After the US v. Mexico game this afternoon I spent the rest of the eastern seaboard's sunlight ambling from bar to bar with my girlfriend and my best friend. It was a nice feeling, a familiar and warm but somehow fleeting feeling. I had just watched a great soccer game, with two great (very good?) teams going at it tooth and nail. One had won, one had lost, but both fan bases had gone home knowing they'd seen something worth remembering. Frankly it felt like 2002. I'm trying to continue so that I don't give the result away on the BigSoccer homepage. Suffice it to say, at the 58 minute mark I leaned over and said to my girlfriend "I'll be torn up if we lose this, but that said I'm still happy two CONCACAF teams can play this well." Because Mexico and the US played great. Two good teams, a great rivalry, genuine dislike, and - miraculously - little to no diving, simulation or brutality. It was soccer of a style, an intensity and a skill we don't often see here in CONCACAF, and I was glad my team didn't lay down at the half and concede, and didn't resort to kicking pieces out of the opposition. Seeing as I'm probably past the [Result] line, here are some other thoughts besides "I'm glad the US didn't lay down and die..." 1) I hope Andres Guardado is ok. It's after 8 pm et and I haven't gotten any updates yet, so maybe this is a done story. Regardless, any soccer fan should care about the fate of Guardado; he's that good, that entertaining, that creative a player. He's the kind of guy that makes you happy you like soccer. 2) Was I drunk, or was that a truly great game? Or maybe both? Mexico bossed the first half, US bossed the second, but neither keeper or defense could relax. Both teams attacked with creativity and precision until it came down to the finish - which was predictably lacking on both counts. Nevertheless, I started this tournament depressed at the prospect of CONCACAF soccer and ended it so very, very happy at the idea of the spectacle this region can produce. 3) Born under a bad sign? Donovan's whiff and Beasley's crossbar in back-to-back games? Is that even possible? A friend called me after Beasley's shank and we discussed the fact that Feilhaber's goal, which is a once-a-season type of goal, might not have been the most remarkable play of the game. Beasley's shank takes that honor. 4) Even without the goal I'm looking forward to the Benny Feilhaber era. 5) The two US players I rip on more than any others are Spector and Onyewu, both of whom were outstanding. Well done to them and may this be the start of a wonderful friendship, because I'm tired of worrying about our defense. 6) There's still no answer to the US center forward question, but at least Brian Ching makes people pay for challenging him. Chinger's a poor man's McBride, but maybe that's all we need given the talent and "go forward" attitude of our current midfield. 7) Guardado, Castillo, Vela, Dos Santos is a terrifying attacking foursome for the next decade. If I could manage to be impartial - which is an impossibility - I'm sure I'd enjoy the next 10 years of Mexican soccer. They're going to be amazingly good. 8) As much as I love Pablo, Rico Clark's sub changed the game. Credit to Bob Bradley, who I've mercilessly bashed, and to Rico, who I've been lukewarm on, for doing the business. We bossed the second half against Mexico, which is a legit top-15 team, and we did it largely because of Rico Clark. Well done. 9) Yeah, young roster or not, I'm officially looking forward to the Copa America. 2-1 Yanks. Start of a new, fun, attacking era. I hope.
I agree with all of your points; and I really do wonder whether Guardado is OK. Does anyone at all have an update? I've seen guys still play hockey games with concussions and the results were generally all bad; hopefully he can recover and it won't plague him for the rest of his career.
The nice thing is for future tournaments or two game sets we can have two different but effective center midfiled pairings if we like Mastro-Bradley and Feilhaber-Clark. Only problem I see with that is if one gets injured before the World Cup, that could screw everything up.
I hope Guardado is okay, but I especially hope the American that collided with him is okay, too! Both seemed to have some very concussion-like reactions. I was forced to watch this on Univision, so I really have no clue what the commentators said/found out about the incident...
Maybe I'm projecting, but the part about turning to your girlfriend gave me images of Ted Striker telling his life story. I expect a lot of US fans to continue to see what they want to see - and bash Gooch for being handsy and reckless, but Boca was making me more nervous today. You forgot to give the ref a lot of credit for letting both teams play. He might have been tempted to get whistle happy but he resisted.
In the post-game they said he was feeling dizzy and taken to the hospital for precautionary reasons. Beyond that, dunno. Probably just a pretty good concussion.
New to this board, West Coast based, looking for some friendly soccerchat. I liked all you had to say about today's game Matrim. Many of these boys are new to me and, I suspect, most other casual MNT supporters. Maybe because I'm over 50 (!), but more likely because I now can see lots of EPL, LaLiga, etc. games on the tellie (ooh, what a wonderful British abreviation!)... watching THIS particular version of the Men's NT run of play, like so often in the past, makes me squirm in discomfort. Though the team came out charged up in the 2nd half, for much of the game they played with timidity, sloppy passing, lousy receiving, and awkward shooting. This just seems like the way our team plays. Their athleticism and conditioning usually make up for the lack of real soccer skills. They ARE better than teams from years ago, and I definitely see very GOOD defending skills, but WHEN (or EVER?!) will we improve our on-the-ball skills to match even half of today's Mexican side? Having been involved with youth soccer in Ca. I think I KNOW why those skills are mostly absent (save Dempsey and maybe Donovan). They're mostly not taught at the very young ages. Plus its not played after school in the streets, blah, blah, blah. I'm hoping that with more and better Americans playing overseas, and the MLS achingly,slowly improving in quality...plus more Copas like this just finished...we can somehow learn/improve our ball skills. Thoughts about THIS particular game: 1. Kudos to Brian Ching, who worked as hard as I've ever seen him, and drew a legitimate foul in the box. 2. Bocanegra......VERY steadying in the back line. Compared to Onyewu (sp) (good in the air....got KILLED on the ground) Carlos is someone we don't have to worry about....period. He played most of the game with a yellow card / possible red hanging over his head. 3. WHY.....oh WHY .......does DeMarcus Beasley get to play on this team?!!!!! IMHO, other than his quickness......he brings little to our side. He's not tough, he loses the ball constantly under pressure, poor passing, and OHMYGOD.... the....single......most......incredible......missed shot I can remember. It's one thing to hit a sand-wedge shot in traffic during the heat of the moment. But Landon laid off the most perfect square ball to him and he F'd it up! 4. VERY sorry Borgetti injured himself. His loss was HUGE considering the number of corner kicks Mexico took. 5. I have to agree with you and the Amer TV commentators....Guardado is truly World Class. One Fine Player! Should go far in helping stabilize this young side from South of the Border. 6. Ain't it GREAT that, maybe FINALLY, these two bitter rivals can play great soccer in a game that rivaled many a European championship game for pace and excitement without resorting to the oh-so-boring chippiness the has characterized some of the recent past meetings. 7. And finally cheers! to Chicago for showing up and urging our boys on to vict....oh, wait.......they didn't. Sweet. You might expect the disparity in supporter in Texas or California...but, pu-leeese! Chicago?!!! Last quality game I'd give them until we host the World Cup again. Then give them Saudi Arabia and Serbia. Okay. I feel better now! Can't wait to catch the next round of Copa America games.......as you said, even WITH a super young squad. They sure won't lack for excitement! Good AND bad!!
Amen to that. Perhaps the free flowing soccer was also a bypart of excellent officiating. Hats off to Batres and his crew for letting the players play and for making the right calls. One of the best officiated games I've seen in awhile, and for CONCACAF almost miracle like. Mexico cannot complain they played very well as both teams attacked at will. Those have to be two of the fittest teams on this planet to have a horse race in that weather from start to finish. You could see they were spent by games end as Beasley laid down at end for a good 2 minutes. Hope Spector and Guardado are both ok....Hugo may only have a job until the end of Copa America unless Mexico can come away with a semifinal appearance or better. How sweet it was to see Landon go right while his good buddy Oswaldo predictably stayed stationary looking for the penalty down the middle. Way to watch film Oswaldo and to look for trends....Can't say enough about Bradley and his decision making. Seems like his understanding of what he can get out of certain players is even better than Bruce's. Clark was a great call one I cringed at when made as well as pulling Dempsey for Twellman. Best of all the team did not panic and believed in itself knowing it could beat Mexico and then went out and played a half to remember. The game had the intensity of a qualification game almost World Cup like. Looking forward to Copa America as well as the U-20's.
Welcome aboard. With your "half empty" view of the world of USA soccer, you'll fit in just fine! I do want to stand up for the Windy City. Chicago is the 2nd largest mexican community in the USA. CONCACAF (not the USA) chooses the venues, and they picked Chicago speifically b/c it is a MASSIVE market for Mexican fans. I saw Mexico draw with Argentina in a (not very) friendly in a sold out Soldier Field back in 1999(?)-- it one of the best and rowdiest crowds I've ever seen, and I've seen a lot of football in a lot of places. Our boys did a great job coming out of there with the win today.
They both worry me...A LOT. And matrim is right...mexico is going to be sick offensively the next decade. We're going to have a tough time handling them.
Given that this is the CONCACAF Gold Cup, does CONCACAF not choose the game locations? It seems to me one of the reasons the US always hosts this is because the US as host doesn't usually translate to a US home field advantage.
Not a big deal but I believe Chicago has the 2nd highest Mexican population of any city in the US after LA. The disparity was not surprising at all to me.
I like Feilhaber a lot. He's like an American Andrea Pirlo. He dictates the tempo of the midfield, has great vision and passing ability, and creates chances (and after today can finish some off as well). There's no other American midfielder like him at the moment and he should be one of the first names in the USA Starting XI for the next couple of years as far as I'm concerned.
Thanks for the welcome, Mik(e)! You're right about the "half empty" view. Bad habit, and hard to break. Will try to be a bit more positive next time (although REALLY....!!!). Did not know Chicago was home to that many Mexican natives. Much of the East Coast (at least to this W/Coaster) has Puerto Ricans and other Central American as the dominant hispanic groups. So...what you're saying is that either the native AMERICANS in Chicago don't care (much) about soccer or don't have access to tickets like the Mexicans? My guess is the former. And that's still too bad for how Well this team had. played in this competition. Having refereed for some years myself, I agree that the officiating today was some of the best I'd seen in the Americas. For ONCE...the official was not trying to be the center of attention and let the teams play, as long as they PLAYED SOCCER. I only disagreed with one card, the first US one to Bocanegra. The tackle was clean...a bit late....but a stern warning might have been fine. After the 18th minute our best defender had to play Very Carefully, which thankfully and skillfully he did. Think I'll hang out here every now and again. Seems like some good people so far. Play ON!!
Re: Thanks for the welcome, Mik(e)! Back off, Paleface. What is so freaking infuriating about coming to these boards, is that people have no freaking clue about the demographics of their own country. Not only are there a HUGE number of 1st and 2nd generation (legal and illegal) Mexican immigrants in this country, in some very concentrated areas, the fact is that they will travel much better than their American counterparts. Seeing El Tri for these members of the Mexican Diaspora is a rare treat for them so you can expect every one of them within a days (or more) traveling distance to show for the game and buy up every ticket they can.
Chicago has a huge Euro population,Polish, Serb, Croat, Ukranian, Greek, etc. They're a bit provincial, tho, and aren't apt to come out and catch a game. Not that they don't support them, but, they're far more concerned about their own nationality's club and national teams.
Actually it is, provincial in the sense that they care about and mingle with their own; as in the opposite of cosmopolitan.
Because he was tearing apart the Mexican defense whith his speed. He had a fantastic tournament for a guy who was completely invisible in the last World Cup. Plain and simple, though: Beasley cannot shoot to save his life. That wasn't even his third worst shot of the tournament. Did you see the one that went 50 ft. over the goal the other day?
Native Chicagoan here. Chicago has always been virtually a Peloponnesian League of ethnic nation-states. The Mexican population here will come out in scores of thousands to see their team and are overwhelmingly good natured about it. This is why the game was sold out in a 65,000 seat NFL stadium. I cant say that the Cotton Bowl or Gillette wouldnt have sold out but Soldier Field did. AS to the Anglos in Chicago keep in mind that the Cubs-Sox two miles away siphoned off 45,000 possible and there was a parade which drew 400,000 (!) on the North side. It was a beautiful, busy day in the Windy City and Soldier Field was among the full venues. Having been at the games on Thursday I have to say that Mexicans must be the most hospitable, good natured people in the world. I cant understand the hostility they face in so many parts of the US. The only negative I experienced was the Bull in a China shop knocking people down pushing down seat rows Monterray security, who justified their behavior by saying they are 'off duty Chicago Police Officers' as though the mere phrase ends all discussion. A great tourney capped by a great game. Viva Concacaf.
If Eddie Johnson were in, there's a 100% chance he would've waited to pass it back. Derek Zoolander can turn better than EJ.
Another viewpoint on lack of anglo attendance. It may well be that on this occasion (full international, and a tournament vs. friendly), that there was more security at the match (although a reading of another, earlier post suggests that the security themselves present a problem). This has been a long-standing issue with soccer matches at Soldier Field. The Chicago Police and Soldier Field have a very spotty security record, seeming only rarely (WC '94) to have been able to provide adequate security that also doesn't go to the jackboot extreme. I used to attend virtually every soccer match at Soldier Field. A while back, I decided no more, if a mexican team was playing (the same wasn't true for MLS). The VAST majority of Mexican fans are first-rate - vocal, passionate, and knowledgeable fans (a happier story about the US-Mexico qualifier in '01 follows). Unfortunately, Soldier Field also has an ugly history when hosting games with Mexican teams. The following was an all-too common example: A few of these thugs (few meaning groups of up to a few dozen each) go roaming the stadium looking to abuse the anglos, who are typically in smaller groups (Sam's Army doesn't show up for club v. club). Needless to say, Chicago isn't exactly steeped in hooligan lore. The security would number roughly 1/3 to 1/5 that of a typical Bears game. Many, if not most of the security, are poorly trained, and none are equipped to deal with an "ultras" type of incident. As a result, these (often african-american) security people are witness to a situation for which they are completely unprepared, and potentially asked to put themselves in harm's way to defend a few white folks from a gang of twenty-thirty latino thugs. As you might imagine, the reaction was typically to turn the other way, leaving the anglo fans to their own defense (can't really blame them, either). If it was a one-time incident, fine. Unfortunately, this happened about 5 times in a row, where my girlfriend/wife and our other friends were being subjected to verbal abuse, various thrown objects, and, for the straw that broke the camel's back at the last match, smoke bombs and bottle rockets. Security openly ignored this. The only people willing to step up with us were some of the other Mexican fans, typically fathers who had brought their families and were equally apologetic and angry about the lack of security. The presence of Sam's Army and the higher profile of a regional tournament with full international sides may have made all the difference in the world yesterday. I would also like to point out that I'm not exactly inexperienced at hostile venues as both player and fan, having attended high-profile matches in Europe and locals in Africa. Soldier Field, however, has gotten a deservedly bad rep among the locals, and many continue to think twice about being the minority fan if you aren't sure about what your spouse and children may experience. So for those who choose to criticize the lack of anglo attendance at the GC this weekend, there's a lot more to it than simple fracturing of team loyalties.
I AGREE! I was there as well. It was like being in another country. I went with a few friends. I knew we were in trouble when a security guard said to us "what are you four guys doing in a place like this" and just smiled. We had a row of Argentina fans in front of us so every time they would stand up it was time for the throwing of the recycled beer at them.
Now, for a happier story. Columbus, Feb. 2001, U.S. 2 - Mexico 0. About 20,000 in attendance, probably 3-1 U.S./Mexican fan ratio. As cold as it was, it was a pleasure to see the U.S. finally figure out that providing a hostile venue for a WC qualifier makes sense (I felt a bit sorry for our Mexican rivals, and oh, how the players appeared to suffer in the cold... ). First, all credit to the Mexican fans. Their 5,000 sounded like the American 15,000, they supported the Tri beatifully. Second - late in second half, a frustrated Mexican foul brings down a torrent of beer bottles from the stands onto the pitch. Tucked into a shivering group of yank fans is a mid-fiftyish Mexican couple. They are HORRIFIED, and clearly believe the lives of the players are in imminent danger. The wife is in near-hysterics at this brutal display by the American fans. But WAIT...understanding immediately that they DON'T understand, I walk over with my own empty to show them...these are lightweight plastic bottles (an experiment from Miller brewing?) made for use at public venues. I quickly hand him the bottle, explaining that there's no danger to the players...he immediately breaks into a fit of laughter, then demos to his wife by banging the empty against side of his skull. After calming his wife, he then congratulates me on the genius of the U.S. Football Association. Clearly, he believes that this is a scheme by the USSF to provide the inexperienced American fan with an appropriately abusive outlet for their displeasure, while eliminating the risk of injury. In his mind, its nothing less than pure yankee marketing genius. Priceless.