect that today’s reading will be from Henry Miller rather than the Brothers Grimm.

  12. 12.

    curiousleo

    That’s some rain there. Pouring.

    eta: and as I post that, the ref halts the game for a time due to weather…

  15. 15.

    handsmile

    Much better, more positive (less wary) squad selection for France: Gael Clichy for the creaky Patrice Evra, speedy Jeremy Menez for the less fleet Florent Malouda.

    Whoa! I don’t believe I’ve ever seen a match suspended for rain. Must be fears of lightning.

  18. 18.

    Villago Delenda Est

    OK, can we just settle this dispute by stating that the French are cheese-eating surrender monkeys and get on with our lives?

  19. 19.

    Amir Khalid

    And Dutch referee Björn Kuipers suspends the match because of a lightning storm overhead. Bummer.

  20. 20.

    Yutsano

    @Randinho: Link no work. U fix please.

    And I’m sure it originated in the Alpine border region between France and Switzerland. There’s a lot of culinary crossover with Germany and Italy as well.

  22. 22.

    Face

    Looks like the French already surrendered to the rain. God damn…it’s just in their genes, aint it?

  23. 23.

    handsmile

    And while we wait, my favorite cheese is Queso de Cabrales, a cow/goat-or-sheep milk blue cheese from Spain.

    Favorite fromage: Morbier or Fourme d’Ambert.

  25. 25.

    Amir Khalid

    It’s a conspiracy, Ah tells ya: a power outage has just hit my neighborhood at the very same time.

  28. 28.

    Villago Delenda Est

    @Yutsano:

    I amended my post to be more ecumenical. The original version only mentioned the Norse troublemaker, not the Olympian one. Hence Yustano’s comment.

  29. 29.

    Amir Khalid

    BBC liveblog:

    Darran Beard on Twitter: “Where’s Cliff Richard when you need him?”

    (One time at Wimbledon, the pop legend was in the crowd at Centre Court when play was suspended for rain. To pass the time, he led the crowd in a sing-along of his hits that has become one of the tournament’s most cherished memories.)

  33. 33.

    Mark S.

    Do they ever call a game because the field is too sloppy? I mean, assuming the lightning stops?

  35. 35.

    BC

    Metro State College in Denver just set up a new tuition plan that gives undocumented Colorado high school graduates a less costly tuition than out-of-state. Colorado Republicans have been bashing it by saying they can’t get jobs when they graduate. Obama just gave them a way of getting jobs, so well played, Mr. President.

  36. 36.

    Amir Khalid

    While we’re waiting for the footy to resume — if it does; the pitch is like a padi field*, and it seems that unlikely they can drain it in time — I saw Snow White and The Huntsman today. It’s way better than I would have expected, and deserves a higher Tomatometer rating than the 48% it got. Lovely visuals, mostly strong acting.

    Kristen Stewart doesn’t quite nail her St. Crispin’s Day speech. Charlize Theron’s rages should have been more like a particularly noxious fart, silent but deadly, rather than somewhat diva-ish tantrums. But those are my only quibbles with a really good movie.

    (*A padi field is where you grow padi, which is the Malay name for the rice plant.)

  37. 37.

    Amir Khalid

    The game has resumed. The Grauniad’s liveblog responds with this gorgeous typo:

    Karim Benzema doesn’t have any problems with it as he skips and scuttles down the left and tries a curling shit which is palmed down and gathered by Andriy Pyatov.

  38. 38.

    Mnemosyne (iTouch)

    I have nothing to say about soccer, so I will just mention that I am posting this otherwise useless comment from the Amtrak train on my way to Santa Barbara. Amtrak offers free wi-fi, because we live in the future.

    (No sneers allowed from any damn foreigners about how we’re still stuck with regular ol’ trains and not high-speed rail. I am already suppressing the pain of that.)

  40. 40.

    MikeJ

    @Mnemosyne (iTouch): We do have Acela, but it only cuts a half hour off DC-NY and costs $145 instead of $80. Which might be acceptable if we had actual high speed trains, but it’s only 200 miles and still takes 2.5 hours.

  41. 41.

    Mnemosyne (iTouch)

    @handsmile:

    You remember correctly — thank you! I am officially in my mid-40s now and my birthday fell on a Friday for once, so my bike and I are going to have an adventure today. She’s hanging on the train’s bike rack as we speak waiting for us to arrive in downtown SB.

  42. 42.

    Yutsano

    @Mnemosyne (iTouch): O-TANJYOOBI O OMEDETO GOZAIMASU!!

    Which reminds me I need to e-mail a friend. He just moved to Japan with his wife and daughter. Well back really, he’s a rare dual citizen.

  43. 43.

    Mnemosyne (iTouch)

    @MikeJ:

    When my boss visited Taiwan, they went from Taipei to Kaoshiung (sp?), a distance of approximately 350 miles, in about two hours.

    I haz a jealous. Bad. The only high-speed rail we’re going to have in Cali anytime soon is out in the east-central part of the state where it’s relatively cheap to build.

  44. 44.

    Mnemosyne (iTouch)

    @Yutsano:

    The train just passed through Camarillo, so there’s lots of farmland right now. Right after Oxnard is when the tracks start running right next to the ocean. That’s the prettiest part of the trip.

    My grandfather was a conductor on the North Shore Line, so I’ve got some railroader blood in me. :-)

  45. 45.

    Yutsano

    @Mnemosyne (iTouch): CHOO CHOO!!

    My uncle lives and dies by trains. Of course he has 120 lbs of furry German shepherd guide dog wuv who travels with him, and airlines get touchy about letting puppehs on passenger cabins. Jefferson is a big lazy talkative sweetie off harness though. And he gets his own seat on the train no problem.

    Sooo want the San Diego-Vancouver high-speed rail line.

  46. 46.

    pseudonymous in nc

    @Amir Khalid:

    A padi field is where you grow padi, which is the Malay name for the rice plant.

    As opposed to a paddy field, where Spain scores at will.

  47. 47.

    handsmile

    Not a great deal from either team in the first half. But a counterattacking goal doesn’t take much time, and the longer France squanders its scoring chances, the prospect of Shevchenko appearing on a white steed looms larger.

    From my pro-Bleus perspective, I’m glad to see that they’ve widened their attack from the first match against England. Ribery has put in a great shift thus far, but Nasri seems to be shirking his midfield playmaking duties. Ukraine looks to have studied closely the game tapes from France v. England and are mustering two ranks of defense at the back to frustrate French forays.

  49. 49.

    Randinho

    @Mnemosyne (iTouch): We were taking a bus in Spain from Algeciras to Sevilla to catch another bus to Cordoba. We missed the bus to Cordoba, caught a cab to the train station, bought tickets for the AVE, waited about 40 minutes to board and still arrived 30 minutes before the bus’ ETA.

  50. 50.

    Mnemosyne (iTouch)

    @Randinho:

    Meanwhile, the train has come to a dead halt for 10 minutes because there’s a track inspection going on up ahead and they need to clear out of our way.

    In other words, shut up, I hate you. :-p

  51. 51.

    Amir Khalid

    Two quick goals, from Menez and Cabaye, and les Bleus are in the driver’s seat.

  52. 52.

    handsmile

    Football greybeards claim that 2-0 is the most dangerous score, particularly when there’s a fair amount of a match still to play. Complacency can set in on the part of the team ahead. Given Ukraine’s national pride as tournament co-host and the atmosphere in the Kiev stadium, France must guard against ennui.

    And there’s been just a little cuteness and distraction in France’s play since Cabaye’s goal. But the minutes are ticking away…

    ETA: Very happy to see Olivier Giroud take the pitch to replace Benzema. He led Montpelier to win Ligue 1 last month, and rumors have him going to Arsenal next season.

  55. 55.

    dr. luba

    @Randinho: I missed the previous bryndza reference. I only recall varenyky.

    I’ve never had bilozhar; per the Google, it’s a local Bukovynian cheese. Bryndza is wonderful–a feta-like cheese produced in the Carpathian mountains from sheep’s milk. To die for.

    Also nice are the braided, smoked “beer” cheeses; not made with beer, but made for consuming with beer. Of course, good beer, and enough of it, makes snacks taste better. Even the dried, salty fish.

  56. 56.

    Amir Khalid

    Final whistle. 2 – 0 to les Bleus. The match took a while to get going after the interruption, but I don’t think there was any real surprise in the final result.

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