U.S. v. Guatemala

Bunker, counter and flop. The Guat's take flopping to a new level. I hope we get a ref thats on to their diving and puts a stop to it

 

Unlikely, Salvadorean crew...

12 June 2012
Guatemala – USA Referee: Joel Aguilar (SLV, photo)
Assistant Referee 1: William Torres (SLV)
Assistant Referee 2: Juan Zumba (SLV)
Fourth Official: Marlon Mejia (SLV)

This is the guy who reffed the Gold Cup Final. As I've tried to black that one out of my mind, I can't recall exactly how he called it. Donovan, Dempsey and Jones all got Yellows...Mexico had one as well.

 

Best ref in the region and it isn't close. He's the one that looks like Dracula, right?

 

Joel is one of the best refs in the region. He was at the 2010 World Cup as a reserve referee and 4th official. He's really not bad at all.

Props to CONCACAF for giving us a competent official given our history in Guatemala.

 

Yeah - I was trying to be funny-ish - and I hate that you can't send a little note with rep so you don't have to clutter the thread with a post like this explaining that you were trying to be funny-ish. Oh well - complaining about the new is a sure sign you are too old.

 

Nope. Video shows that Pezzarossi didn't even touch Vanney.

 

Maybe it was the fact that the commentator assumes that Vanney got pushed. If you remember that from when you first saw that game I'd say that's a pretty damn good memory.

 

Nothing like USFan's racism already rearing it's ugly head.

Shocker. Jermaine Jones got a yellow. The devil you say!

 

For what?

 

Something I said was racist?

 

No, you're thinking of Marco Antonio Rodriguez of Mexico...aka "Chiquidracula"

 

My bad, 1 of his 49. Either way, he's usually not a thorn in the US' side, as he usually spends most of the game flopping and whining to the ref.

 

By inferring the selected referee could not be impartial because of his nationality, particularly with him being one of the best in the region. In almost any in game thread between the USMNT and a latin American opponent or with a latin American ref crew, the threads are littler with varying degrees of racial stupidity by USFans.

Don't be that guy.

 

If that's the case, FIFA implies no less by the very rules which avoid assigning referees from the same country, or in some cases region, as the competing countries in FIFA matches.

 

Fine by me if we got UEFA refs, but it won't happen. But the Sallies aren't in our group, so there is little to be gained by the ref favoring favoring the Guates. But you and I both know how UMMNT threads get with immigration/latin American slurs. It's disgusting, and if I could reach though the computer screen, I would break their fingers for typing said shit.

 

The topic of race aside, do you honestly believe that there isn't at least a little refereeing bias against the USA by match officials in this region when playing in those countries?

 

No I don't. There is only myopic and moronic soccer fans, the same as in every country we play who think we always get the benefit of calls when we play at home.

 

Be that as it may. Whether there is bias is is one debate. But claiming that someone who believes there is bias is necessarily racist is another one entirely.

 

It's not refereeing bias (usually) so much as incompetence to call that level of game. That shouldn't be a problem tomorrow with his reputation as a good referee. If it is, then we can talk about how unfair the game was.

 

Blah blah blah Let's kick some Guatemalan ass tomorrow!

 

But if the US won gold in hockey

 

To be honest, this speaks more to the pathetic defensive player pool Guatemala has at its disposal than it does to the problems from the match fixing scandals. Yony Flores was probably the worst defender on the NT and the fact he played as many meaningful minutes as he did is quite astonishing, really. Then when it comes to el Pando Ramirez and Gustavo Cabrera, each played his part and could still possibly be useful, but in the grand scheme of things the two left a lot to be desired. Because of their omissions, Alejandro Galindo has seen a spot open up for him, just as the 18 year old Elias Enoc Vasquez has. I'm not sure Almeida would have decided to drop the two had it not been for the scandal, so in a way I'm quite pleased. Galindo and Vasquez are 20 and 18 respectively, and each played very well in the 1-0 win against a Costa Rican squad that was near full-force. Although they will obviously struggle against better opponents like the US thanks to their lack of experience, skillwise the 2 don't set us much behind Flores and Cabrera.

Although we are not a top side, you've got to be kidding me here. Antigua is a nation that has 81,000 people and one professional team, a 3rd tier in the US. Guatemala has a larger player pool to choose from, a professional league to develop and strengthen said player pool, and has been to the hex and verge of qualifying for the World Cup before. I am not claiming to be Honduras or Costa Rica when it comes to national prestige, but there's no way we are comparable to Antigua and Barbuda.