Found the video after all these years on the anniversary no less! lol ... (transcript that i did all those years ago!) The reporter, Enrique Ballesteros, tracks down an investigator (Fernado Mejia Barquera), who helps him go down memory lane..... What follows is a transcript, by yours truly.... sentences in italics are my comments: Host of Super Estadio: "Today we've heard about different factors that can affect the game between Mexico and the US...But there are also memories, some not very pleasant, like the ones in 1934, brought by reporter Enrique Ballesteros in his segment 'The Other Side of the Ball': Reporter (ie Ballesteros): "What happened in 1934? The US eliminated Mexico from the Italian WC, when logic would have suggested otherwise...Without looking for pretexts/excuses, Mejia has dedicated himself to investigate the victories and tragedies of Mexican soccer,and without a doubt, this game left a wound that has never yet fully healed"... Mejia: "That game, which happened on May 24th, 1934... I really do consider it the very first tragedy of Mexican futbol" Reporter:"But this tragedy had its causes: The uneveness of the qualifying system, an absurd trip, lack of knowledge of the rules, and an executioner that took his chances that afternoon to make history" that last comment refers to the US team Mejia: "1934 was the first time ever Mexico had to qualify to participate in the WC. The calendar FIFA set up favored the US greatly: Mexico played and won all three games of the series vs Cuba in March 1934. This earned Mexico the right to play the US in a one game playoff in Rome, host of the WC...Not in the US, nor in Mexico, nor through a 3-game series, as had been the case till then in qualifying" You can see in the guy's face that he might feel a bit annoyed our US players were not allowed the pleasure of having to travel to Mexico DF with WC qualification at stake THE TRIP Mejia:"First, the Mexican squad went by train to the port in Veracruz, then to Habana, Cuba, then to the port in Vigo, Spain, Southampton in England, then back to continental Europe (to a French port) before arriving to Italy....They used a small vessel called the "Orinoco", which was so small there was little to do, which caused players to lose discipline. The worst example being Rosas, who gained 6 kilos-13,14 pounds-Wonder how Mathis would have handled playing in the 1930's?- Mexico's team arrived to Italy 12 days prior to the game, but even then it was not possible for some players to fully regain their fitness". THE GAME May 24, 1934 Estadio del Partido Fascista (literally: "Fascist Party's Stadium") 15:05 hrs Mejia: "US scores first. Manuel Alonzo ties it up for Mexico. USA score the second goal just before halftime. In the second half (minute 52), Antonio Aspiri, a Necaxa defender, commits a hard challenge. The ref calls the foul and then expels Aspiri for complaining about it". Typical! Mejia continues: "From that point on, Mexico is left with 10 players. The United States then scores a third goal. Mexico cuts the lead in half through Nicho Mejia, an Atlante forward. The Mexican team afterwards presses hard to tie it up, but three minutes from time, the US scores the fourth through Aldo "Buff" Donnelly (as an aside he points Buff stood for Buffalo, due to the guy's big size and strength). Reporter: "Aldo Donnelly would also be remembered for being the head coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers and Cleveland Rams of American football". Mejia: "Donnelly, it must be said, scored all four goals in that game, and went down in history for both nations: both of the "dark" history, in Mexico's case, and to the glorious pages of the history of American soccer". Reporter: "Donnelly passed away in August 9, 1994 in Fort Lauderdale, curiously enough, in the same city where the US would beat Mexico once again in 1981, 47 years after doing so in Italy. Mexico had been defeated in Rome. The return trip had not been planned until after the World Cup. Viaticums were scarce, so the team had to pay to obtain sources of income to live on". Mejia: "Afterwards they had to organize games in Switzerland, Holland, another European nation, and in Spain, where they had to sell three players to cover the team's expenses". Reporter: "Historical records have these 3 players as the first Mexicans ever to be signed abroad". Mejia: "They were the "Pirata"-pirate- Fuente, left interior forward; Manuel Alonzo, right interior forward; and Carlos Gabriaga, a defender". Reporter: "The rest of the squad returned to the port of Veracruz on July 7, 1934 and were able to rid themselves of the shame 3 years later". Mejia: " After the elimination in Rome, in September of 1937, Mexico played a three game series vs. the US, all in Mexico. Mexico won all three handily: 7-1, 7-3, 5-1, if I recall correctly". Reporter: "This is then, the first tragedy of Mexican futbol, a tragedy that deeply pierced a whole nation's memory/recollection". Host of Super Estadio: "this is how a great rivalry began, what now has become the CONCACAF 'clasico'....." I must say, Mexico owes us big: We gave them plenty of spare time so that they could travel all over Europe.... Also, thanks to us, they were able to make history and sold their first ever players to foreign clubs...More importantly, we gave them a valuable lesson on how to survive hardship, which could have only made Mexico's squad stronger: Ok, not in soccer terms (since they lost), but for each of those players' lives beyond the soccer field... US of A : Always happy to lend a hand! What we learned: We can forever claim that in the first ever game that really mattered (preliminary game to qualify for Italy), we beat Mexico 4-2 (is that translation for a 2-0 back in those past high scoring decades?).... That even back then, excuses already came in abundance from them....And that even as far back as 1937, Mexico sought consolation for losing to the US by beating us in games that did not matter (not even close) as much as the one which we happened to win three years earlier.. BTW, to clarify: by that I meant 1934, not 2002... I would never want to appear as being too mean.....