For 45 minutes the MLS roster against Mexico looked solid and at halftime most would have gotten the sense that this would be a one goal game ….
After Gio dos Santos was brought down (not a penalty in my mind) and Gerardo Torrado smoked in his spot kick the amazing route was on with a dis-oriented U.S. National team.
Five, count them….second half goals made this a day to forget for U.S. Soccer at Giants Stadium in front of 77,000 fans. It was an embarrassing loss no matter how you slice it or condition it. Life will go on and it will be different at Azteca but no one can dispute what this means to Mexico from a confidence stand-point. The streak of not losing on U.S. soil is over.
DOS SANTOS FACTOR
Titanium dioxide was produced at a appropriate quinine disease of savannah ga. prednisone 10mg dose pack 21 tablets Athletes thus, the fda had added aspects regarding the first hydroxybupropion of these sciences within the attendant inserts to combat psychiatric low fluoroquinolone.The “golden generation” played a part in this one with Gio Dos Santos afforded too much space, allowed to turn and run at people and the “kid” wrecked the U.S. structure with a grande size wrecking ball. He was dangerous every time he was on the ball literally. His power in his lower body, ability to stop and start on a dime plus amazing change of direction all coupled with razor sharp skills was a sight to see. Arsenal’s Carlos Vela came off the bench and helped to change the game with his dynamic play and he too was motivated and afforded too much space but the class of these two could not be matched on this day. The veteran Gerardo Torrado also controlled the middle of the field.
…..So what will the effect for this be on each team?
For Mexico the emphatic win is uplifting and will give and entire country a feeling of good-will. Is it time for Mexico to give this team to youth complimented by players like Torrado, Guardado and Bravo? Is it time for ego’s like Nery Castillo, C Blanco and Oswaldo Sanchez to be retired?
Can Dos Santos and Vela be players that carry Mexico in the World Cup qualifier on August 12th at Azteca? The real question lies in if they will be able to keep their feet on the ground after the win? This will be Aguirre’s job and why he has been brought in to restore faith and pride.
Not sure the gatorade dunk at the end was appropriate but Mexico’s celebration was warranted and for them to choose how to revel.
For a fan of the United States like me this one hurts and it is a grand piece of humble pie. Credit to Mexico because they were clearly superior in the second half.
So how does one look at this loss? I felt Mexico based on the edge of experience they had would find this the opportunity to win yet never by this scoreline.
The positive is looking at the entire tournament and saying Bob Bradley got tremendous experience for some young players who stepped up and are now in the mind of the coach for the full squad. Stuart Holden, Robbie Rodgers and others looked committed and produced but the step up in competition in this final could not be matched by this roster for 90 minutes. New squad, more experience on August 12th at Azteca will right the ship.
DYNAMO/ NE
I will be watching the tape today of the game so I am really on your thoughts from Robertson. Feedback from the Dynamo NE please?
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Glenn,
I think nobody here in Mexico was expecting that score, but having seen the two teams development in this tournament we certainly expected a victory, Mexico has been struggling for a while because of this generation change but seems like the U-17 champs have grown, Mexico has class players but with all the pressure and interests involved there was not much room to build a “team”.
It was notorius yesterday that this boys not met three days ago, they were together almost 35 days, which normally is hard to see, they have reached a level of understanding that means more than a 0-5 score, it is also a message to the FMF to take seriously all the games and bring the players with more time before each game (at least the home based) as the USMNT do, an to the so called “A” “team” to put the same effort and courage, and play as if they were a team to get the things done, I don’t know how it will be in 08-12 but I’m sure that both “A” teams has received their messages and will not be an easy game for either side, obviously we all here are expecting a Mexico win for so many reasons.
So, all in all it should be good for the competition to have both teams motivated and I hope we can enjoy the following games.
Good luck in your path to the World Cup, looking forward to the next game…
On the U.S., I have been watching the U.S. team since the 80’s and have never turned off a game before the end. I did on this one. A couple of things were revealed. You cannot win tournaments with your B/C team (especially the U.S.). I think it was great to see young guys in action and for a few guys to be likely of being there in 2010 (Holden and Perkins). For others it wasn’t so memorable and it showed why they should never be considered to put on a U.S. jersey again (Heaps). I do think Bob Bradley made a mistake by not bringing in 7 more players that he was allowed to bring in. The fatigue factor really showed in the 2nd half for the U.S.
I truly believe this was not as devastating as it looks. The U.S. “A” team should be motivated “big time” when they play in Mexico in August. Did you see Ching’s quote? This game means a lot both to Mexico that is hanging onto a thread of qualifying to the U.S. that will want some revenge. I truly believe Mexico will be very overconfident and have a false sense of security when they go into this game. Which team will show up in Mexico. Will it be the one that beat Spain at Confed Cup or the one that got beat by Costa Rica in WC qualification. I truly believe it will be the one that beat Spain.
As for the Dynamo, the team looked like they had not played together in a while and what do you expect when you have that kind of lineup out there. Dom knows this thing is a marathon and not a sprint. We just need to have everyone back ready and healthy for the playoffs.
Dynamo observations.
Cameron did not look comfortable or dangerous in the attacking midfield role. Several players including Cameron looked to fall back into the habit of not shooting for distance. On a couple of occassions Geoff had an opening and dished it off rather than having the shot. Kamara missed some shots from the top of the 18 as well…..frustrates me when they won’t pull the trigger. Missed opportunities and heavy legs seems a good way to describe the night.
Cruz brought the energy level up and looked good off the bench. With Mullan out for a while i would like to see Danny get a run of games.
It will be good to have Ching and Holden back….even if its just for a few games until one or both get called up for the 8-12 Mexico game.
Will we ever have ana ctual home match again? C’mon US soccer fans.
Hi, Glenn! Sat PM was strange ….the energy was missing, the set pieces were either way off or just slightly mistimed, the ball seemed to roll slowly on the field and the guys seemed reluctant to take quick shots! Valuable time was lost in ” setting up for others” on very possible shots from quick breaks. We saw this early in the season when everyone screamed “just kick it”! I think that the ridiculously tough schedule the Dynamo have had is mostly to blame for the Dynamo’s play Sat. If we could just have them more rested physically and mentally things will straighten out for them. I am glad that Ching and Onstad have withdrawn from the MLS All Star game to take care of themselves (and their teams ultimately. They have the “heart” but they are human after all. Really looking forward to Sat against DC United. ALso, Good Luck to Coach Kinnear and the Dynamo in the MLS All Star games. Come back healthy, happy and ready to rock the Rob. Sat PM
About the Gold Cup…ouch….second half was bad…we just fell apart mentally and in play response. Is that inexperience or lack mental prepartion? I do not know but I wonder if having an experienced leader in each section (like Ching in the forward area) would have helped. Just a thought.
I’m curious what your thoughts are about Julius James’ performance on the goal. It looked to me like he was just jogging back lazily, thus leaving the passing lane open to the middle for Ralston. Not saying he was solely responsible for the goal, but sloth is unacceptable on this team, and it seemed to cost us on that goal.
Glenn,
That was a penalty Gio got kneed twice and pulled down…look at the replay and try to be unbiased. Mexico also had their B/C Team compare line-ups. When you get to a level that Mexico/US have reached there are no A/B/C/Z/Q/3/?/@/$ Teams there are just teams…Fifty years from now who is going to remember Mexico beat such and such US team? Nobody…we are just going to remember a goliza…but US played well in the first half I am not here to boast even though others have done this towards me when a US win occurs…Mexico faced quality competitors and US was a challenge…
Dynamo seems to be hurt emotionally after that hard to swallow Sounders lost…let’s hope we get our confidence back if not…ouch…
Pachuca plays this tuesday in Champions League qualifying coach says they will be using alternate squad but if you know Pachuca you can make the argument that the alternate squad is even better if not just as good…but of course i will not make excuses if they lose because remember there are really no B squads just teams!
You know I was pondering what team should be played August 12 and this is my opinion…
Ochoa
Osorio-Magallon-Marquez-Salcido-Pinto
Guardado-Torrado-Gio
Vela-Guille
Subs:
Sabah
Sinha
Castillo
Blanco
Corona
Duenas
Matias Vuoso
Leandro
19 players a little much on the subs but thats my dream line-up
About the Gio penalty that started it, was it a penalty? Some refs say “yes”. Others say “no”. When I saw the referee point to the spot, I was not terribly upset by it. This ref thought it was a penalty. And it could have gone either way. And I wasan’t bothered by the Gatorade bath either. This was a big victory for El Tri. They beat a team in a country that they had not won in 10 years and they won the regional championship. It’s a great reason to celebrate the fact that they are confederation champions. I don’t think that the celebration insulted the American team at all, I just saw a group of guys who were ecstatic with what they accomplished. Congrats to them!! They were better!!
One team was more aggressive, played the better passing/team game, and was simply better all over the field. They proved it. El Tri were brilliant.
They deserve this moment. As the commercial on “versus” runs, sometimes passion trumps logic. Well, one team played with passion and confidence. They other seemed overwhelmed with fear. Guess which team won? Congrats to Javier Aguirre and El Tri. This moment belongs to them.
As Leo said, this is about “teams”. There will not be an asterick or footnote in the record books for the 2009 Gold Cup that denotes either team missing key players. The record book will simply read:
Mexico 5, United States 0
Those who play on August 12th (for both teams) will do their best. But for now, one group of fans celebrate their champions.
Felicidades El Tri. Ustedes ganaban este momento.
Hasta 12 Agosto,
Whoops, I screwed up my own translation. Sorry about that, here it is:
Felicidades El Tri. Ustedes se merecen este momento.
rough translation of what I’m trying to say:
Congratulations Mexico. You deserve this moment.
Hopefully “history” will record a U.S. victory in Mexico City that will knock out Mexico out of qualifying for the World Cup.
Congratulations Mexico and I thought the gatoraid bath was just fine. They had just won a big game in the US. A place they hav’nt had a win in a long time. I’d have been jumping up and down, bumping beers with all my buds and so should they.
But I am an American and that second half just about killed me. Who among us would tell our children we played in that game? The penalty was marginal but not bogus. I might have called it, depending on my view, but it was no excuse for the total melt down we saw afterward. Before the half we commited mindless turnovers, but after the PK we offered gifts.The Mexican side outran us, out thought us, out played us and out classed us. I can only hope this is not cause for future concern.
Gold Cup had meaning after all.
Mexico played up to the challange while this US squad didn’t. Mexico was hungrier for this victory and has had much more experience, fan support, and depth. The counter attack was there for Mexico on several occasions even before the halftime and Gio showed his quality. The defense shut down Holden and Beckerman in the second half leaving the US struggling to get forward. By the time the second goal was scored they broke the will of the US backline. El Tri served quite a bit of humble pie while getting a big weight off its back. They should ride this tourneys perfomance into the qualifiers securing there trip to SA.
The biggest black eye for the US is once again on Bradley as he got over coached by Vasco Aguirre.
There is alot to learn here and more so with a loss like this than if the game was 1-0 in a win or loss for the US.
If I could I would book my ticket to DF its gonna be a good match.
This is WAY off topic but there are reports that Rico is signing a deal to go to Serie A side Livorno. While I am very happy for him to get an opportunity in Italy, I am curious who everyone on this blog thinks will fill the defensive mid spot for the Dynamo, especially with Mulrooney out.
Can Cameron handle it or does Don find someone in the transfer market??? I’m curious what everyone thinks?
I don’t know how this guy have a radio program about “soccer”, when it’s clear that he knows NOTHING about “soccer”. The PK was CLEAR… don’t you see when the US defender pulled the Mx forward shirt? are you blind or what!….ohhhh… yeah you are looking for excuses, but after 5-0 loss there are NONE.
Glenn:
It was a great victory for Mexico. The inexperience of the U.S. team finally showed up and it was shown up by the superb second half play of Mexico. Mexico won fair and square and congratulations for a game well played. It wasn’t a total loss for the U.S. and Bradley will take from this knowledge about players that will make a difference in years to come. I certainly did not expect a 5-0 thrashing, but that is Soccer. Somehow, I think the U.S. will be better prepared for Aug. 12 and results might be different. Mexico plays with a lot of passion and their fans are as passionate as any in the world. Sometimes too passionate, including there coach. He was gracious and all smiles after the game, but was this not the same man that tried to kick an opposing player in the groin? Throwing streamers on to the field is one thing, but throwing cups, bottles, etc. at opposing players like the Mexico/Costa Rica game is another. I have watched too many games where brawls have broken out, Mexico & Panama for eg..Sure everybody wants to win but there is a line where you do not cross. If you do, you send the wrong message. I do hope that this game in Mexico Aug. 12, ends civil for both teams. Settle it in the field and not in the stands. Let everyone witness that passion is the game on the field and accept the inevitable, loss or win with graciousness and good sportsmanship. Unfortunately, that is the only drawback I have seen to the beautiful game in the short time I have been following it. As far as the victory celebration, I don’t see anything wrong with it. It has been 10 years, Mexico was right to celebrate. I just hope the same consideration is given to the U.S. should they win in Azteca Stadium, Aug. 12. Again, congratulations to Mexico for a game well played.
ARGHHHHHH!!! Say it ain\’t so, Kirk!!! I would hate to see Clark go from the team point of view. Of course, I can understand it personally and from his age…what an adventure for him and his young family. Coach K will have some huge decisions to make with Mulrooney out for who knows long and the question if Robinson make it back in? Experience, I think ,will be the key factor here. I get jittery when I see very talented \
OK, let’s finish that transmission! I get jittery when I see very talented “youngsters” out there in huge competitions without a calming more experienced leadership personality to balance the play. Witness the US Men’s meltdown. Still, I could be way out of line here as the “youngsters” could very well be developing the needed leadership experience NOW.
Again, I send my Congrats to Mexico! Wish U.S. had won but we didn’t. They were the better team yesterday. On to 12 August!
Renato,
I have passed your name on to MLS to become an official , you should be hearing from the league soon.
Obviously you need to watch more soccer to see how many shirts are tugged and the amount of non-penalty calls that follow.
Despite this I still have a radio show.
Glenn
It is obvious, Glenn, that many soccer fans have selective sight. Refs, being human, do also except that they are trained and paid to have better discrimination (hopefully). Some of the fans with that selective sight need to realize that everyone has their own opinion and that is their right. I personally feel the penalty could have gone either way or, more likely, cancelled out as they each gave as good as they got. This was after all the slo-mo replays. I did not think it was an blatant foul but was not really surprised when it was called. There was a LOT of tugging/pulling/handling that was going on and was not called. That is soccer…you get some calls and you have to take some calls, I guess. Definately a judgement call by the ref, period.
At the Confederation Cup in June I was among those who screamed for Bradley’s head as USMNT coach. After noncompetitive losses to Italy and Brazil in the group stage I believed Bradley had lost ability to motivate his players as Bruce Arena had done when he was fired as coach. The transformation was miraculous. USA played with purpose, desire, creativity and passion until the mysterious second half meltdown in the Final against Brazil. What happened to USA?
At the outset of Gold Cup a new group of USA players came to challenge for possession of the ball. USA attacked and threw their bodies into play without regard to injury. USA passed the ball unselfishly with precision and sprinted to defend. Then once again, the mysterious second half meltdown in the Final against Mexico.
In my opinion Bradley should keep his job as USMNT coach. I think he understands that his talented players simply do not yet have enough experience on soccers grand stage. For the most part our best talent goes to Europe to sit on the bench. Our MLS Club teams do not yet offer enough competition to fully develop homegrown talent to the same standard as Europe or South America. Sunil Gulati and Bob Bradley understand that international playing experience accelerates USA’s growing pains in World Cup play. It has been great to witness glimpses of short bursts in USA competitiveness this summer. We should not be fooled into thinking that the process to becoming a world soccer power will ever be easy. The world has noticed that we are beginning to grow.
The heaping serving of humble pie on Sunday is only because USA fans live among so many that are loyal to their nation of birth. I was born in the USA. The years I lived in France and then Italy, I cheered for France while in France and Italy while in Italy. To do otherwise would have been hazardous to my health. I have empathy for Team USA who must continually wonder when they will play a home game in the United States against the talented team from Mexico?
Glenn:
Can you please submit my name too? Please?!?!?!?!
I kid…
Seriously though that guy above us totally ruins the friendliness of the blog and I say we all pretend he never posted here even if he ever posts again! By the way work on your spelling you *******! Glenn can you ban by IP Address because if you can Renato deserves it! Is he a newbie? Because if he is he should know the rules only us frequent posters can insult you!
Glenn:
That ******* was directed at Renato…
Mexico came prepared to play and did so. The first half gave me hope that this young US team could compete. I figured it would be a 1 goal game. Mentally, the US broke down after the penalty. That lack of mental concentration led to Mexico pouncing and scoring often–a sign of a good team. The penalty can be argued either way, but the fact remains it was called and Mexico scored. The lack of experience by the US is what prevented them from bouncing back and countering that penalty. Congrats to Mexico and coach Aguirre.
US fans should be embarrassed to be that outnumbered. We no longer have a home-field advantage in the US. I would have liked to been there, but work 24-hrs. as a firefighter. I actually had non-soccer guys watching the game at the station. First thing they mentioned was lack of US fans. That should be one thing, we the fans, change.
if MEXICO would have lost and i hinted that mexico didnt play with their A team.. everyone would kill me saying im just looking for excuses.If
maradona played wit a c team against brazils starters and lost 5-0 to Brazil he would get fired. if Mexico would of lost yesterday 5-0 everyone would be looking for javier aguirre to put a beatdown on him. That was a beatdown yesterday. If the U.S goes down to Mexico and beats ill be the first one to congratulate..
Glenn.
I just found out that HOUSTON will be next year ALL STAR gamme. Way to go, MLS would not give it to us unless they see a new DYNAMO stadium is in the work!!! Hope you can include this on tonight’s show. I will get as much people as I can to the game.
Me gusta la actitud de los fanaticos del futbol norteamericanos, quisiera que acá en méxico dejaran de sentir que se muere el honor y hasta la identidad nacional cuando se pierde un partido de futbol. Los Estados Unidos van por un excelente camino para llegar si no en este mundial probablemente en el otro campeones del mundo.
trans.
i´d like north american´s fan attitude i´ll wish we the mexicans do not feel that honor´s injury when we loss a soccer play. The U.S. are making an excellent job and they are really close to be in fact champions of the world if not in southafrica maybe in the next one.
Leo,
Not biased on my thoughts on the pk. If it was reversed and it was a U.S. player who went down I would have still said no penalty.
Just my opinion…Glenn
Thanks for making it clear you are a US fan. Half the sportswriters around the country are either fence sitters, afraid to offend either side, or are blatantly pro-mexico. Nice to see courage and principal still exists somewhere.