This website is using a security service to protect itself from online attacks The action you just performed triggered the security solution There are several actions that could trigger this block including submitting a certain word or phrase You can email the site owner to let them know you were blocked Please include what you were doing when this page came up and the Cloudflare Ray ID found at the bottom of this page The TFWA Management Committee today (13 December) voted to elect former senior Coty executive Philippe Margueritte (right) as President of the Association His one-year mandate will run until December 2025 The highly regarded Margueritte headed Olivier Bottrie Travel Retail and Retail Development at The Estée Lauder Companies Four other candidates – King Power Group (Hong Kong) Chief Executive Sunil Tuli; WorldConnect AG – Skross Managing Partner Sam Gerber; Urban-Air Port Chief Retail Officer and Hunter Palmer – Global Retail Solutions Partner and Co-Founder Keith Palmer; and AS Consulting Founder (and long-time Zilli executive) Alexandra Schimel-Fila – were eliminated in the first round of voting More recently the Geneva-based executive was CEO of Ritz Enterprise from mid-2022 until the end of 2023 one of the six founders of TFWA who served as President for a total of 23 years over two terms Juul-Mortensen said: “As my tenure as TFWA President comes to a close I would like to take this opportunity to thank the TFWA Board the permanent team and of course the members for their support over the years It has been an absolute privilege to have served this dynamic industry “I trust that the Association will remain true to its values and motto ‘by the trade and wish the Association all the very best as it now embarks on a new chapter.” TFWA said: “The TFWA President is responsible for overseeing all the Association’s activities and for ensuring that they are carried out in the best interest of TFWA’s members The President is also responsible for executing Management Committee decisions and ensuring the proper functioning of the Association.” ✈ Subscribe to our newsletter for critical marketing information delivered to your inbox Traffic growth at Europe’s airports slowed to +4.3% year-on-year in the first quarter up +3.2% compared to the same period in pre-pandemic 2019 “We are reinforcing the routine that you cannot pass through an airport without buying a Toblerone There is no other confectionery brand that is more strongly associated with travel than Toblerone,” says Mondelez World Travel Retail Director Category The Moodie Davitt Report is delighted to present the results of the inaugural TREX Awards A trailblazing celebration of the finest travel retail-exclusive products and other initiatives the TREX Awards recognise the critical need for differentiation within travel retail shining a spotlight on innovations that deliver unique value to travellers Copyright © The Moodie Davitt Report | Website by Yellowball We use 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December 2025 Margueritte was Senior Vice President Travel Retail of Coty Coty has named Mette Engell Senior Vice President (SVP) Kohl’s Corporation has fired CEO Ashley Buchanan Former Coty executive Philippe Margueritte has been named as the new President of the Tax Free World Association (TFWA) He was appointed at the TFWA Management Committee meeting in Paris today who announced he woud not be standing for re-election Margueritte previously spent 15 years with Coty including almost seven years as the company’s Senior Vice President for Travel Retail Margueritte will serve a one-year term until December 2025 Tagged with: Sign up for email newsletters for up-to-date news By Faye Bartle and Luke Barras-hill | Friday Philippe Margueritte was elected as TFWA President at a management meeting in Paris At its meeting today (13 December) in Paris the TFWA Management Committee voted Philippe Margueritte as the new President of the association the association’s long-serving figurehead and one of its original founders who decided to step down as TFWA President this month having spent a total of more than two decades in the position most recently securing consecutive terms as President since 2021 his one-year mandate will run until December 2025 The President is also responsible for executing Management Committee decisions and ensuring the proper functioning of the Association Margueritte’s appearance in the shortlist could be viewed as a surprise by some observers given it has been more than five years since he occupied a senior day-to-day operational role within DF&TR, having left his position as Coty Senior Vice President Global Travel Retail and Export in 2019 a professional pedigree spanning more than 30 years in the beauty sector including more than 11 years spent with L’Oreal Group and nearly 16 years at Coty including as its SVP Global Travel Retail and Export meant he would always be viewed as a strong contender for the top job at TFWA on the basis of his combined senior leadership pedigree and extensive network of contacts Margueritte played a central role in developing the travel retail function following the company’s $12.5bn merger of the Procter & Gamble (P&G) fine fragrance salon professional and hair colour empire in 2015 which resulted in Coty absorbing 43 of P&G’s beauty brands Experienced TFWA Board Member Sam Gerber was among a six-strong group each vying to succeed Erik Juul-Mortensen as the new TFWA President TRBusiness has it on good authority that an experienced group of six candidates competed for the presidency at TFWA’s offices in Paris today this included Group Chief Executive Officer of King Power Group (Hong Kong) and Asia Pacific Travel Retail President Sunil Tuli; Keith Hunter former Creative Director of Zilli; and Olivier Bottrie Managing Partner at WorldConnect AG – Skross had already declared his intention to stand as President said: “As my tenure as TFWA President comes to a close “It has been an absolute privilege to have served this dynamic industry I trust that the Association will remain true to its values and motto ‘by the trade The TFWA President is responsible for overseeing all the Association’s activities and for ensuring that they are carried out in the best interest of TFWA’s members The deadline for members of the Management Committee to lodge their candidacy with the TFWA Election Committee was yesterday (12 December) while candidates outside the Management Committee were given until Tuesday 15 November to express their interest As reported, TFWA recently elected new faces to its Board and Management Committee who will serve the association on a two-year mandate from October 2024 to October 2026 Stay close to TRBusiness for more on this story… READ MORE: TFWA presidential election set to take place on 13 December READ MORE: TFWA Board changes; Gerber running for President READ MORE: TFWA shares programme details for 2025 Asia Pacific gathering ARCHIVE INTERVIEW: Coty talks exclusively to TRB this month on P&G merger TRBusiness Magazine is free to access. Read the latest issue now By Faye Bartle and Luke Barras-hill | Friday Please select what you would like included for printing: Copy the text below and then paste that into your favorite email application Enter your phone number above to have directions sent via text This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply Service map data © OpenStreetMap contributors players on the women’s soccer team have been walking around campus toting huge white binders with the letters UCLA in blue-and-gold script on the front And though the idea for the book came from Margueritte Aozasa, the second-year coach has done more to change the culture at UCLA than just issuing homework assignments. “Our new coaching staff, they have really transformed this program,” senior forward Reilyn Turner said. “They implemented a lot of team-bonding things that we didn’t do previously. They really value personal relationships. That has brought us to where we are now.” Sports Washington and others thwarted efforts to save the conference Where the unbeaten Bruins (3-0) are now is atop the national rankings a season after winning the second NCAA title in school history making Aozasa the first rookie coach and first woman of color to win a championship in women’s soccer Junior defender Quincy McMahon who, like many on the roster, was recruited by the previous coach, Amanda Cromwell, said Aozasa worked hard from the start to earn her players’ trust. “When Amanda left, for sure there was a little bit of anxiety,” McMahon said. “But Margueritte right away came in and just made it a very relationship-based thing. She had a meeting with every single one of us the day she got here. That just made it super easy to trust her because she invited us to create the team that she wanted. “[To] build a lot of trust at the very start, it’s so easy to transition into that and get used to her coaching style or understand what she was saying to us.” That transition to Aozasa’s disciplined and defensive-oriented approach is far from complete, however, which brings us back to the big white binders. The coach believes soccer is more like jazz than classical music in that it requires improvisation off a theme rather than slavish devotion to a score. So the binders are less a playbook and more an outline of the coach’s tactical and strategic philosophies. When the ball gets kicked, it’s up to the players to apply them. And that’s where the trust and personal relationships comes in. “As a staff, we look at our role as getting the most out of each and every player,” said Aozasa, whose team has outscored opponents 8-1 in its three wins this season. “In order to do that, you have to know them, you have to understand them, you have to relate to them, and they have to relate to you and trust you. You can’t demand a ton of your players unless they know that you care about them.” This season, UCLA’s final one in the Pac-12, Aozasa wants to build on that success by introducing new concepts to her team’s style of play. Whether that works will also be determined by trust since the coaches are relying on the holdovers from the championship roster to get the team’s six freshmen and two transfers up to speed. “We’ve put a lot of responsibility on the veterans to help teach the younger players, the ones that haven’t seen it before, which has been a huge advantage because last year it felt like we were teaching every single person something brand-new. Now we’re kind of refining something,” she said. “What I hope is we appear to be a more mature and experienced team. We can be more adaptable because now we have a foundation that’s a little more stable, which allows us to make more modifications in a fluid manner. Last year we didn’t have that foundation behind us.” UCLA Sports UCLA women’s soccer clawed back from a 2-0 deficit to beat North Carolina 3-2 in double overtime in the College Cup final for its second NCAA title. Aozasa, 33, came to UCLA from Stanford, where she was an assistant on two national championship teams. So she’s been to the mountaintop before and knows how steep the fall can be: In 2019, the Cardinal won the NCAA title only to finish fourth in the Pac-12 a season later. “It is always super hard to win championships. I don’t know why people think it’s different for us,” she said. “That you can be the best in that country doesn’t mean you’re going to win it. It’s a fresh year. At the end of the day, you have to win your last six games. That doesn’t matter if you’ve won it before, it doesn’t matter if you’ve never won. “People always talk. ‘Oh, well, you have a target on your back.’ We always have a target on our back.” And that may prove to be the push the team needs to write the final chapter to the book they’ve been carrying around campus this summer. “We can’t use our new coaching staff as motivation anymore because they’ve been here for a year,” said Turner, who, alongside teammate Lilly Reale, was named to the preseason watch list for the Hermann Trophy, college soccer’s version of the Heisman. “We’ve gotten close with them. We’ve had a lot of experiences. So we have to find a new why. “We have a lot of expectations for ourselves. And I think other people have expectations for us. We just need to focus on what we need to do.” As the defending national champion in women’s soccer, UCLA entered the new season ranked No. 1 in the country. But the Bruins aren’t the only team in Southern California that has title aspirations. At least three other schools also have reasons to believe this will be a big year: USC: The Trojans (2-1), ranked 24th in last week’s United Soccer Coaches’ poll, beat No. 4 Duke in Durham, N.C., before ending their first road trip of the season with a 4-0 loss to No. 3 North Carolina. Defender Kayla Duran and forward Simone Jackson are on the Hermann Trophy watch list. UC Irvine: The Anteaters made it at least as far as the second round in each of the last two NCAA tournaments but are just 2-2 this year, thanks to a tough early-season schedule that saw them lose to both No. 11 Stanford and No. 1 UCLA. Pepperdine: The unbeaten Waves (1-0-3), who reached the round of 16 in the NCAA tournament in 2021, are led by preseason all-conference picks Tori Waldeck and Tatum Wynalda. Kevin Baxter writes about soccer and hockey for the Los Angeles Times. He has covered seven World Cups, five Olympic Games, six World Series and a Super Bowl and has contributed to three Pulitzer Prize-winning series at The Times and Miami Herald. An essay he wrote in fifth grade was voted best in the class. He has a cool dog. Subscribe for unlimited accessSite Map Your request appears similar to malicious requests sent by robots Please make sure JavaScript is enabled and then try loading this page again. If you continue to be blocked, please send an email to secruxurity@sizetedistrict.cVmwom with: Get Recruited Faster with a Player Profile on SoccerWire.com Former Stanford assistant coach Margueritte Aozasa has been hired as the sixth head coach in UCLA women’s soccer history “I could not be more excited to take on the responsibility of leading this Bruin program,” said Aozasa. “First, I would like to thank Martin Jarmond, Erin Adkins and everyone involved in the hiring process I was immediately struck by the emphasis on energy integrity and competitiveness throughout the department This program’s standard of excellence has been well-established and I cannot wait to continue its tradition of elite performance on and off the field.” Aozasa coached Stanford to great success during her seven seasons (2015-21) helping guide the Cardinal to NCAA Championships in 2017 and 2019 and Pac-12 titles from 2015-19 The 2018 team also reached the College Cup Stanford’s record during Aozasa’s time on the Farm was 125-19-8 with the Cardinal posting a +318 goal differential (412 goals for Two Stanford athletes won the Hermann Trophy in three consecutive years from 2017-2019 – Andi Sullivan (2017) and Catarina Macario (2018 Four Cardinal players were selected as the No 1 pick in the NWSL Draft in four of the last five years – Sullivan in 2018 Sophia Smith in 2020 and Naomi Girma in 2022 – and a nation-leading 10 have been selected in the first round “Margueritte is a proven winner in NCAA Soccer, having coached Stanford to two national championships in the last five years and five Pac-12 titles in seven years,” said UCLA’s Alice and Nahum Lainer Director of Athletics Martin Jarmond develop and lead young women stood out during the process and we’re looking forward to having her guide this storied program.” Aozasa brought in multiple Top 5 recruiting classes Women’s National Team players through their collegiate careers – Sullivan Aozasa coached three players who played on Women’s Champion League teams – Macario (Olympique Lyonnais) Aozasa and the Stanford coaching staff were honored as the 2016 NSCAA Pacific Region Staff of the Year and Aozasa was selected to the United Soccer Coaches’ 30 Under 30 Class in 2018-19 “Margueritte instantly impressed everyone on the hiring committee,” said Associate Athletic Director Erin Adkins “Most impressive was her ability to clearly define who we are as a team now and where the team could continue to grow in the future Her successful tenure at Stanford and her time competing at Santa Clara as a student-athlete under one of the greats in Jerry Smith have prepared her to lead the Bruins for years to come.” Aozasa has been the ECNL Head Coach for 10 years at MVLA Soccer Club which is ranked by Top Drawer Soccer as the No Her 02 and 03 MVLA ECNL squads were Champions League teams with a combined 35 players currently on NCAA Division I rosters Aozasa was a four-year starter under head coach Jerry Smith at Santa Clara University from 2008-11 playing at midfield and center back and serving as team captain from 2010-11 she graduated from Santa Clara in 2012 with a major in psychology and minors in public health and Spanish she earned a Masters in Coaching and Athletic Administration from Concordia University She will become one of just five Asian American women currently serving as a head coach for a NCAA women’s soccer team Risenhoover spent the last five seasons at Cal Chamides is a reigning NCAA Division II national champion Join the SoccerWire College Soccer Recruiting Search Engine and learn how to be seen OVER 1 MILLION TIMES PER YEAR. This site uses cookies to give you the best possible experience but do not collect personal information. By continuing to use the site you agree that we can save cookies on your device. For more information, please read our privacy policy. UCLA head coach Margueritte Aozasa was in her office with her assistants on Nov. 8 when she saw that her player, sophomore Lilly Reale, was named the Pac-12 Defender of the Year. Half an hour later, Aozasa received the news through social media that she had won Coach of the Year. The first rookie coach to win the honor, Aozasa has led the Bruins to a 17-2 record in the regular season and the No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament. And on Monday, they will compete in the College Cup final. “It’s humbling,” she said of the award. “While I’m honored that this is an individual recognition, I really need to start a petition for it to be called ‘Staff of the Year’ because I’m just so thankful for my assistants and all our support staff. They really make my job possible.” Aozasa is in her first year, but she’s familiar with what it takes to run a successful program. Having coached since she was 19 years old, Aozasa was an assistant at Stanford for seven years, guiding the team to two NCAA titles in 2017 and 2019 along with five Pac-12 titles from 2015-19. View this post on Instagram A post shared by UCLA Women's Soccer (@uclawsoccer) She took over the Bruins program from Amanda Cromwell, who left to become head coach of the NWSL’s Orlando Pride but was placed on administrative leave less than two months into the season. A joint investigation between the NWSL and NWSL Players Association later substantiated claims of retaliatory behavior, leading to Cromwell’s termination. Aozasa, a two-time captain and four-year starting defender for Santa Clara, wanted to turn UCLA into as much of a defensive powerhouse as an attacking engine. Her goal was to make the Bruins one of the best defensive teams in the country, and that’s exactly what they became. UCLA registered 12 shutouts in 19 games, their goals-against average of .474 tied for fourth in the nation, and Reale was named UCLA’s second-ever Pac-12 Defender of the Year. Reale’s honor, especially, was a testament to the defensive strides UCLA made this year. “She’s an incredible person and just very steady for us,” Aozasa said. “I think as a defender, it’s sometimes hard to gain recognition, especially on a good team.” View this post on Instagram A post shared by UCLA Women's Soccer (@uclawsoccer) the ingredients to UCLA’s recipe for success have been honesty and trust “I think transparency is really an expression of respect in a lot of ways,” Aozasa said “And we try to be accessible and compassionate I think those are really values of our staff empowering environment for our players to play within it.” After she was hired in the last week of 2021 Aozasa started out by meeting with every single player She wanted to know everything so she could assess how best to move forward the changes she wanted to make to the team’s system and the identity she wanted the program to have “Everything we’ve done thus far starts with those relationships,” Aozasa said The trust the Bruins built during the preseason is reflected in their chemistry on the field where they play without fear of making mistakes A fun-loving group that laughs and dances through pressure-filled situations the players embraced the staff from day one which allowed Aozasa to introduce her plans quickly They also got closer through hard times. Just two months after Aozasa joined UCLA, she received the news that her former goalkeeper, Stanford’s Katie Meyer, had died by suicide the news was just … I hit the floor,” Aozasa said her death and the conversations we had stemming from that as a team really accelerated the process of our team building that trust between our staff and players.” One of Aozasa’s goals has been to create an environment where mental health is a high priority Meyer’s death not only opened conversations about mental health and challenges that student-athletes were facing but it also brought Aozasa’s own mental well-being into sharp focus And her players and the athletic department were there to help You need to know that if you need to go there I was so struck by the team’s support as I went through that loss personally.” There were times Aozasa missed training to go to Stanford because that’s what she needed in those moments When UCLA kicked off its season in mid-August the Bruins were closer than ever and ready to play for each other Duke followed by North Carolina and 21-time national champion coach Anson Dorrance Aozasa and Reale had six other Bruins join them on the Pac-12 awards list. Also named to the first team were forward Reilyn Turner — Nike’s first student-athlete signed to an NIL deal — and defender Quincy McMahon while goalkeeper Lauren Brzykcy and midfielder Sunshine Fontes received second-team honors freshman midfielder Ally Lemos and midfielder Maricarmen Reyes were named to the third team Lemos and midfielder Sofia Cook made the Pac-12 All-Freshman Team UCLA kicked off the NCAA tournament with a 4-1 win against Northern Arizona then advanced on penalties against Central Florida Virginia and Alabama in succession to reach the championship match at 6 p.m so that it doesn’t distract from what we’re really trying to do,” Aozasa said “Can we play how we know we can play and bring some joy in the game even though it is kind of a pressure-filled situation?” UCLA lost to UC Irvine in the first round after winning 16 games in the regular season 1 Bruins to see if they can not just flip the script but clinch the NCAA title with the 2022 Pac-12 Coach of the Year leading the way Jessa Braun is a contributing writer at Just Women’s Sports covering the NWSL and USWNT. Follow her on Twitter @jessabraun Start your morning off right with Just Women’s Sports’ free Four-time Olympic gold medalist Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone maintained her 400-meter crown this weekend, completing her second straight 400-meter events sweep at the Grand Slam Track series' Miami meet on Sunday One month after completing the sweep at the first Grand Slam meet in Kingston the 25-year-old US track star won Saturday's 400-meter hurdles with a time of 52.07 seconds before also taking Sunday's 400-meter flat event in 49.69 seconds — a race that earned McLaughlin-Levrone a $100,000 winner's check McLaughlin-Levrone has a veritable stranglehold on the 400-meter hurdles dominating that race since her last loss at the 2019 World Championships she blasted through six world records across 12 straight victories — lowering the women's 400-meter hurdles world standard from 52.16 seconds to a blistering 50.37-second pace With two more Grand Slam meets in Philadelphia and LA in the coming weeks McLaughlin-Levrone is considering a literal change of pace temporarily switching to run the 100-meter events — a distance she hasn't competed in since 2018 and other track stars will next compete in the third Grand Slam Track meet in Philadelphia from May 30th through June 1st before closing out the series in LA between June 27th and June 29th All 2025 Grand Slam Track meets stream live on Peacock English soccer club London City earned both a trophy and promotion from the UK's second-tier Women's Championship league this weekend lifting the Michele Kang-owned Lionesses into the top-flight Women's Super League (WSL) next season With a 2-2 draw against second-place Birmingham City in Sunday's 2024/25 season finale London City sealed the single point they needed to claim the second-flight league title and secure their ticket to the 2025/26 WSL campaign London City's rise is major success story for owner Michele Kang and her multi-team organization Kynisca — which also owns the NWSL's Washington Spirit and French club Lyon — as the Lionesses reach the UK's top-flight just two seasons after Kang's 2023 purchase of the club London City will take the WSL spot of last season's promoted team who were relegated from the top-tier league last month and currently hold a dismal 2-15-4 record Crystal Palace's struggles to compete after leveling up are nothing new with many promoted clubs often stumbling into relegation after a single season with the women's sports mogul planning to see the Lionesses rise up the WSL and "We have been building a team to be at a minimum, on day one, mid-tier WSL," Kang told the BBC "When I first came here a lot of people were concerned for me," Kang explained "How can an independent women's team survive if you don't have the male team that can provide the brand and resources The 2025 PWHL playoffs are officially set, with the Ottawa Charge and Minnesota Frost punching their postseason tickets in Saturday's final regular-season games to join the first-place Montréal Victoire and second-place Toronto Sceptres in the second-year league's playoff bracket Needing two wins in addition to two losses from either the Charge or the Boston Fleet for a chance to defend their 2024 title Minnesota found another gear in the season's final week The Frost first defeated Ottawa 3-0 last Wednesday before handing a crumbling Fleet side an 8-1 Saturday thrashing leapfrogging Boston to narrowly advance to the playoffs following an up-and-down regular season Minnesota's massive momentum grab directly affected this week's 2025 PWHL semifinals pairings As first-place finishers, the Victoire had the opportunity to choose their first-round opponent between the third- and fourth-place finishers — with Montréal opting out of facing the Frost to instead open the playoffs against the Charge. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Just Women’s Sports (@justwomenssports) "This group is hungry, and we're excited for the playoffs," said Victoire captain and the 2024/25 PWHL season's top goal scorer Marie-Philip Poulin "We're pretty excited to start the playoffs at home Also snagging home-ice advantage is second-place Toronto who must now overcome Minnesota in their best-of-five semifinal series to earn a spot in the 2025 Walter Cup championship series The puck drops on the 2025 PWHL Playoffs on Wednesday 4-seed Minnesota will meet on the ice at 7 PM ET Top-seeded Montréal's semifinal series against No 3-seed Ottawa will begin at 7 PM ET on Thursday All games will stream live on the PWHL YouTube channel The WNBA tipped off its preseason slate this weekend, as early contenders stole the spotlight behind massive wins signaling potential success in the 2025 regular-season "I haven't played in, like, 200 days, so I was a little nervous going in," Fever star and Iowa alum Caitlin Clark said after Sunday's game. "The competitive spirit in me — you just want to play really good for these fans." View this post on Instagram A post shared by Just Women’s Sports (@justwomenssports) LSU grad Angel Reese and former Tigers transfer Hailey Van Lith also shined on the collegiate court returning to Baton Rouge to help the Chicago Sky defeat Brazil 89-62 on Friday "I'm just happy to be back to see all the fans because I know how much was put into this program." Reese didn't skip a beat in her return from last year's season-ending wrist injury 10-rebound double-double in Friday's clash rookie Van Lith scored her first professional points in the game and three rebounds in her 13 minutes off the bench "It's super surreal in terms of the turnaround from where I was two weeks ago to where I am today but [I'm] just soaking it up and enjoying every moment," Bueckers told reporters after the game Golden State selected Sellers with the No. 17 overall pick in the WNBA Draft. pic.twitter.com/CU5VOdTy6x While the results don't count, the weekend exhibition allowed coaches and viewers to evaluate fresh talent and new roster combinations ahead of the significant roster cuts that teams must make prior to the 2025 season tip-off on May 16th The season's first big-name roster cut came from Golden State on Saturday, when the Valkyries waived guard Shyanne Sellers after taking the standout Maryland alum No The preseason action continues this week with a trio of exhibitions on deck on Tuesday the Minnesota Lynx will visit the Chicago Sky at 7 PM ET before the LA Sparks square off against new California rival Golden State while the Phoenix Mercury takes on Las Vegas at 10 PM ET All games will stream live on WNBA League Pass McLaughlin-Levrone Runs Record 400-Meter Hurdles USWNT '99ers Story Scores Feature Film Development with Netflix Katie Ledecky Nears Own 1,500-Meter Freestyle Record at TYR Pro Swim Series UConn Basketball Lands Top Transfer Serah Williams Indiana Fever Set the Tone as WNBA Preseason Hits the Court with Kelley O'Hara: Is NIL Killing College Rivalries you agree to the storing of cookies on your device UCLA women's soccer head coach Margueritte AozasaMargueritte Aozasa Hired as UCLA Women’s Soccer Head Coach December 29 "I could not be more excited to take on the responsibility of leading this Bruin program," said Aozasa. "First, I would like to thank Martin Jarmond, Erin Adkins and everyone involved in the hiring process This program's standard of excellence has been well-established and I cannot wait to continue its tradition of elite performance on and off the field." Stanford's record during Aozasa's time on the Farm was 125-19-8 Two Stanford athletes won the Hermann Trophy in three consecutive years from 2017-2019 - Andi Sullivan (2017) and Catarina Macario (2018 "Margueritte is a proven winner in NCAA Soccer, having coached Stanford to two national championships in the last five years and five Pac-12 titles in seven years," said UCLA's Alice and Nahum Lainer Director of Athletics Martin Jarmond and we're looking forward to having her guide this storied program." Women's National Team players through their collegiate careers – Sullivan Aozasa coached three players who played on Women's Champion League teams – Macario (Olympique Lyonnais) and Aozasa was selected to the United Soccer Coaches' 30 Under 30 Class in 2018-19 "Margueritte instantly impressed everyone on the hiring committee," said Associate Athletic Director Erin Adkins "Most impressive was her ability to clearly define who we are as a team now and where the team could continue to grow in the future Her successful tenure at Stanford and her time competing at Santa Clara as a student-athlete under one of the greats in Jerry Smith have prepared her to lead the Bruins for years to come." She will become one of just five Asian American women currently serving as a head coach for a NCAA women's soccer team GA daughter to the late Donald and Geneva Wynn Massey drove big rig trucks for many years and for over six years she was the proud owner of a trucking company In her free time she enjoyed wathching stock car racing and the Turnner Classic Movies The best times of her life were the ones she spent with her great-grandchildren They were her everything to her and she was a proud grandparent she is preeded in death by her sister; Cynthia Donnette Wynn Sandra leaves behind to cherish her memory her children; Tatjana Denise Stocks In Lieu of Flowers donations may be made on the behalf of Ms Massey to Companion Funeral home 2415 Georgetown Rd A visitation will be held at Companion Funeral Home Friday July 17 You are encouraged to share a memory of Sandra and/or your personal condolences with her family by visiting her memorial web page and guestbook at www.companionfunerals.com Companion Funeral Home and the Cody family are honored to assist her family with her arrangements 107 North Broad StMilford, CT 06460">203-874-0268 “I got my first taste of it last spring when we played the Trojans in a spring scrimmage,” said Aozasa, who had spent the previous seven seasons as an assistant at Stanford. “I had never experienced something like that. The whole thing was electric.” Jane Alukonis was in front of the USC bench that day and for her the rivalry wasn’t new, but the viewpoint was. Alukonis was a UCLA assistant for four seasons before becoming head coach at USC in January. “It is weird and unique, knowing what it feels like being on the Bruins’ side of that, where SC was not a team you wanted to face ever,” she said. “It’s also weird knowing all the players on the other team.” Women’s soccer came to both campuses in 1993 but never before have USC and sixth-ranked UCLA both welcomed new head coaches in the same season, with Aozasa replacing Amanda Cromwell in Westwood and Alukonis taking over for Keidane McAlpine at USC. Angel City FC Angel City FC defeated Liga MX’s Tigres Femenil 1-0 in the team’s first international friendly match on Wednesday at Banc of California Stadium Both have big cleats to fill: Cromwell won UCLA’s only NCAA title in her first season then made the semifinals two more times over the next five years while McAlpine won a national title in his third year part of a streak during which the Trojans made eight consecutive tournament appearances “Can we continue the success of USC and UCLA?” Aozasa asked “The reputation of the schools right now is going to precede any reputation of myself and Jane But I do feel there’s an expectation on us to maintain that.” They’re not the only coaches facing great expectations whose 281 victories make him the second-winningest Division I coach in Southern California behind Cal Poly’s Alex Crozier 14 Pepperdine to 20 winning seasons in 24 tries taking the Waves to the final 16 of the NCAA tournament for the fourth time last fall is looking to get back to the NCAA tournament after upsetting UCLA in the first round a year ago The Anteaters opened with two preseason shutouts and two regular-season shutouts But the biggest programs are at UCLA and USC whose teams have combined for three national titles seven appearances in the championship game and 45 trips to the NCAA tournament in 25 years “Can we continue the success of USC and UCLA I do feel there’s an expectation on us to maintain that.” — UCLA women’s soccer coach Margueritte Aozasa I have that duty to make sure I follow in those footsteps,” said Aozasa opened with a preseason win over Fresno State a victory over Iowa and a 6-0 romp over Cal State Northridge who grew up in Mountain View and played at Santa Clara was a top youth soccer coach for a decade and knows the California market well — a big reason why she excelled as a recruiter at Stanford “Most of these players I have some history with,” she said “I think the team was receptive from Day 1 There’s been a little give and take in terms of figuring out how we’re all going to work well together But I think the transition has been as smooth as I could have asked for.” That transition was arguably made easier by the return of goalkeeper Lauren Brzykcy who allowed just 11 goals in 20 games last season named to the watch list for the Hermann Trophy But perhaps the best-known player is junior forward Reilyn Turner who ranked second on the team with 10 goals last season Turner became the first college athlete to sign an NIL contract with Nike Last December is also when Alukonis’ crosstown move from UCLA to USC went from unplanned to necessary following Cromwell’s departure for the NWSL’s Orlando Pride. “I didn’t even have a resume. I bought a place close to UCLA thinking I was going to be there for another five years at least,” she said. “But once all that happened, I started to look around.” She started with UCLA, but quickly determined she wasn’t going to get the job there. So when McAlpine left USC the same week, she applied. “The whole person comes first. There’s no way to build the relationship and get the best out of athletes if you only view them as athletes.” — USC women’s soccer coach Jane Alukonis “It kind of felt like both schools were hitting the reset and [were] kind of in the same scenarios, where you’re going to build a little bit of a new identity,” said Alukonis who, like Aozasa, is a college head coach for the first time. That identity is taking longer to form at USC. After scoring 56 goals last season — 10 more than any other Pac-12 team — the No. 15 Trojans opened by failing to score in a preseason road loss at Pepperdine and regular-season loss to Purdue, falling out of the national rankings. The Trojans (1-1). who also beat Long Beach State 1-0 will play the first home match of the Alukonis era Sept. 1 against Texas Christian. Midfielder Croix Bethune, named the best player in the country by Top Drawer Soccer, scored a team-high 16 of those goals in 2021 and is the only USC player on the Hermann watch list. (Pepperdine’s Carlee Giammona, Tori Waldeck and Trinity Watson are also Hermann Trophy candidates.) Succeeding McAlpine involves more than just trying to match his record on the field, however. The coach also guided the team through a tumultuous period that included the COVID-19 lockdowns and the emotion of the Black Lives Matter movement by leading team meetings that often ended in hugs and tears. Alukonis, who said most of the private conversations she has with players have nothing to do with soccer, hopes to follow that lead. Olympics After obliterating the 400 hurdles record, world champion Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone is considering a move to a new event amid her growing fame. “The whole person comes first,” said Alukonis, the first woman to run the USC program since Karen Stanley in 1995. “There’s no way to build the relationship and get the best out of athletes if you only view them as athletes. “They’re student-athletes and have loads of responsibility. To get to know them and understand them as people is extremely important.” Galaxy LAFC Soccer “Way more sleepless nights as a head coach,” UCLA‘s first-year leader joked last month Aozasa has made a dream transition into her first head coaching position leading UCLA to a program-best 13-0 start and the top ranking in the country 9 Stanford on Friday in a key conference matchup that is also an emotional homecoming for Aozasa who was an assistant at Stanford for seven years The No. 1 UCLA women’s soccer team upset Duke and North Carolina on the road thanks, in part, to coach Margueritte Aozasa’s defense-first philosophy. While helping the Cardinal to two national championships, Aozasa learned from Stanford coach Paul Ratcliffe how to break down the game and teach it in its simplest form. In moving to UCLA, Aozasa wanted to borrow Stanford’s thoughtful decision-making and structure, but wanted to give her players freedom. The result is a fluid playing style that has worked to perfection. The Bruins are the only NCAA Division I team without a loss or a tie, overcoming a difficult schedule that included top-10 road wins at Duke and North Carolina. They have three consecutive shutout victories and lead the Pac-12 in scoring with 3.08 goals per game. The players are “in a groove where they’re playing with a lot of confidence, they’re playing with a lot of composure, but that comes from their willingness to work hard for each other,” Aozasa said. “It’s just having that foundation, that trust between players.” Vance pinpointed an exercise in which players and staff identified themselves as animals based on how they handle conflicts. Lions are loud and verbal. Rabbits scurry away. Porcupines are prickly. Turtles retreat into their shells. USC Sports Princess Lang fought to create USC Cardinal Divas, a majorette squad brushing off allegations of HBCU appropriation and sharing its joy of dancing. “That has given us language to kind of use around conflict, which has been really nice to help build relationships, build trust,” said Aozasa, who identifies as an owl that approaches conflicts intellectually. By spring quarter, players were ready to buy into Aozasa’s vision for the program. “They’re just such good people. Down to earth people,” Vance said last month. “I feel like that’s what we need here at this program. Somebody who is going to take control, show us love, family and still expect us to grind and be 100% every single time on the field and that’s what they demand every day.” The standard is so high for the Bruins that even a 1-0 shutout against Arizona on Sunday was characterized as “just a poor performance all the way around,” Aozasa said. A game-winning goal from Sunshine Fontes in the 83rd minute preserved the perfect start, but the coach was preoccupied by the lack of discipline the team showed by letting up on key habits. The Bruins need a better performance at Stanford (11-2-1, 4-1-0) , where the Cardinal are 7-0 and outscoring opponents 25-4. Thuc Nhi Nguyen covers the Chargers for the Los Angeles Times. She also contributes to The Times’ Olympics and college sports coverage. She previously covered a wide range of sports including professional basketball after joining The Times in 2019 from the Southern California News Group, where she covered UCLA, professional soccer and preps. Because she doesn’t use her University of Washington mathematics degree for work, it makes great decoration in her parents’ Seattle home. UCLA women's soccer hired Stanford assistant Margueritte Aozasa to become the team's next head coach Aozasa spent the last seven seasons with the Cardinal helping to lead them to titles and haul in top-ranked recruiting classes across her tenure also picking up a Masters in Coaching and Athletic Administration at Concordia University Irvine in 2020 "I could not be more excited to take on the responsibility of leading this Bruin program," Aozasa said in a statement Erin Adkins and everyone involved in the hiring process This program's standard of excellence has been well-established and I cannot wait to continue its tradition of elite performance on and off the field." Aozasa was part of a Stanford staff that won five Pac-12 championships and two NCAA championships The Cardinal went 125-19-8 with a +318 goal differential during her time on the Farm Aozasa was a leading force behind Stanford boasting multiple top-five classes and the No 2 class in the country for this upcoming season Aozasa's arrival marks the first head coaching hire at UCLA since Jarmond took over in July 2020 UCLA women's rowing still has an interim after its coach moved into an administrative role over the summer and UCLA men's golf has yet to pick a successor for Derek Freeman who is retiring at the end of the upcoming spring season "Margueritte is a proven winner in NCAA Soccer having coached Stanford to two national championships in the last five years and five Pac-12 titles in seven years," Jarmond said in a statement and we're looking forward to having her guide this storied program." "Margueritte instantly impressed everyone on the hiring committee," Adkins said in a statement "Most impressive was her ability to clearly define who we are as a team now and where the team could continue to grow in the future Her successful tenure at Stanford and her time competing at Santa Clara as a student-athlete under one of the greats in Jerry Smith have prepared her to lead the Bruins for years to come." Smith, who has been at Santa Clara since 1987, has won two NCAA championships and upwards of 500 matches overall. Aozasa may not have won a title when she was there from 2008 to 2011, but Smith still raved about her ability as a coach when reached out to by UCLA Athletics is constantly looking to learn and innovate," Smith said in a statement "She was not only a great player for us it's essential to have great student-athlete leadership Margueritte was that coach on the field for us and was actually already coaching while she was still playing She will no doubt be able to mentor great leaders within the UCLA soccer program Coaching at Stanford obviously gives her a great deal of experience in how to compete in the Pac-12 and the tendencies of the other coaches in the conference which will be key to helping UCLA repeat as conference champs." Part of the allure of adding Aozasa is her reputation for attracting and developing talent with many of her alumni playing in the NWSL and internationally One of her most prestigious products was midfielder Andi Sullivan who played under Aozasa for three seasons and earned the Hermann Trophy for national player of the year in 2017 Sullivan would go on to join the US Women's National Team and then get picked No 1 overall in the NWSL Draft by the Washington Mystics "Margueritte is a fantastic coach and mentor I am thrilled about this opportunity for her and for UCLA Women's Soccer," Sullivan said "Margueritte has been immersed in the game in a variety of ways throughout her life and it will all translate to her success as a head coach I'm excited to see how she further develops players and adds to the university's reputable soccer history Catarina Macario won the Hermann Trophy under Aozasa in both 2018 and 2019 1 overall in the NWSL Draft after learning from the Bruins' new coach UCLA will have some decent roster turnover after losing a few players of its own to the most recent NWSL Draft – namely forward Mia Fishel and midfielder Marley Canales – as well as other key contributors who graduated 1 recruiting class in the country coming in this offseason so she'll hardly be working with an empty cupboard when she gets to Westwood in the near future Aozasa will have some pretty large shoes to fill with Cromwell bringing an NCAA championship to Westwood for the first time in 2013 Of the five coaches in program history leading up to Aozasa four of them had winning percentages over .790 Read more UCLA stories: UCLA Bruins on Sports IllustratedRead more UCLA Olympic sports stories: UCLA Olympic Sports on Sports Illustrated The content on this site is for entertainment and educational purposes only Betting and gambling content is intended for individuals 21+ and is based on individual commentators' opinions and not that of Sports Illustrated or its affiliates All picks and predictions are suggestions only and not a guarantee of success or profit If you or someone you know has a gambling problem crisis counseling and referral services can be accessed by calling 1-800-GAMBLER My Afternoons with Margueritte is generally as painless as it is hackneyed “Small-town bumpkin Gérard Depardieu learns to love reading from a 95-year-old bibliophile” sounds like sufficient provocation for even Francophilic fans of middlebrow star vehicles to tear out their eyeballs and hurl them at the screen but My Afternoons with Margueritte is generally as painless as it is hackneyed a hulking figure in overalls and work shirt as trailer-dwelling jack-of-all-trades Germain Chazes with his attractive young bus-driver girlfriend (Sophie Guillemin) and circle of mildly abusive drinking buddies at the town bistro Barely literate (he’s apt to mistake Guy de Maupassant for a competitor of the Guide Michelin) but blessed with gardening skill that nets him cash at the greenmarket Germain is still verbally lashed by his elderly who keeps his self-esteem dimmed at its lifelong flicker steady attention paid him by former globetrotting health worker Margueritte (Gisèle Casadesus a park-bench habitué whose daily pigeon-watching rendezvous with Germain soon evolves into oral readings of Camus and Romain Gary The wispy Casadesus projects warmth and lack of condescension Yet her chats with Depardieu are the most vivid scenes in the film; underplaying both Germain’s self-deprecation and gallantry he can still hold the screen with an energy that’s akin to a vestige of his youthful sexual menace co-adapting a popular novel with Jean-Loup Dabadie errs in breaking up this sentimental education with brief scenes from Margueritte’s literary choices (swarming rats from The Plague) and flashbacks to pubescent Germain being mocked by his shrewish mom and smug schoolteacher (A more satisfying shift comes when Becker flashing some of the passion and vinegar dispensed in his father Jacques’s best films shows the young Madame Chazes thrusting the business end of a pitchfork into an abusive boyfriend’s thighs.) Germain’s bonhomie with the bistro regulars has the feel of a TV comedy pilot which is more than can be said of the monologues he speaks to his cat Supplying three uplifting last-act twists where one would suffice to boost the audience’s blood sugar My Afternoons with Margueritte finally rushes to meet its self-defined limitations as the awakened man turns rescuer but lacking the narrative credibility of even a superficial page-turner and production editor in the advertising and medical communications fields for over 30 years His writing also appeared in Stylus Magazine document.getElementById("comment").setAttribute( "id" "a5c0dd2abfb7647af96373b747aa9dce" );document.getElementById("facec42938").setAttribute( "id" and website in this browser for the next time I comment Friday, May 18, 2018 9:30 AM to 11:00 AM CDT Maresh-Meredith & Acklam Funeral Home Racine Location 803 Main St. Racine, WI 53403 (262) 634-7888 Driving Directions Friday, May 18, 2018 11:00 AM CDT Maresh-Meredith & Acklam Funeral Home Racine Location 803 Main St. Racine, WI 53403 (262) 634-7888 Driving Directions At the family's request memorial contributions are to be made to those listed below Please forward payment directly to the memorial of your choice memorials can be made to Grace Lutheran Church 3700 Washington Avenue Racine National Spasmodic Torticollis Association 9920 Talbert Avenue Fountain Valley daughter of the late Paul and Frieda (Nee: Mundstock) Groenke Muggs graduated from Washington Park High School in 1948 She was united in marriage to the late Robert W She was also preceded in death by her three sisters Ruth (Bart) Kannenberg and Evie (Ed) Proska Kristen Baker and Nick (Megan) Uhlenhake; great-grandchild She was an active member for many years of Grace Lutheran Church Funeral services will be held at the funeral home on Friday interment will take place at West Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery memorials can be made to Grace Lutheran Church or to the National Spasmodic Torticollis Association The family extends a special thank you to the staff at the Woods of Caledonia and the amazing people at Hospice Alliance for their loving and compassionate care JavaScript is disabled. In order to use all of the features on meredithfuneralhome.com, enable JavaScript.Close LAist is part of Southern California Public Radio We now have a remembrance of Los Angeles Unified school board member Marguerite LaMotte Uno-X rider beats Démare as Magnier takes third The second stage of the Etoile de Besseges began in Domessargues with a lumpy route of just under 166km to the finish in Marguerittes A breakaway of five riders formed very quickly with leader of the King of the Mountains getting out front for a second day in a row He was joined by Louis Kitzki (Alpecin-Deceuninck) Yohann Simon (AUB) and Maël Guégan (CIC-U-Nantes) The maximum gap the break were allowed was four minutes The majority of the work in the peloton was done by Soudal-QuickStep Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe and Unibet Tietema Rockets for their main men for the sprint In the break it was mountains jersey wearer who took the first three KoM sprints ahead of his rival in that competition Vercouillie as they continued their battle from stage one With Van Petegem extending his tally to 24 points over Vercouillie's 16 points When the race crossed the finish line for the first of two times the gap was just over a minute between the break and the peloton with just under 40km to go as the peloton began turning the screw as the final look had a few little climbs along the route Into the final 30km and different teams started to move up in the peloton pushing out the teams that had controlled all day TotalEnergies and EF Education-EasyPost took over all in colour order a member of the public came onto the road in their car and was driving towards the peloton Forcing the peloton to almost entirely stop and causing a small crash in the carnage This meant the break's gap went up to over a minute with the chase behind becoming frantic Attacks began to come from the peloton led by Ineos Grenadiers riders along with Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe's Jan Tratnik and Soudal-QuickStep's Josef Cerny along with a couple others Vercouillie took the maximum points over the top of the final climb with 8km to go and closed the gap to Van Petegem by just two points The descent off the Côte Cabrières was very technical and the peloton shut the break down with just over 5km to go Soudal-QuickStep took complete control in the final 4km for the race leader The Belgian squad looked in control with Magnier perfectly placed a late move came inside the final kilometre from Marijn van den Berg (EF Education-EasyPost) but that was dragged back by a superb leadout by Ben Turner for Axel Laurance but the U23 world champion launched too late and Wærenskjold came flying over the top of him and Madis Mihkels (EF Education-EasyPost) to storm to victory ahead of French duo of Demare and Magnier Stage three of the race adds even more climbing as the stages continue to get harder and harder It should be another bunch sprint but there are a lot of opportunities for attacking on the 164km route starting and finishing in Bessèges Results powered by FirstCycling Royally messed up in childhood by a cruel mum and derided by oafish mates at the local bistro he finds friendship with a sweet-natured old lady in the park That's not to say he is entirely missing out on life jowly Germain just happens to be enjoying regular sex with a (mystifyingly) devoted girlfriend one of French cinema's most attractive stars – which frankly rather undermines all the supposed pathos of the poor lonely dope's melancholy friendship with a twinkle-eyed old lady etc etc Casadesus brings some dignity and poise to the movie By Luke Barras-hill | Wednesday Philippe Margueritte has left Coty’s travel retail division Coty has confirmed to TRBusiness that Senior Vice President Global Travel Retail Philippe Margueritte has left the company and that Txema Marquiegui is his replacement who was previously Senior Vice President Coty Luxury for Europe has been leading Coty’s luxury business Switzerland at Coty’s Global Travel Retail headquarters and will continue to report to Edgar Huber The exact circumstances surrounding Margueritte’s exit are unknown Margueritte played a central role in developing travel retail following Coty Inc.’s $12.5bn merger of the Procter & Gamble (P&G) fine fragrance resulting in Coty absorbing 43 of P&G’s beauty brands He consequently told TRBusiness in an exclusive interview that the acquisition one of the beauty sector’s most significant in recent times was being well received by Coty’s operator partners Speaking in November 2018 he stressed the firm’s number one priority lies in ‘stepping up’ its activity in colour cosmetics he joined the travel retail division in 2012 as Regional Vice President Travel Retail Worldwide and Latin America Export at Coty Prestige following a spell as Regional Vice President Southern Europe for Coty Beauty holding several positions as country Vice President across its personal care and consumer product divisions Margueritte is a serving member of the TFWA Management Committee in the fragrances and cosmetics category Reviews Germain is a handyman in a sloppy flannel shirt and overalls Margueritte is a little (85 pounds) old (95 years) lady where both know that exactly 14 pigeons hang out there Germain may be a hulk (he’s played by Gerard Depardieu despite having been treated with cruelty by a mother who still survives to make his life miserable He lives in a small trailer parked near his childhood home and lovingly tends his garden where his mother displays sporadic violence against leeks Margueritte is played by Gisele Casadesus who made her first film in 1934 as a member of Comedie Francaise She is so slight and fragile she reminds Germain of a glass figure She once worked for the World Health Organization now lives in a retirement home with her beloved books he was taught to read but never taught to have a shred of self-confidence She begins to read to him — The Plague by Camus — and he is an ideal listener This happens in an improbably sweet film that will strike many as too upbeat. Germain is cuddled by his adorable bus-driver girlfriend Annette (Sophie Guillemin) and pals around with his buddies at a local cafe He suffers through flashbacks to his unhappy childhood He loves Annette but he declares himself “in love” with Margueritte So are we, a little. She is bright-eyed and high-spirited, and never overplays the heart-tugging. The director, Jean Becker is the son of the great French noir director Jacques Becker the movie started me re-reading The Plague Roger Ebert was the film critic of the Chicago Sun-Times from 1967 until his death in 2013 he won the Pulitzer Prize for distinguished criticism in contrast to the earthly bulk of its protagonist He plays a near-illiterate villager who has a bookish epiphany after spending a number of afternoons in the park with the aforementioned Margueritte The two begin by counting pigeons and end up reading Camus together It’s the sort of story only the French can deliver with a straight face if you like Gallic sentimentality about great literature Depardieu is always comfortable in peasant skin a jobbing builder who keeps a vegetable garden (in much better nick than he did in Jean de Florette) Germain is also the village’s unanointed clown the butt of jokes and jollity in the local bar because he takes everything at face value he also dresses like an enormous Teletubby in blue dungarees and braces One lunchtime Germain wanders into the park sits down beside an old lady and strikes up a friendship tottering off in high heels and flowery dresses She sees in Germain what others have missed: an observational bent As he reads falteringly aloud in a childhood flashback Germain even makes spelling mistakes when he’s speaking.” dancing in jewels and red flamenco dresses that saw her in better days as Germain is awakened through his unsentimental education by Margueritte so much so that Germain’s girlfriend starts to get jealous Margueritte reveals the thrills hidden in those plain-clothed white French paperbacks that indicate deep seriousness about literature There’s a great scene when Margueritte reads Camus’ The Plague to Germain He sees visions of thousands of rats coming out to die and sighs happily of the tale: “It grabbed me by the ears right away like a rabbit.” (Incidentally the subtitling is rather peculiar in this film a shame when so many moments turn on the use of language.) Like any Frenchman the director Jean Becker visits the local café regularly there are many interludes in a traditional joint where customers are always demanding two orders of headcheese and Depardieu sits over what seems a toy-sized glass of wine The café shows village society to be comic The film is based on a novel by Marie-Sabine Roger In the comedy Le Diner de Cons (clumsily remade this summer by Hollywood as Dinner for Schmucks) idiots are recruited to be secretly ridiculed at a dinner party My Afternoons with Margueritte is not merely about an idiot savant Margueritte is a well-travelled sophisticate and Germain has always been rooted in his village with his much-loved tomato plants Yet these themes and characters are probably more appealing on Depardieu’s home turf In the end the film becomes too cute for its own good as all the stray ends are tied together with a whimsical final flourish