U.S. and Mexico rekindle the rivalry
Matchup belongs on the short list of the sport’s great global rivalries
PASADENA, Calif. — Soccer’s greatest rivalries play out on the club stage, at Barcelona’s Camp Nou and Madrid’s Bernabeu, at Glasgow’s Celtic Park and Milan’s San Siro. They are fuelled by tribal lore, geography and seasonal engagement — fervid rituals flowing across generations.
The hysteria metre for scrums between countries falls, in most cases, a notch below, doused by infrequent encounters. Still, the fire is rekindled when, for instance, Brazil plays Argentina, Germany and Netherlands tangle and England faces Scotland.
Another rich feud belongs on the short list: United States vs. Mexico.
You know you’ve entered the top rung of planetary rivalries when a losing player tells the president of the country, as Mexico’s Cuauhtemoc Blanco did in 2002, that defeat felt as though he had been “impaled on the spines of a cactus.”
The nations will lock horns for the 65th time today for the CONCACAF Cup before some 90,000 witnesses at the Rose Bowl. While most meetings have come in friendlies or as part of drawnout qualifying schedules, the latest showdown offers an instant prize: a berth in the 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup in Russia, which will provide stern tests and invaluable acclimation a year ahead of the World Cup.
Moreover, the champion will claim bragging rights in a series that has swung back and forth the past 25 years after decades of Mexican dominance.
“The tension, the passion, from both sets of supporters and players,” U.S. striker Jozy Altidore said. “It just goes so far back, the game means so much more each time it’s played. I think this will be one of the biggest ones to date.”
The biggest ones were in the 2002 World Cup’s round of 16 in South Korea (a U.S. victory), five Gold Cup finals (Mexico won all but one), the 1995 Copa America quarter-finals (U.S.) and 1999 Confederations Cup semifinals (Mexico).
A match against Mexico will “stay with you for the rest of your life,” said Jurgen Klinsmann, who is 3-0-3 in the series since accepting the U.S. coaching position in the summer of 2011. “They can be excited about it and always look back and say, ‘I was there that special day.’ ”
The rivalry has blossomed for several reasons:
Regional bullies: The U.S. and Mexico have claimed 12 of 13 Gold Cup titles — Canada was the anomaly in 2000 — and have made dual World Cup appearances since 1994. When the best collide, the temperature rises.
Narrowing the gap: For decades, the Americans were laps behind. It’s not a true rivalry if one team wins all the time. The balancing of the scales has raised the spectre of every match.
Scheduling: While Europe’s vast field keeps contenders apart in qualifying groups for the World Cup and European Championship, the Americans and Mexicans are bound to meet twice in every World Cup qualifying cycle. They also meet regularly in the Gold Cup and face one another in hot-ticket friendlies almost annually.
Demographics: More than 10 per cent of the U.S. population is of Mexican descent.
Many retain their passion for soccer and, more specifically, for Mexican clubs and the national team.
Mentality: Beyond soccer, the United States casts a large shadow over the hemisphere. Soccer, though, was something Mexico always did better. That has changed. The sport means more to Mexico than to the United States and is a source of national pride.
Losing regularly to the United States is a blow to the Mexican psyche.
Hostilities: With the teams on level terms, animosity has grown. The most notorious act came in 2002, when Mexico’s Rafael Marquez was red-carded — and subsequently suspended four games by FIFA — for driving his head into the side of Cobi Jones’ skull. Seven years later, Marquez was dismissed for a studs-up challenge on goalkeeper Tim Howard during a World Cup qualifier. After, a Mexican assistant coach slapped U.S. player Frankie Hejduk in the face. As for the next chapter ... “This is a one-off game,” U.S. midfielder Michael Bradley said. “The way it has come together, the way it has been built up, it has the potential to be one of the biggest U.S.-Mexico games in a long, long time.”