...and I am sure it would have been more if this type of format had been in place before. Watched second half and Tijuana can't complain. A couple of poor defensive plays, have numerous chances and can't put one away equals a loss.
Probably a Mexican club? Yes, previous editions carried less weight - anyone who takes a minute to look at the editions won by Caribbean clubs will realize that. Nevertheless, it's all part of the competition history. PS: just one more victory would move the USSF into third place with El Salvador. Code: Mexico 30 Costa Rica 6 El Salvador 3 Guatemala 2 Haiti 2 Honduras 2 Surinam 2 Trinidad & Tobago 2 USA 2
It truly is amazing how dominant Mexico has been in this tournament, especially under the new format. If you weight the finishing positions, it stands out even more, I think. (3 points for winning, 2 for runners-up, 1 for losing semifinalist) Mexico: 34 United States: 4 Costa Rica: 2 Canada: 1 CFU: 1
To really get the scope of it, you need to push past Wikipedia and visit the rats' nest that is the rsss archives
Is it amazing? They have the structure, history, coaching, passion and money. They are the hands down dominant sport in their country. It hasn't been David versus Goliath...it's been Godzilla versus Bambi in this region. I am shocked MLS has come as far as they have so fast. i thought it would take sevral more years. MLS is finally at the point where they are forcing Mex teams to play their first squads against us. As little as 3 or 4 years ago, less in a few cases, they trotted out reserves and most beat their comp. It was never going to be quick or easy, especially the way MLS is set up. If we had two or three teams that were allowed to spend what they wanted then I'm sure we would have had a bit more success, but that's not the way it is. Hell, we just finally started setting up our youth teams, and just are getting into minor leagues/farm/reserve...whatever u want to call them....teams. When you consider just how far ahead Mex teams are in every facet of the game I am not sure how any of this is amazing. For me it was completely expected, especially with the new format. The postives are there to see dor MLS teams. We are clearly number two in the region. It's not close or even a thought anymore....and it used to be just a few short years ago. We also are starting to push Mex teams more with regard to them taking MLS teams more seriously, and using first teams, amd preparing like it matters. That is pretty new also. I know some hate hearing that, but that is the reality. Until we are at least 4 or 5 years into our youth set ups and affilliate teams I exepect more ofthe same.
It isn't amazing as in surprising, it's amazing in the "...god damn, they're really good," kind of way.
Woops. Yeah, some still don't see that big edge they still have overall. We are getting there, but more time is needed. I also reiterate the Bambi/Godzilla analogy. Yes, the Mex teams are good, but it's not like they have had much of a challenge. Kind of like how good Australia was in dominating Oceania back in the day. It may have not been that extreme here back then, but it's not that far off either.
It should be pointed out that Mexican teams have handled the growing talent drain to Europe much better than their Central American counterparts (e.g. 2005 Saprissa was practically the Costa Rican national team, while its current version...flatters to deceive ).
That and Vergara actually paid them enough money to stay back in the day...Saprissa that is. Still, with the money Mex teams have, and their infrastructure set up they should be able to handle it much easier than anyone else. Not a big deal for them IMO....well, with regards to competing in CCAF.
And the reason why Mexico has those advantages over everyone in CONCACAF (except the US) is simple - population. Mexico has a population of 120 million people (plus over 10 million Mexicans nationals living in the US, and over 20 million Mexican-Americans, many of whom support Mexican teams). That is more than all the rest of CONCACAF except the US combined. Their population has allowed them to have a very deep pool of talent, which is especially important at the club level where the top players get spread between a number of teams. That is also why none of the Central American or Caribbean countries will be able to challenge them; they simply don't have the population (or the room for population growth) to do so. The US, on the other hand, has a population larger than all the rest of CONCACAF combined (including Mexico) which is why it has the potential to catch Mexico someday. Alas, that day is not today (and doesn't look to be tomorrow, either).
It's really all about Youth & Scouting,if the federation suffers at youth levels they are going to suffer on Seinor levels as well. . Liga Mx only recently started to care about Youth development around (2005) they did so by incorporating Rules on Youth Player Mins played ,Investing Money on Facilites,Scouts,proper training etc..The U.S. didn't really care about youth all that much either so it's a wash...
The US didn't care? In 2005 the US was still struggling to make sure MLS survived in the US. The money wasn't there to be spent on the infrastructure, scouting or coaching needed. It was more of a buddy, who you know, volunteer system. To call it a wash is simply ridiculous if you understand the game in both countries, it's resources and it's history. That Mexico didn't use those overwhelming resources properly until recently is true. It had been one of the worlds most underachieving nations in the sport for decades when you consider everything that was in place. That is not an argument or opinion. That is simply a fact.
You really have to think about like this too.If you were in control of a team in Europe & you were looking to by young talents for the future..Why would you buy from the U.S or Mexico, when you could go to South America & by talented players for million's less..
Same here - stellar performance by both keepers, even before taking the rain into account. And that through ball by Emana is why Cruz Azul bother to keep him around...finally, between Joao Rojas, Marco Fabián and "Chaco" Giménez, I'm fully confident that la máquina can grab an away goal in the second leg and put Toluca on the back foot.