Seems Mexico wants to play the US in Toluca, not Mexico City. http://www.ovaciones.com/futnac/tolucaseria.html Basically, the federation president says that since the US tried to freeze Mexico out last time, Mexico will counter with playing in as high altitude as possible. BUT this story is a little inconsistent. It says Mexico will play either Spain or England in Guadalajara on Feb. 9 but that's the same day the hex kicks off. And it also says the game will be the hexagonal finale when dates have not yet been determined.
Interesting. I thought Mexico City was the highest city, in terms of elevation, in Mexico? I certainly don't blame them for doing whatever necessary to "maximize" their home advantage. I HOPE the USSF does the same thing when we host the ***holes!! So they want to play some 2,000 feet above sea level, huh?? How about instead of Columbus, we play them in Alaska (if winter) or Montana (if summer or fall)??
According to a quick google search... Toluca is between 8450 and 8900 feet above sea level, depending on who you believe. Mexico City is between 7200-7400 feet, again depending on the source. By contrast, Denver is 5280 feet above sea level.
I smell training camp in Denver. Or maybe up in Calgary if the Canucks don't mind. The Altitude in those two paticular cities are very rough if you don't live there. Either the smog in Mexico will clog the lungs or the altitude will try to force the boys to gasp for air. They are still going to lose to the Stars and stripes.
I read the same thing somewhere else. Hopefully we can start the hex in Columbus, against Mexico. Beating the toughest team in game 1 makes the entire hex more enjoyable.
I don't really see too much of an advantage for them. We're probably the fittest side in the region. A week training camp in Denver prior to, and that particular "advantage" is pretty much neutralized. I don't know why they want to leave Azteca, it's a goddamned forttress.
Toluca's stadium seats about 80,000 or so less than the Azteca. About 30,000 fit into La Bombonera/Nemesio Diez? The higher elevation also means that the temperature will be a little lower.
Yeah, I agree. With the indimidation factor alone, Azteca would more than make up for the 1200 foot difference in elevation. Not that our boys would necessarily be awestruck... This move could totally backfire in Mexico's face. Yeah, you'd have a higher elevation in Toluca, but you'd give up about 80,000-90,000 fans in the process. Nemesio Diez (Toluca's stadium) seats about 20,000-30,000.
Mexican Arrogance. Let them assume all this. That would be interesting actually if Bolivia would allow us to train over there. But still overall I would like to see a training camp in an area that has a decent sized altitude.
That's the fear on their side right there. Simply put, mere gamesmanship and pride on the line. If that gets to be the case, it means a loss of fans in a packed Azteca. Why move to a smaller venue now, lose those potential customers (fans), while they know that their supporters will outnumber the Americans 10 to 1 regardless. The more raucous their fans, the bigger the home field advantage for them in theory. And why play somewhere that is much colder than Mexico City while they couldn't adapt to the frozen cold of Ohio in 2001? They might as well keep playing in Azteca until they have officially lost to the USA since they know they have played well against them in the past, save for the 1997 scoreless draw. Then, they can move the next WCQ qualifier against them elsewhere.
I hope they do it. We're out of season and can train at altitude for an appropriate amount of time. They lose tons of fans, a lot of smog and the intimidation factor. Works for me. .
From what I'm hearing in another thread, the Toluca stadium is much more intimate than Azteca meaning the fans are right on top of the action leading to more intimidation. Also, these fans are supposedly some of the craziest in Mexico (La Bombanera being one of a few {if not the only} stadiums with riot fences).
Don Nemesio Diez (La Bombonera) More pics: http://www.stadionwelt.de/stadionwelt_stadien/index.php?template=stadionlisten&land=Mexico
Re: Don Nemesio Diez (La Bombonera) I doubt the FMF would do this (knowing how much they love money). If they do infact play in Nemesio Diez then I would advice USMNT fans not to go. Unless you're going to pay for the seats (the ones in red look at the stadium picture) then you will be crammed with a lot of people and it could be very dangerous (this ain't an all seaster stadium remember). Your best bet is to just stay home and watch it on tv. If you do decide to watch in the non-seat section just don't do something stupid like going there with a usmnt shirt on, or sheer like a maniac when USA scores a goal. Your best bet is to act neutral all game and not draw attention to yourself. You will not forget the experience. Nemesio DIez has fans close to the action and it is known for a great atmosphere. It should be awesome. From what I said above don't think that im saying Mexican stadiums are dangerous. Most stadiums in Mexico are family friendly. Whole families and children attend games, something unique for a latin country, even in some european countries you can't take your family these days. You should feel safe going to an MFL game. Violence in stadiums in the MFL is almost non-existant and I can't recall any incidents happening in Nemesio Diez, but this is USA vs Mexico and it is different than an MFL game. For one game what is a peaceful stadium will turn dangerous. Should USMNT fans be dissapointed that the CONCACAF classic won't be played at Azteca? yes and no. Nemesio Diez has a great atmosphere with fans at a close proximity to the pitch. Not only that but Ricardo Lavolpe used to coach Toluca. Makes me wonder if he told the FMF bosses to have the game there because he is afraid of the USMNT and wants to have even more of an advantage?
this would be a tough one for our guys. I've lived in quito ecuador where the elevation is roughly 9000 feet. The altitude is much worse than in denver. It would take more than just a week training two-a-days to grow accustomed to the altitude - it took me months before i felt comfortable going for a job and not feeling like i was going to pass out. Granted I am not an ultra-athlete like these guys but adding an extra 2 or 3 thousand feet on the elevation will just tax our lungs that much more. It would also put some pressure on the mexicans. They would not be used to the altitude unless they had their camp there. One more thought- an intimate atmosphere like that could be extremely dangerous, those batteries and piss bags could easily make it onto the pitch. It could be really scary for our guys and make them feel unsafe which would knock them off their game plan as well
Denver would work as a training base with maybe some work in Leadville, the highest US town at about 10,000 feet altitude. But personally, I think the whole idea of trying to play CONCACAF teams in cold weather facilities is due for a change. The USMNT is now capable of beating Mexico, Jamaica, Panama and any of the other regional teams in good weather at sea level. Sometimes that advantage stuff takes the home team out of their own game.
Since the Mexicans don't fear or respect us, our results have been lucky, they haven't ever brought their best players when we beat them or we won because of the referee, why would they do this? We really aren't very good technically. Just kick and run. We play more like rugby and have little tactical ability. None of our players stand out to them. Our league here isn't very good. Just don't get it. Why would they do this ?