Bragging Rights and National Psychology

[nanakbhatti]

http://www.nysun.com/article/10958

The upcoming World Cup qualifier between Mexico and the USA in Mexico City's huge Azteca Stadium means little as far as the World Cup is concerned - both nations will qualify for Germany 2006 without difficulty. At the same time, it means quite a lot to the Americans, and it means everything to the Mexicans.

For the Americans, it would be nice to improve on their dismal 0-21-1 record in Mexico since 1937 - but losing to their talented neighbors is not exactly a disgrace. For the Mexicans the stakes are much higher. Losing to the gringos on home soil would be shameful, unthinkable. On top of that there is the recent memory of World Cup 2002, when Mexico, playing excellent soccer, progressed to the knockout stage before being eliminated in a humiliating 2-0 loss to the U.S.

That did not go down well. Bowing out in the second round was nothing new to the Mexicans - it had happened in the two previous World Cups - but to be beaten at futbol by the gringos, that was too much. Toward the end of the game, Mexican captain Rafael Marquez lost his cool and was ejected for a brutal foul on the USA's Cobi Jones. Marquez's frustration was felt throughout Mexico.

The safety valve of futbol, the one important activity in which the Mexicans could rightfully claim easy superiority over the rich, arrogant gringos, was threatened. I suppose we're talking about bragging rights, but the term is not nearly strong enough to encompass the deeply held feelings of an entire nation that soar way above sports, off into the area of national psychology.

Sunday's game, then, is an opportunity for the Mexicans to restore the natural order of things, to show that they can play soccer, and that the gringos should stick to baseball.

If only it were that simple. The Mexicans are clearly nervous. Their recent 1-5-1 record against the USA gives cause for alarm, the lone win being by the minimum 1-0 scoreline in the Azteca in 2001. The anxious mood was not eased last month when the highly fancied Mexican youth team was beaten in an Under-20 World Cup qualifier, not by the USA, but even more insultingly, by the inferior gringos from Canada.

The Mexican squad for Sunday's game has been in training camp since March 16, and coach Ricardo Lavolpe has refused to release players for important club games this week. The reason given by national team director Guillermo Cantu - that this match is the most important in the qualifying competition - does not add up.

The real reason is national pride. And, for Lavolpe, the wish to hang onto his job. The coach has not had an easy time lately. An Argentine, he has faced a constant barrage of criticism - of both his nationality and his soccer savvy - from Mexico's most famous player, Hugo Sanchez.

In the 1980s, Sanchez was a huge star and prolific goalscorer with Real Madrid. Now he coaches Mexico City's UNAM Pumas, and seems determined to force the ouster of Lavolpe, repeatedly claiming the national team job as his own. A loss to the Americans on Sunday would likely prompt Lavolpe's departure.

The American Bruce Arena, meanwhile, enjoys what must be the most comfortable working atmosphere of any coach among soccer's top 20 countries (the U.S. is currently ranked 11th by FIFA; Mexico is sixth). Arena faces no noisy opposition, no vituperative enemy seeking his job. An occasional friendly press conference where the questions rate high on the banality scale is about as tough as it gets.

Mostly, this is a measure of the sport's status in this country. But part of Arena's easy ride comes from his own success since his appointment as national team coach in 1998. In that year, the U.S. was ranked 22nd in the world; a rise of 11 places at the competitive top end of the rankings is an impressive achievement. Arena has simply silenced his critics by building his team into a genuine world force.

Any doubts about that were swept aside by the Americans' performance in Korea in 2002. The U.S. is now a formidable opponent for any country, and is challenging Mexico as the dominant power in Concacaf - the North and Central American and Caribbean region of world soccer. The U.S. has not lost to an opponent from the region in 31 games dating back to 2001. The latest success came on Saturday with a straightforward 1-0 win over Honduras.

This was an exhibition game, but there was much for Arena to enthuse over, for he fielded a team made up of MLS players - none of the American stars playing overseas were called up. Honduras was limited to just two shots by a defense that relied heavily on 20-year-old Chad Marshall and 23-year-old Nat Borchers.

The team will look very different in Mexico City on Sunday, when Arena will call on the European expats, including Landon Donovan, DaMarcus Beasley, Tim Howard, Claudio Reyna, Steve Cherundolo, Carlos Bocanegra, and Eddie Lewis.

The Argentine-born Pablo Mastroeni, who has emerged as a pillar of midfield strength and captained the U.S. team against Honduras, feels good about the upcoming Mexico game: "It's going to be a great challenge in a great environment. This is what we live to do, to play in front of 100,000 people. With the decent camp we've had and the effort the guys have put out and the results we've gotten ... I think we're ready."

Mastroeni's comments are revealing: low-key, confident, and not looking for excuses. There was a time not so long ago when any pre-Azteca Stadium remarks from American players would feature apprehensive comments about the difficulty of playing in Mexico City, with its hostile fans, its altitude, and its smoggy atmosphere.

Now the Americans are playing it cool. And the Mexicans are nervous.

In November 2003, the Mexicans had a sweet moment of triumph over the gringos when they beat them at their own game, knocking the U.S. out of the baseball qualifiers for the Athens Olympics. Listen to what Tommy Lasorda said then: "I can't believe it! It's a shock and a disgrace ... Baseball is America's game. This is sad, very sad."

Change the sport to futbol, the country to Mexico, up the intensity and the passion of those feelings about 1000%, and you have some idea of what the national mood of Mexico will be, should the Americans pull off an unlikely win on Sunday.