USA vs. Mexico: More Preview To Go Around For Everyone

Excited yet? Everything is pretty much set and that moment when the feeling hits you, the feeling of the US vs. Mexico match almost being here, is almost driving you nuts. Everything from the press’ fueling of the hatred, to the spread of Landon Donovan’s candid fountain photo spreading on message boards everywhere, completely sets the mood. For the footie fans in the United States and Mexico, this is it. (If you haven’t already, check out the Q&A preview a.k.a the prospective melting pot of hate)

This is a fixture where statistics are unimportant but don’t lie. The last victory on US soil was on March 13, 1999. That’s almost ten years of no victory on US soil, a few draws but the rest losses. Hugo Sanchez tried pounding this fact into his players’ heads before they played the US in Phoenix two years ago and they left the field losing 2-0 and too angry to shake the opponent’s hands.

So Mexico, the only choice you have is to get your sh*t together and play the game that the US is playing: with a relaxed but confident approach.

What Makes This Rivalry Interesting?

For US and Mexico fans, this is the only time you can “hate” the opposing team. It doesn’t mean you hate the opposing country, in fact, many Mexico fans would be hating on their birth nation if the hate was legit. But the moment that the whistle blows, Mexicans and US fans alike will get tense and treat the opposition as if they were composed of lepers. It really doesn’t go further than a healthy rivalry, although it may seem more than one. No need to get all political and sociological, a Mexico victory really won’t be an “in your face” to the United States.

But forget what I just said! When the game starts, the “healthy rivalry” that I just described turns into a war, and a victory is a kick in the face to the opponent. The Americans all of a sudden become “damn gringos” and the Mexicans become “[insert racial slur here]“. This is something that a neutral can’t feel during the game. Hatred aside, both teams (and their fans) do begin to get nervous because they never know what the heck is going to happen. US fans, don’t tell me that you didn’t get nervous in the last match when Bofo Bautista did that sublime backheel pass which left one of our players in front of an open net (and later blew it), and Mexico fans, don’t lie and say that you didn’t get the jitters when The Gooch was taking his sweet time for that throw-in that later turned into a goal.

Regardless of what it means to everyone, it’s still the most important match that both federations can possibly play.

Borgetti: !@#*

What also makes this rivalry interesting in the United States is how it can split the Mexican football population. I know for a fact that the Spanish channels try to give an emphasis on American “soccer” whenever they can, and the USMNT is described on these channels as “el equipo de todos”, the team of everyone. Nice try, but I still could care less about the USMNT, and so can the majority of Mexicans in the US. How many of you Mexican fans reside in the United States and support Mexico? All the Mexico fans that can read this here post in English, your allegiance can’t be changed by watching a boring MLS game with fast Spanish commentary.

The Spazzos

The United States team (ahem, the “USMNT”) gives off a very professional vibe and a sense of solidity. Their players become stars when they don the American jersey and they aren’t the most skilled of players either. These unskilled players had no problem in being undefeated at home to us in 10 years though, and their results in Europe in the past two years (0-1 over Switzerland, 0-3 over Poland, a close game against Spain and Sweden) are nothing short of impressive. They can function as a team and even better, you can feel their love for the red, white and blue. The Mexicans haven’t been playing their heart out for el tricolor like these guys. Bob Bradley is leading this team to great things and they prove it with the results.

No doubt that they’re statistically the superior team right now.

The advantage that they have is that they know us too damn well. They are what you call voyeurs, being given a lesson (and a complementary set of binoculars) by Arséne Wenger. They tell the press all the time that they think we have good players and give us praise. When have the Mexicans praised the American players? Maybe recently they have, but when I saw that Bob Bradley told the press last year that he thought Giovani and Rafa were doing great in Barcelona, you could see how the US team is very aware of whom Mexico is. They know that our team collapses in games like this if we’re losing in the dying minutes of the game. They know that any sort of golazo or a chip shot will guarantee a goal against Oswaldo Sanchez. They know us.

It’s been said many times before that Mexico’s talent is definitely above the US’s. That doesn’t matter one bit, as much as it pains me to say, because their mentality is light years above ours. The USMNT is very competitive, as they have a history of snubbing many key players (Twellman in 2006) and having all of the players there earn their spot. In Mexico, as long as you play in Europe you’re pretty much on the squad. Would Bob Bradley call up a player scratching his you-know-whats in the Man City reserves? How about a player that is getting fat sitting on the Tottenham reserves and failing fitness tests? None of that in the USMNT, folks.

I’d also like to point out that the “it’s technically a home game for Mexico because the majority of the spectators are Mexican” assumption is completely false. Who cares how many spectators are in the stadium. The land you walk on, the air you breathe, the sun that hits you (or lack of sun) is American. The feeling of being in an American stadium with a crowd that’s mish mashed with both kinds of supporters vs. playing in the Azteca with a stadium full of Mexicans with the Mexican sun hitting you (and the altitude issue that US fans like to point their finger at). Tell me which scenario is best for Mexico’s mentality.

I’m not going to pointlessly make a claim and say “Mexico will crush y’all HAHAH” because that’s for when I’m watching the match. Just like any other derby, you never know what can happen. Maybe Mexico will shock the US with a goal or two and take the victory, or maybe the US will frustrate us and come out with another solid victory. That’s something to find out during and after the match.

It’s been 10 years but a derby is a derby, the best team will win, and it’s useless to make a prediction. If Mexico plays like professionals and if each and every single Mexican player can deliver the goods, there is nothing to be nervous about. Hotheadedness leads to the downfall of us all.

Good luck USA, and good luck Mexico. Hopefully I’ll still be able to blog after biting my nails off watching the game.

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Here’s the roster again:

GOALKEEPERS: Oswaldo Sánchez (Santos), Guillermo Ochoa (America), José de Jesus Corona (Tecos)

DEFENDERS: Juan Carlos Valenzuela (America), Julio Cesar Dominguez (Cruz Azul), Carlos Salcido (PSV Eindhoven), Ricardo Osorio (Stuttgart), Rafael Márquez (Barcelona), Aaron Galindo (Guadalajara), Leobardo Lopez (Pachuca)

MIDFIELDERS: Fausto Pinto (Cruz Azul), Pavel Pardo (America), Leandro Augusto (Pumas), Luis Perez (Monterrey), Israel Martinez (San Luis), Antonio Naelson (Toluca)

FORWARDS: Alberto Medina (Guadalajara), Cesar Villaluz (Cruz Azul), Giovani Dos Santos (Tottenham), Matias Vuoso (Santos), Carlos Ochoa (Guadalajara), Nery Castillo (Shakhtar Donetsk), Guillermo Franco (Villarreal), Omar Bravo (Deportivo La Coruña)

And here’s my predicted starting XI:

Oswaldo; Osorio, Márquez, Galindo, Salcido; Pavel, Leandro, Gio, Medina, Castillo, Vuoso

Post your predictions (lineups, scorelines, you name it) in the comments and VIVA MEXICO.

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