We Still Love you, Brazil!

Today's semifinal 2014 World Cup match of Germany vs Brazil, will go down in sports and soccer history  and I suspect it also congested the Twittersphere.

As the announcer stated, we watched with morbid fascination, with Germany scoring goal after goal, effortlessly, until the score reached 7-0 in Germany's favor.

Gratefully, and with a relief to all spectators (even my German friends), Brazil finally managed a goal with the result that today's final score was 7-1. Germany moves on to the final game which will be played on Sunday. As for who it will play against, we will find out tomorrow whether it will be Argentina or The Netherlands. A Dutch vs. Germany final would be a bit strange on Brazilian soil but we will see!

I liked the above graphic featuring the results for the most recent games with 16 teams remaining from the Bleacher Report and article.

I am sure Brazilians are in mourning, "or worse," as my colleague Professor David E. Boyce emailed me.

Many of us were glued to our TV sets watching the game and are shocked by the outcome. I have several Brazilian friends who were at that game and I do not have the heart to email them my condolences and sympathies (yet).

I would like to take this opportunity to thank Brazil for being such a fabulous host of this 2014 World Cup, which has kept many soccer fans around the globe transfixed over the past almost 4 weeks with the extraordinary athleticism, drama, and surprising outcomes. Of course, we also feel for the injured players, especially Brazil's Neymar and I suspect the fact that two of their players were out for the semifinal game played a role in Brazil's loss - it certainly did not help psychologically. It seemed as though the Brazilian players had lost the pep and energy they had in the previous game at which Neymar towards the end of the game got kneed in his back and suffered a fractured vertebra.

Brazil, despite your team's loss today, we thank you for this World Cup and don't lose the spirit!

Best of luck in the consolation match and perhaps you will medal!

Tomorrow we will be watching Argentina play against The Netherlands.

I have been to Argentina, The Netherlands, and Germany, but have yet to make it to Brazil.

World Cup Fever and Operations Research

The 2014 World Cup has been thrilling, dramatic, and awe-inspiring with the marvelous athleticism of the globe's top soccer players engaged in games that are simply riveting.

Brazil deserves our congratulations for uniting the world as we watch the beautiful game being played at its venues.

I know of two colleagues in Operations Research who have tickets to several of the games in Brazil and I hope to catch their faces on TV at upcoming matches, Dr. Celso Ribeiro, the Editor of the journal, International Transactions in Operational Research (ITOR), and Dr. Mauricio Resende, of AT&T.

This year, as in 2010, 2006, and even 2002, I have been spending weeks during the spring and summer out of the USA, and those have also been World Cup years.

In 2002, I was living with my family in Innsbruck, Austria, where I held a Distinguished Fulbright at the SOWI Business School at the University of Innsbruck.  Brazil won the tournament that year, beating Germany.

In 2006, which was my sabbatical year at Harvard, I traveled to Limassol. Cyprus,  to speak  at the 12th International Conference on Computing in Economics and Finance, June 22 - 24, 2006 and then to Iceland, for the 21st European Conference on Operational Research, Iceland, July 2-5, 2006, and, finally, to  Erice, Sicily, to give an invited talk at the INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL OF MATHEMATICS  G. STAMPACCHIA 44th Workshop: VARIATIONAL ANALYSIS AND PARTIAL DIFFERENTIAL EQUATIONS, Erice, Sicily, July 5-14.

I was with many operations researchers in Erice, when Italy beat France in the 2006 World Cup, an experience we will never forget because of the celebrations that followed and somehow I made it back the next day via Alitalia to Boston and with my hearty congratulations to the staff got upgraded to Business Class!

The below photo is of several of the Erice workshop participants, including Professor Panos Pardalos of the University of Florida, watching the final game!

In 2010, we were in Buenos Aires, Argentina,  for the great ALIO-INFORMS Conference. The World Cup that year was taking place in South Africa. Buenos Aires was replendant in celebrating its team.   Spain won that year (and got eliminated early in 2014). Coincidentally, Dr. Celso Ribeiro gave a tutorial on sports scheduling at this conference, with a focus on soccer, which I enjoyed very much. A special issue of ITOR  was edited on the tutorials and I also had one with Q. Qiang.

I have spent almost 2 of the past several months in Europe, being based primarily in Sweden (which did not, however,  qualify for the 2014 World Cup). I have also been going to conferences in Erice (deja vu), in Taormina, also in Sicily, and in Greece. I have met up with may operations researchers at these venues and together we have cheered on many teams. I enjoy listening to the announcers in different languages.

The photo below was taken in Italy about 2 weeks ago, shortly before Italy was eliminated from the 2014 World Cup, and we commiserated with our many Italian friends.

 

I was disappointed that Greece lost last night especially since Greece was the most recent country at which I was at an operations research conference and it was a truly special one - as readers of my blog know. We recently celebrated Professor Pardalos' 60th birthday with a conference in Chalkidiki, Greece, at which I took the photo below, from the ferry. Many more photos are here.

The Costa Rican goalie, Keylor Navas, who was instrumental in Costa Rica beating Greece in last night's game,  has made headlines with his amazing plays. Afterwards, I enjoyed his quotes, in which he emphasizes his family (and how he kept on thinking of them during last night's game against Greece): I try to be a good father. I tried to be a good friend and in such a beautiful sport as football, I always try to have my kids happy so when they grow up, they can look back and they can see a father who did important things for their country.

It is great that the USA has made the round of 16, although it lost to Germany in its latest match,  and tomorrow it will be very exciting to watch the USA team play against Belgium.

Congratulations to all of the teams that qualified for this terrific 2014 World Cup in Brazil!

World Cup Postcard from Argentina -- 1 Month and 1 Day

On June 11, 2010, the 2010 World Cup began and that was the same day that we mailed a postcard to ourselves from Buenos Aires, Argentina, where I spoke at the ALIO-INFORMS conference.

Remember that today is July 12, 2010, the day after the ending of this World Cup in South Africa. I am pleased to report that the postcard that we sent to ourselves (since we love to track how long deliveries can take) arrived today! It took 1 month and 1 day and, strangely enough, it had a side trip to Mexico. Perhaps it was because Argentina beat Mexico in this World Cup?!

We started getting messages from relatives and friends in the past 10 days or so that our postcards to them from Buenos Aires were trickling in.

I wish that there had been a GPS tracker on this card because I am sure that the journey that it took was fascinating from a transportation point of view.

Above is what we are calling our infamous World Cup postcard. We whited out our address, which was present, so that was not the excuse for this extreme snail mail delivery.

At least it did arrive, finally!

Thank You, South Africa, for a Great World Cup

Wherever you may have been this weekend, it was hard not to notice the excitement surrounding the 2010 World Cup final in South Africa.

I was in cosmopolitan, gorgeous NYC this past weekend, which was filled not only with locals who weren't at the Hamptons, but also with many tourists from around the world.

Yesterday, the scores during the Spain vs. The Netherlands final match were relayed from taxi driver to taxi driver (these we saw parked) and from tourist to tourist so one could always catch the score even while walking.

As the German octopus named Paul "predicted," Spain beat The Netherlands and the final score was 1-0. Neither of these teams had ever advanced to the finals so it was a great achievement for both. The day before Germany beat Uruguay to receive third place in this 32 team World Cup.

Thank you, South Africa, for a month of great sports in the form of the game of soccer that brought fans around the globe to focus on the exciting games in your country. It was the first time that the World Cup was hosted on the continent of Africa and South Africa should be congratulated for the success of this month-long sports event!

Spain Beats Germany so It's Spain vs. The Netherlands in the 2010 World Cup Final

Germany just lost to Spain with a brilliant goal header giving Spain a win with a score of 1-0.

The final game will take place this Sunday in South Africa with The Netherlands playing Spain for the World Cup championship. This will be Spain's first World Cup final appearance.

I studied both Spanish and German so did not favor either team.

Amazing, though, to have 2 European soccer teams be the finalists of this great World Cup tournament in South Africa.

The Netherlands Beats Uruguay in a Frenetic Finale!

The Netherlands beat Uruguay with a score of 3-2 to advance to the finals of the 2010 World Cup. The game, as the announcer said, was "frenetic" and a heart-stopper.

Now we have Germany vs. Spain tomorrow and then the winner of that game will play The Netherlands. Amazing to have a final of this World Cup of only European teams.

Uruguay, a country of only about 3 million, who won both the World Cup in 1930 and 1950, should be congratulated for its terrific game today (especially without one of their star players, Suarez, who was red carded and had to sit out this match). (Plus, that second goal by the Dutch may have been questionable.)

To all of my colleagues and friends in The Netherlands, congratulations! The headers and athleticism of your soccer team have made your matches super exciting to watch at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa!

History has already been made since no European team has ever won a World Cup outside of Europe!

The Final Four in the 2010 World Cup

Rather than having 3 South American teams in the final four of the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, as many were predicting, we have 1 team from South America left, from Uruguay (who beat Ghana yesterday with penalty kicks), and three European teams: The Netherlands (who beat Brazil 2-1), Germany (who beat Argentina 4-0 today), and Spain (who beat Paraguay today 1-0).

Next week, Uruguay will play against The Netherlands, and Spain will play against Germany.

The New York Times had a wonderful article on Diego Maradona, the coach of the Argentinian team, which, I suspect, he may even have time now to read. I heard that his top player, Lionel Messi, was not feeling well on Thursday and missed practice (perhaps that affected his team's performance today).

Congratulations to all the teams who played their hearts out at this World Cup. From my perspective as a spectator and a huge World Cup fan, they all deserve standing ovations.

Brazil Knocked out of the World Cup by the Netherlands

I caught the last half hour or so of the Brazil vs. The Netherlands World Cup soccer game and my heart is still beating fast. The goal scored by the Dutch team using three players' heads as though they were playing a volleyball game with their heads was breathtaking.

For Holland to have beaten the number 1 ranked team, Brazil, at the 2010 World Cup speaks to the continuing drama and surprises taking place at this fascinating World Cup in South Africa.

Thanks to Brazil and to its players, coaches, and fans for bringing their special skills in soccer to the world stage, despite the loss today.

I hear from my academic colleagues in The Netherlands that the country is experiencing a very serious case of soccer frenzy, and justifiably so. I send my condolences to my colleagues in Brazil for their team's loss today which must be very painful since it was so unexpected.

FIFA President apologizes and goal-line technology

The FIFA President, Sepp Blatter, has apologized for the refereeing calls at the 2010 World Cup, and has acknowledged that both England and Mexico were shortchanged a goal each in their elimination games recently.

We, as spectators around the world, have also been stunned by what our eyes perceived to be erroneous calls by the referees even against the United States in two games.

The idea of goal-line technology is getting increasing credence according to The New York Times. Interestingly, before this World Cup started, Blatter was adamant against video replay — and other forms of in-game technology.

“We want to keep football as a game of the people with a human face, so we don’t want technology on the field of play because we want to maintain the spontaneity of football — played, administered and controlled by human beings,” Blatter said.

Now that the 2010 World Cup has identified the top 8 remaining teams, Blatter is now quoted in The Times as saying:

“It is obvious that after the experiences so far at this World Cup,” “it would be nonsense not to reopen the file on goal-line technology.”

At least he apologized and is willing to admit the (obvious) oversights by the referees in several games.

The damage has been done but Sepp Blatter had the courage to admit that errors were made. I wish that some heads of professional and even youth sports organizations would do the same.

From the World Cup to the World Expo

After the painful loss today of the US soccer team to Ghana's at the World Cup in South Africa, resulting in the US team being eliminated, I thought that I would offer some distraction by posting the above photos taken at the World Expo which is now taking place in Shanghai, China.

But, first, I would like to congratulate the US soccer team and their coaches for their extraordinary efforts. You won the hearts of our country and we are tremendously proud of how well you played.

Congrats to Ghana for being the only African country left representing this continent at this stage of the World Cup.

The above photos were taken recently by relatives of a doctoral student of mine who visited the World Expo in Shanghai and I thank them for allowing me to share them with you. Several of my collaborators are now also in Shanghai and I hope that over the summer I will be able to post additional photos.

The first photo is of China's pavilion (and interestingly in yesterday's New York Times there was a two page photo spread and ad for this World Expo). The second one is especially lovely at night, I am told, and the color and images change. The third photo is of Estonia's pavilion. The fourth photo is of the World Exposition Museum. The fifth is an artwork with four monkeys, which is a symbol of families' happiness. The bottom photo is the Qatar pavilion.

Although China did not qualify for the World Cup I am hearing marvelous things about its World Expo.

Professors and the World Cup

Being a professor means that one has students, colleagues, and friends from around the world.

During the 2010 World Cup that is taking place now in South Africa there has been a lot of drama, unexpected victories, and unexpected losses.

I have heard recently from friends who are from Chile, The Netherlands, Brazil, Argentina, Egypt, Italy, China, Cape Verde, Ukraine, and other countries, all of whom are intently following the various games and upsets (as well as dubious calls by the refs, the incidents of good sportsmanship and the opposite, and all the various trials and tribulations and the associated drama).

As I had mentioned in an earlier blogpost, the 2010 World Cup began while I was at a conference in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

At the finals of the previous World Cup, in 2006, I was at a conference in glorious Erice in Italy and we watched Italy beat France and then this entire town, which is on the island of Sicily, erupted in celebrations and fireworks. Amazingly, the morning after, I flew back to Boston safely on Alitalia from Naples without incident and enjoyed a delicious meal on the plane.

During the World Cup in 2002, my family and I were living in Innsbruck, Austria, while I was on a Fulbright.

Above are photos taken in Erice during the finals back in 2006.

What a difference 4 years make in terms of World Cup play!

Even Hillary Clinton was in Argentina

In honor of the great World Cup win by Argentina today against South Korea to the score of 4-1, I have posted the above photos that I took in Buenos Aires last week where I attended the ALIO-INFORMS conference.

In the top photo above is a nice note from Hillary Clinton who dined at the Cafe Tortoni in Buenos Aires, a cafe that we also had the pleasure of eating at last week. I also recommend La Biela in La Recoleta, a very historic part of Buenos Aires, whose charming waiters gave us many extra pieces of exquisite dark chocolate.

If you'd like to see more photos of Buenos Aires, please see my earlier blogposts. The New York Times has front page coverage today about the Argentine soccer coach, Maradona, and his team's star player, Messi. Maradona, who is considered one of the top former soccer players ever, has promised to run naked through the streets of Buenos Aires should Argentina win the World Cup. He continues to coach his team at the World Cup matches dressed in a gray suit, which, as many have noticed (and despite the elegance of the people of Buenos Aires) does not fit him well.

Also, Professor Peter Lohmander of Umea, Sweden has kindly posted gorgeous photos that he took while at the same operations research conference in Buenos Aires . His photos may be accessed here.

Brazil vs. North Korea and Celtics vs. Lakers

********Update to the first story*************

Brazil beat North Korea 2-1 in the World Cup today, which is probably a score that few would have predicted. The announcer stated that the red garbed "North Korean" fans in the stands were actually paid Chinese "actors."

*********************************************

**********And to the second********************

The Celtics lost to the Lakers last night and will play against them tomorrow, Thursday, June 17, 2010 in LA.


Professors are very "active" individuals with their teaching, research, and service.

Every once in a while, though, there comes a day, when just being a spectator, and the associated anticipation, bring special delights.

I have been following the World Cup, beginning with the first matches while I was in Argentina and since returning to Amherst, MA (where even high schoolers missing school to watch the World Cup games at restaurants made the front page of the local newspaper, much to the chagrin of their parents, I am sure. Plus, I was told that little work has been done in the local high school since the TVs are on to the World Cup games).

Today, will be a fascinating game between Brazil, the top-ranked team at the World Cup, and North Korea, the polar and very mysterious opposite, at 2:30PM ET. The excitement is palpable in Massachusetts and beyond and, in addition, tonight is the Celtics vs. Lakers basketball game in Los Angeles, with fans in eager anticipation. If the Celtics win tonight, they will have won this year's NBA championship.

So today, besides reviewing proposals and academic articles, and trying to catch some time to do some research, it will not be all "work" but also some spectating for the pure joy of sport!

As a faculty member at the Isenberg School at UMass Amherst, I am privileged to be part of a school that also houses one of the top Sports Management departments in the US, so, of course, any sports-related discussions are "work-related."

The World Cup has begun and Argentina

Yesterday, I was still in Buenos Aires, Argentina, spending 1 day touring after the ALIO-INFORMS conference. The city was filled with the Argentine flag and numerous decorations to commemorate the first day of the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. While dining and getting ready to head for the airport to catch a flight back to Dulles and then to Bradley, I caught glimpses of the South Africa vs. Mexico game (score 1-1) and the France vs. Uruguay game (score 0-0) plus some of the opening ceremonies prior.

There are numerous large TV screens in Buenos Aires so that people can watch the World Cup soccer matches.

After a very comfortable flight on United from Buenos Aires to Dulles of about 10 and a half hours but a less than comfortable processing at immigration and security at Dulles with long queues and some sort of strange call for a meeting at 7:00AM for the customs and immigration workers, we just made it to our last flight from Dulles early this morning.

While unpacking, back in Amherst, we caught parts of the Argentina vs. Nigeria game in which Argentina won 1-0 with Maradona as its soccer team's coach.

Above are some photos taken in Buenos Aires, Argentina during the past week marking the World Cup festivities. I am sure that the country is celebrating with its victory in the World Cup today.

The sport of football/fusbol/soccer brings the world together during the World Cup, which takes place this year from June 11-July 11, 2010, in a terrific display of athleticism, cameraderie, appreciation of other cultures, and just pure fun!

At the ALIO-INFORMS conference in Buenos Aires, I very much enjoyed Dr. Celso Ribeiro's plenary talk on how his research was applied to construct the schedules for Brazil's soccer teams, with great success. I especially enjoyed listening to the importance of "fairness" in the schedule and how such constraints were incorporated into the optimization model.

A Party Hosted by the Best Student Chapter and Africa Goal

The end of the academic year is always filled with numerous celebrations-- from parties to banquets to graduations. It is a time to revel in our students' accomplishments and the achievement of their goals.

This past week, we hosted an end of the semester party, which coincided (unplanned) with a huge wind and rain storm, which knocked down trees (but, luckily, the Isenberg School of Management, which was the indoor site for our party did not lose power). The party was hosted by the UMass Amherst INFORMS Student Chapter.

The party featured international cuisines from Turkey, Ukraine, China, Japan, the US, Iran, and other countries, and, amazingly, the food tasted really good together!

At the party, I had the chance to recognize the outstanding chapter officers for their excellent service throughout the year, which includes hosting our terrific Speaker Series in Operations Research / Management Sciences.

Attendance at the party was great with students, both undergrad and graduate ones, coming not only from the Isenberg School but also from Computer Science and Engineering (and they marched through the storm to get there). Faculty also came out to support the students and to celebrate the end of classes.

Today is Mother's Day and I can't say enough about our wonderful students -- they show up when it matters, work very hard together with terrific esprit de corps, and the friendships continue after they graduate. Plus, our students are very entrepreneurial. For example, during the party, I spoke with one of the undergrads, who was born in Kenya, but is of Polish and Swiss descent. One of his majors is Operations Management. I asked him what he was doing this summer. He told me that he, with several others, was able to obtain funding from the Bill Clinton Foundation, so Africa Goal is on! This is truly an amazing initiative, which will bring viewing of World Cup soccer games to villagers in eastern Africa, combined with AIDS and HIV awareness education. You may find out more about Africa Goal here and even view the route that the group will take, combining the love of sports with health education!