I know a lot of you don't really love soccer.. but I do... This one was fun and I'm starved for good news. The legend of dos a cero grows The US 2-0 win over Mexico sends the United States onto the World Cup in Brazil. The loss sends Mexico reeling, and they are now staring down the barrel of barely qualifying for the World Cup at all. In a best case scenario, they will be fortunate to qualify for a 'play in' series against New Zealand...and that's a best case scenario.
Corey, They could have filled the field four times over last night. I do not believe there were any Mexican Restaurants or grocery stores open last night in Columbus! :lol: Great win for the US and entry into the World Cup.
I thought that the crowd last night was great. The only time I've seen crowds that spirited are when the games are in LA and then it's the Mexican fans that make all the noise.
I'm glad we won of course, I like it when USA wins even if it's soccer or haky sak. But I was only able to watch for about 3 minutes before I turned the TV to a Big Bang Theory re-run.
you turned off the 'boring fruity sport' to watch a re-run of a TV sitcom starring a boring fruit? To each their own
Corey, as a casual observer of the sport, I'm curious. Does the victory over Mexico say more about how good we are or about how bad they are or both?
a little of both, actually. The knock on Jurgen Klinsmann is that his team loses bad games they should win when no one is looking, and that they lack that 'pretty' factor a lot of people in the soccer world love. To which, he pretty much tells people to 'suck it' and he'll do things his way. He's paid to win. His teams are efficient, they play suffocating defense with very tactical counterattacks. He won a World Cup as a player and was one of the great German strikers in a golden age of German strikers. As a coach, he finished 3rd in the 2006 World Cup, which was hosted in Germany.. so it was seen as falling short. They lost in the semis to eventual champion, Italy. His best teams usually come pulling into the tournament puffing gas and sliding in at the last minute, but then open up a can when the lights are on. No one ever argued that the guy knows talent, builds talent, and puts together great lineups. People just don't like the way he does things. America COULD be a great fit for him, since even 85% of the fan base have no real substantive, tactical knowledge of the sport. As for Mexico, they just fired their coach. This is suppose to be their 'Golden Age of football.' They have an incredibly talented pool of younger players who are all big contract international stars. They are all coming into their meat and potato 20s and should be just killing people. When qualifications started, they looked red hot but the wheels have come off the wagon. They had something like 5 guys busted for PEDs. They had several of their young stars from the U22 team get busted for bringing hookers to the team hotel. They have talent, but have struggled with cohesion. After reading all that, you may wonder 'why fire the coach?' Well, as you know that's how sports works. The problem isn't their coach (all the Mexican coaches are kinda shitty anyway), it's the players and their lack of heart. If I had to bet, Mexico will probably barely qualify for the play in series. Then, they'll destroy New Zealand and advance to the World Cup. That'll give them almost a year to get their act together. Not to be overlooked in all of this is the impact/legacy of the USMNT playing in Columbus, Ohio. That was something (if you read the article) Bruce Arenas set up back in 01 and it's a great legacy to leave. The USMNT has never lost playing there (7-0-3) and they've won all of their matches since a 2004 tie. It has also become the designated spot for the important home games against Mexico, where El Tri has lost all 4 times by a score of 2-0. Just about anywhere else in America, El Tri will have the home field advantage in the crowd, or at worst split it. For years the games were held in LA as a money grab. It's a smaller crowd in Columbus, and they are excited to see Mexico play, but unlike the other areas, they are there to see Mexico lose. It should also be noted that, under Klinsmann, the United States has beaten and tied Mexico at the dreaded Estadio Azteca. I don't think that's ever happened before.
I love soccer I watched it before the dodgers then ended up with it on instead of the dodgers ,,,,, was a great game love Donavan .....
I watched it and I enjoyed every second of it. Nobody around here wants to talk soccer with me any more. Gee, I wonder why...heh...heh...