Sydney, Australia with the U.S. Para Men's National Team
January 26-Feb 5, 2023: This was my third trip to Australia, my second with a U.S. team after also going there in 2015 with the U-20 MNT. But it had been a while, and I had forgotten how much I like Sydney and my time in this faraway land.
The Australia Soccer Federation invited our U.S. Para Men’s National Team - now known as the CP (Cerebral Palsy) MNT - to play pair of friendlies against them. This is rare for the U.S. Para team - actually, it’s rare for most CP teams to travel for friendlies. But USSF puts a lot behind its team, and accepted the unique offer as a way to begin the year in preparation for November’s Parapan American Games in Chile.
The trip started in San Francisco, where we met to fly to Sydney on January 26. You ‘skip’ a full day traveling west across the international dateline, so we landed on Saturday, Jan. 28 at 9am Australia time.
We stayed next to Darling Harbour in downtown.
If you’ve read any of these posts….I try as much as possible to never take these opportunities for granted. To get out an explore - to see ‘new’ things, to experience a little of the daily life of a different city.
Sydney is very walkable. It took me about 20 minutes to make it to the Circular Quay - the main ferry / cruise transport hub, which includes shops and restaurants - and the famed Sydney Opera House and incredible view of the Sydney Harbour Bridge. I would come to this area a few times on this trip.
The team trained for a couple days, then played three games. In between, we took the group on a couple halfday excursions - first, to spend some time at famed Bondi Beach, then on a ferry ride under the Bridge and onward to Manly Beach.
Walking the other way from the hotel, you could explore the small, but very neat, Japantown and the colorful Chinatown, which over the weekend featured a fun street fair. Darling Harbour buzzed nightly with activity - a few nights, a small fireworks shows lit the sky and brought huge crowds. There was plenty of ice cream shops around there - I hit them all, as well as others on other walks. Messina stands out - real good!
The feature game was played on Saturday, Feb 5, as the USA and Australia tied 0-0 before a lively crowd of 1,027 fans at Cromer Park in northern Sydney. Australia did a fantastic job hosting this game, presenting it in a truly professional manner - and broadcasting it live locally while offering an international stream. Earlier in the week, the USA defeated the Socceroos 4-0 in a scrimmage, then 2-0 in another full friendly. Overall a solid camp for both teams!
Of course you can’t see everything, or get a true sense of life here in such a short time. But once again, the vibe in this city, in the country - resonated with me. It’s definitely up there among my favorite ‘major’ metropolitan cities that I’ve been to!
