El Tri vs. USA

We are not the average soccer fan couple, especially as we are both Caucasian with no Latino background whatsoever.  Whereas most supporters fall heavily on one side of this rivalry or the other, and often show disdain and hate for the opposing side, we more or less equally support both countries in international soccer, and if anything, with a lean to the south.  The Mexicans simply have more talent, flair, and passion than the “Americanos” (see previous post), they (usually) play a much more exciting style of fútbol, and are frankly just more enjoyable to watch (although 2013 tested the Mexican faithful more than ever before).  I have one cheap USA jersey in my closet, but between us we have well over a dozen items (jerseys, T-shirts, sweatshirts, hats) sporting the Mexican tri color motif.  We actually just ordered six new items from FIFA-four are Mexico, while two are USA (we thought we should have something from our own country and if we get tickets to the Germany game...). I certainly follow El Tri much more closely on the internet and twitter than the USMNT, and we both are far more familiar with the Mexicanos.

 We have always wanted to attend a Mexico-USA match and we seriously contemplated going to this week’s tilt in Phoenix, the last for both teams until three warm-up games in May and June, just before heading down to Brasil.  Amy even lobbied her boss in Arizona to schedule a meeting so she would have to fly down, have a paid hotel and we would only have to get my flight and the tickets, but alas, it was not to be.  Some day we will catch this CONCACAF Clasico live and in person, which will be an interesting sight to behold.  I am curious how a mixed crowd would take us, two gringos, one dressed in red, white and blue, the other in red, white and green, (or maybe we could cut and sew two jerseys together!) for when it comes down to it, I will still root U-S-A when these two teams play each other; Amy, on the other hand, outright cheers on La Selección Mexicana whenever the rivalry is renewed, and she received a roaring approval from the crowd our section at Mexico-Martinique at Sports Authority field.  I will personally wear both teams’ colors to school this week, sporting that new red one from Mexico (I hated it at first, and usually hate red in general, but in person I fell in love) on game day.

We will watch this game on TV (if we can stay up for the 9:15PM Mtn kickoff ), cheering both sides, switching between the English and Spanish telecasts, and, since there are no consequences in this “friendly”, I will be not-so-secretly hoping for a tie, maybe 2-2.  A game like this is a little nerve-wracking, like watching an intrasquad scrimmage of your favorite team in any sport--if one side does something well, it likely means something went wrong for the other.  There will only be LigaMX and MLS players in this game as the Euros will not make this trip. And both Klinnsman and Herrera know their general squad, even if they are not solid yet on the exact starting XI, or the definite final 23 that make the trip to Brasil. They will name 30 players in May, hold their camps and play one warm-up game before releasing their 23-man travel roster on June 2.

However, there are a few players on each side that are hoping to make an impression in this game, most notably Marco Fabian for Mexico, who has had an outstanding Liga season, but has remained on the fringe recently for El Tri and is up against a crowded offensive front.   Both young Mexican strikers, Alan Pulido and Raul Jimenez are expected to get serious playing time as they compete with each other (and Fabian) for one of the last coveted spots.  On the other side of the pitch, 18-year-old Julian Green gets his first US cap, after switching from Germany to the United States, and is expected to challenge for playing time up front.  Both sides have some final questions with at least one midfield spot as well.  Although both defenses are suspect, there are not a ton of viable options for either.   

A couple of jabs leading up to this rivalry game: First, LigaMX squad Puebla, trying to fend off relegation, refused to release USMNT players DeMarcus Beasley (who is likely to play in his 4^th World Cup no matter what) and Michael Orozco-Fiscal, who really needed this game to make a plea for the last spot on the Brasil roster; in case you were wondering, no, Puebla did not have any players called up to the Mexican side, and all other players across Mexico were given their release.  Klinnsman was not pleased with the move and made it clear.  He followed up the next day by saying the Mexicans should have never fired Chepo de la Torre.  No matter what, this game always brings some fireworks on and off the pitch.

The ultimate dream would be to go see this rivalry in Estadio Azteca in Mexico City, in which case we would most assuredly dress in all green and I’d openly and loudly speak Spanish!  Ah, one day.  For now, we will be content to watch this round on the late night big screen, dreaming of acai berries and el jogo bonito.