Chill dealing with World Cup fever

There’s no doubt who Gustavo Oliveira is cheering for in this year’s World Cup.

A Brazilian by birth, the Thunder Bay Chill striker does have an unlikely second choice in the battle for global soccer supremacy – defending champion Italy. But Oliveira has good reason to cheer for the Italians, akin to a Canadian rooting for the American or Russian Olympic hockey teams.

“We hope Italy can win because then we won’t have to run so hard,” said Oliveira. “If they lose (coach) Tony (Colistro) is probably going to make us run way harder than normal.”

Colistro watched the Italians play to a surprising 1-1 draw against Paraguay on Monday in their World Cup opener, and while he got a little fiery at Tuesday’s practice, he didn't put make the team work any harder than usual.

The tournament, being played in South Africa, is wreaking havoc with the Chill’s practice schedule.

Inside the dressing room, on a small dry-erase white board, Colistro has mapped out the tournament schedule, and has adjusted his practice times accordingly, to allow his players to take in the quadrennial event.

He made the change despite a crucial Chapples Field battle this weekend against bitter-rival Des Moines, a team that edged the Chill (4-1-0) in last year’s Premier Development League standings, and likely the toughest obstacle between them and another Heartland Division title.

“Our team is full of so many different nationalities and countries. The World Cup is the prize of soccer, and what would we be like if we weren’t watching those games?” Colistro said.

“I don’t want to miss them, the players don’t want to miss them. So we work around those games. It definitely brings the team together. There’s a lot of teasing going on, of course. We’ve got some passionate players on the team about their countries, and that’s what this game is all about.”

Nowhere is that passion more evident than in the players’ apartments. Rookie midfielder Andrew Marinez, a Santa Monica, Calif. native, said it’s easy to choose where to watch a game – especially when the team’s South American contingent is involved.

“Depending on who is playing one house will get a lot rowdier. For example today all the Brazilians were upstairs watching Brazil play. But that’s where you want to be, because it’s exciting,” said Marinez, a staunch supporter of the U.S., who is also cheering on an underdog Mexican squad. 

“The other day we were with the Italians watching Italy play. It’s fun. We’re all a team. We care about one another, we like each other. But still, we’re all a little bit competitive and we want our team to win.”

Colistro said he’d rather have his players thinking soccer all day long, even if it means extra-long days, with nighttime practices following nightly soccer school duties. Even with Des Moines (4-1-4) scheduled to arrive for games on  Friday and Saturday.

“We tell all our youth kids, to be a better soccer player, you’ve got to watch the best. As far as I’m concerned they’re watching soccer and they’re picking stuff up from the pros. It’s actually a good break for them. (If the choice is) playing X-Box or watching World Cup soccer, I think they’re better off watching the World Cup games,” Colistro said.

Midfielder Nolan Intermoia, an American cheering for Italy, said the tournament is actually drawing a close-knit team, representing seven World Cup nations, even closer together.

“Right now in the early stages we’re all kind of cheering for each other or heckling each other,” Intermoia said. “We’re enemies off the field, but on the field we’re still friends.”

What it’s not doing is causing them to lose focus on the task at hand.

“Whether it’s practicing at eight o’clock or 3:30, we still have to come out here and do what Tony tells us to do,” Intermoia said.

That and picking on goalkeeper Stephen Paterson and the rest of the Canadians, who last participated at the World Cup in 1986, before most on the team were born.

Paterson, the all-time shutout leader at Western Illinois, is taking the ribbing, which is coming from all over, in stride. He’s also making no bones about who he won’t be cheering for in South Africa.

“I’ve gotten some comments on Facebook from people I went to school with and stuff, asking ‘How’s Canada doing in the World Cup?’ All right, that’s great. When the U.S. loses, let me know.”