I think mine was when Boca get checked by the Mexican forward and as he was going down he grabbed the guy's jersey and pulled him face-first into the turf with him. That was awesome. Also, McBride's nutmeg and snapshot was wonderful. We were screaming and carrying on for a good 20 seconds before we realized it hadn't actually gone on. And finally, any of the several times Landon dribbled around/through multiple Mexicans and maintained posession. I never tire of watching that.
Yes, that was a veteran play against a typically chippy, baiting, and gamesmanship-oriented el Tri side. Boca's grab and pummel was a cold, calculating, effective, well-disguised, message-sending takedown where the other guy gets the worst of it.
I'm not really agreeing with Karl Keller, am I? Sweet jesus... The key was the "well-disguised" aspect. People say Americans play "naive" soccer. That play was anything but naive. Excellent stuff. Although, I do think it says something about the overall quality of our play when we cite such a takedown as a "favorite moment."
I loved the Boca takedown, but I'd say my favorite moments were CONSTANTLY seeing our young guns like Beasley, Donovan and Convey just BLOW BY the defenders like they were standing still. As these guys mature and others like Martino, Buddle and Quaranta start to step up -- not to mention the blazing speed and dazzling skill of younger guns like Memo, Corey Ashe and Adu -- I really like the future of US Soccer.
Cynical? Me? As we all know, there's a game within the game -- especially against el Tri. When you play Mexcio, in addition to playing tactically shrewd soccer, you need to walk the psychological razor's edge. You need to understand they are going to resort to diving, baiting, and gamesmanship. They do this to see (a) if they can get away with it (b) to see if they can't distract you so you get taken off your game and (c) to get you to retaliate crudely. So, you can't fall into the trap. But at the same time, you can't be so passive as to let them engage in these tactics with impunity. That's why your responses need to be subtle yet powerful. You need to have ice water in your veins, and when you respond, they need to know that YOU are in control of delivering punishment, that YOU will get away with it, that YOU will pick the time and the place, and that NOTHING they do is going to bother you or get you off your game. This is how you decisively win the psychological battle with them. You send the message that they are crude, and we are not. This is one of the key reasons, I beleive, that we have dominated them over the last few years. The veterans understand this, and Bocanegra understands it very well.
Boca wasn't grabbing jersey. From my view he put the guy in a headlock and brought it down. One of my favorite parts of the match. My favorite part of the match was something which didn't happen on the TV. I was sitting next to three people wearing Brazilian jerseys and were immigrants from Brazil (as best I could tell because of an accent, language, jersey, etc.) The father was supporting Mexico. The son who spoke better English was supporting the USA. The father wanted his son to cheer for Mexico, but the son refused and cheered for the USA. (He was about 13 so he was just being rebellious). Regardless, the son kind of caught on that I was telling my non-soccer friends who the players were and where they play etc. So after Howard makes another one of his great saves (probably the third or fourth) the father explains to the son that the keeper is doing a great job. The son turns to me and asks me who the keeper is. I tell the son that the keeper is Tim Howard and that he plays for the Metrostars. The son then continues to cheer whenever Tim makes a touch on the ball for the rest of the game. First US Soccer game attended by me. I loved it.
usa all the way hmmm...favorite moments of the match...aaah yes...kobi jones pass to klein...damn that would have been a very sweet, sweet goal...I jumped out of my seat when i saw the cross...some how I thought that was going in, but no it went over the bar. Oh, when Mc Bride took a shot and hit the side net of the goal...I thought that was a goal so I yelled: gooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooool cabrones, no que no!!!!...but noo... N'e ways, the game to me was very entertaining...it seems now that we have the mexies under control.
DEAF EARS Instead of having one favorite moment I had repeated favorite moments. They occurred whenever a Mexican player raised his hands to complain at being fouled when the reality was that it was only a hard tackle. I enjoyed the Mexican complaints falling on deaf ears.
i've been thinking about this all morning, what stands out is Bocanegra's headlock/pulldown. Perhaps its my own "revancha en la cancha" after having put up with DECADES of Mexican arrogance and dirty play. For the record I am of Mexican descent. I love everything about Mexico (it's culture, traditions, language, etc.) EXCEPT "la seleccion". Pummel those bastards to the ground!
He did Given that we didn't manage to put a ball into the net, Carlos' smack-down was also my favorite moment, too. Brilliant. The best part was the look on the guy's face. He didn't bother flopping around to try for a foul/PK call, since he instantly knew it was so well disguised there was no way he was going to get a whistle. Well, that and the fact that Pendergaff seems to wish he was working for the World Wrestling Federation rather than CONCACAF/FIFA, and thus seems to encourage that kind of play.
I like good soccer more than psychological tussles. My favorite moment? Donovan receives a pass near the back 1/3. Rather than one-touching it to a defender for a long boot up the field, he turns, slyly sidesteps one defender, accelerates pass another, and before two Mexicans can converge on him with the outside of his boot sends a long pass to Frankie jetting up the right wing to start a break, and then runs the length of the field to get the return pass in a dangerous area. Beautiful stuff. (If DMB had finished the amazing pass sequence - LD-Boca-Mathis-DMB - with a one-time goal, that would have been a Nats goal of the year candidate. Alas...)
I already mentioned my favorite moment, but I should point out that the thing that made me happiest about the match was that no one from either team got stretchered off of that godawful field with a season-ending injury. Though it looked like that guy who did the timely slide-tackle on DMB probably got one horrific strawberry for his effort. Heh heh.
Boca's tackle was awesome. I saw it happen in real time and knew something spectacular had just happened. During the slow-mo replay, I realized how great it really was. In one instant, he went from victim to attacker. I've had this moment of transition stuck in my mind all day. As I see him getting hit, I say to the el Tri as if I'm Boca, "I don't think so pal." Then I just see his face bouncing off the turf and him springing up in anger at the violent tackle he started but Boca finished. Brilliant. I like to watch the game played beautifully, but this to me was a statement. We took our pounding from el Tri in J/K but laughed it off because the score was 2-0. Here it was 0-0 so we had to answer to Mexico and the rest of the World that we take this seriously and we will not be pushed around. I loved everything about it.
As some have already mentioned, I liked Donovan's composure on the ball when surrounded a couple of times by 3 or 4 Mexican players and wasn't afraid to maintain possession and dribble out of danger. Oh...and another favorite moment....hearing Ty Keough state that his mother is Mexican. So, both sides could claim him yesterday.
One thing a bit different stood out for me beside the actual play. A LOT of hispanic fans were draped in Red/White/Blue and routing for the U.S. in a game against Mexico. Some were rooting for both teams. Neat
i didn't have a favorite part of the game (for the us, anyway). our style of kickball soccer is pathetic. i would love to see the posession numbers on that game. mexico must have won it at least 70 to 30. we have no flair and no composure. most americans feel we're getting better because of all the new athleticism on the team. if you ask me, it takes a lot more than that. to be any good, your team has to have skill. we lack that, and man, it sure makes our games ugly. i'm sorry to say that i regret having watched this game. on the other hand, i was pleased to see mexico's revamped squad, whose speed, skill, and posession was a joy to watch. by the way, this is just my opinion. i don't care what you think about it. --- chris
Favorite part of the game? The expression on Boca's face after the take down revealed nothing but a cool confidence. That's the mark of maturity that will take him to the next level.
Okay I must have been asleep during the Boca tackle. When was it, I dont even remember seeing it. Anyone know about when it was so I can watch it?
As do most people, but I think we need to be realistic here and understand that a key part of playing Mexico is mastering the psychological aspect of the game. You need to be aware of it, and conduct yourself to take best advantage of it. Otherwise they will leverage it against you...because...well, as Lt. Worf might say, they have no honor.
Well, I do acknowledge it, and I admit, hearing all these testimonials to the play, I do find myself remembering it fondly, and getting fired up about it.