Showing posts with label Azteca. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Azteca. Show all posts
The countdown to Azteca officially begins today for me, as we're just over a week away from the biggest game on the USMNT's 2009 World Cup qualification schedule. While I'm supremely excited for the match, I'd be lying if I said I was certain of anything other than a full effort by Bob Bradley's boys.
It's going to take more than a full effort to get a good result from the game; not only is history against Bob Bradley and the Americans, there are plenty of reasons to worry that have nothing to do with history and everything to do with the team's current form.
2009 Road Results
"Not good" would be the best way to sum up the USMNT's Hexagonal results on the road halfway through the round; a comeback draw in El Salvador and an utter thrashing by Costa Rica in San Jose mean that the Yanks haven't proved that they can play well in a hostile environments this year. Although El Salvador and Costa Rica's home field advantages are significant and shouldn't be underrated, they're nothing compared to that of El Tri. Mental resolve will be supremely tested next week, and there's no evidence, yet, that the Americans have it when it truly counts.
Key Players Not In Top Form
The showdown at Azteca comes at a time when most European clubs are still in its pre-season; this means that several key American players won't exactly be on top of their games when match time comes around. While that's true for Euro-based Mexican players as well, they have the luxury of home-field advantage and comfortable surroundings. The Americans likely to see the field who will certainly come in rusty include Jozy Altidore, Clint Dempsey, Michael Bradley (although 'Gladbach has opened their German Cup campaign), and several others. It will be down to training and carry-over from June's play to keep the American as the proverbial "well-oiled machine" (and even with the Confederations Cup, it's debatable if they ever were that).
Inconsistency Reigns
For every good performance the US has put in this year, there has been an equally poor one; the victory over Mexico in February was followed up by disappointing results in Central America. The two good results and reasonably good finals performance at the Confederations Cup was preceded by two of the worst games they had played all year. Time after time, Bob Bradley has come up short when it comes to getting the Americans to string together strong performance after strong performance. With the exterior issues of environment, smog, altitude and history staring them in the face, it's difficult for me to believe that they'll be able to push all of those factors aside and play to the best of their ability. Stacking up well-played matches just doesn't seem to be in the American makeup, whether your put that on Bob Bradley or on some endemic problem with the USMNT program.
An optimistic outlook is a fan's refuge, and his absolute right; it's easy to fall into the dream of pulling out a victory at Azteca, and I'm certainly not going to let it go completely. But the issues surrounding the game and this American trip to Mexico City make it tough to be positive of success.
If they do manage to win, it will be all the sweeter because they really shouldn't.
The odds were always going to be against the American, no matter the results from the Confederations Cup or the Gold Cup. The fact that the US surprisingly made the final of the former and fell flat on their faces against a Mexico "B" squad in the latter means little for their chances at Azteca. "Throw the records out the window" goes the cliche, and it certainly applies in this circumstance. The two nations' relative places in the qualifying round table is a non-factor.
Just a little over a week to go now, and as I work on my get-out-of-work early excuse, I find myself disappointed that I'm even bothered by the things I mentioned here. It would be much better if I could just shut off my brain, watch the match when it happens, and live-and-die with the Yanks as I always do.
Stay tuned throughout the lead-up to the game; there's bound to be more coming out of my over-active brain, and I promise it won't all be as depressing as this.
If you're like me, you immediately began to plan an "illness" when it was announced that the USA-Mexico World Cup qualifier set for August 12th would go off at 3pm CT (4pm ET). I've got my excuse ready, and I'm set to be home in plenty of time to get comfortable for the afternoon kickoff.
The only question that remained was, what channel would I be watching it on?
The answer came today courtesy of Steven Goff, who reports that Telemundo is holding on to their the English-language rights for the game and will be showing the match on mun2, a sister channel that typically aimed at a younger Latino demographic (and which regularly broadcasts in English).
This is both good and bad news, all at once. The good news: If you have mun2, you'll be treated to a Delacamera & Harkes-free match, a rarity when the US plays a meaningful match. The bad news: If you don't get mun2 (and I'll still trying to figure out if I do), you'll be forced to watch the game on the main Spanish-language outlet of Telemundo. There are worse things to be forced to do of course, and I'm one that generally doesn't need commentary to keep my aware of the game. On occasion though, there are moments in a match that need the clarification of the broadcasters; often this is due to cameras missing crucial action or switching away before it was clear what exactly occurred.
In the end, it doesn't really matter. I'll be watching wherever I can, and while not having English commentators may make it slightly more difficult to follow the action, I'll just be glad to see it.
One does have to wonder if this will mitigate the impact of the match, because although it's set to take place during working hours, I have the sense that new found USMNT fans and those intrigued by last month's Confed Cup run were looking forward to watching the game. Will the non-die hard English-only speakers be turned off if they can't find the game in their language on their televisions?
What about you guys? Any concern over the English outlet for the match? Happy not to have to listen to Harkes and Delacamera if you do in fact have mun2?
If you weren't playing very close attention, you probably missed this: The Mexican football federation has set the start time for El Tri's World Cup qualifier against the US at Aztec in Mexico City for 3pm local time (4pm ET).
We couldn't have expected anything less from the Mexicans, of course; just as the Americans pressed their advantage by scheduling their home leg in the chilly confines of Crew Stadium back February, Mexico has leverage the altitude, heat, and smog of Azteca.
Unfortunately, the 3pm kick means most of won't be able to see the game live. For yours truly, it means following the first half from work and missing the second half as I commute home. Not fun.
If the USMNT is to get their first ever victory at Azteca, they're going to have to earn it. While this cycle may represent the best chance they've had at a breakthrough, thanks in part to the confidence gained during the Confederations Cup, it was always a given that the FMF would make it as difficult as possible.
Bradly, just as ever manager before him heading to Azteca, has his work cut out for him next month. Although I won't hazard any guesses at what his approach might be now, I will say that he had to have already considered a midday start time as a foregone conclusion. I'm guessing that the match has been on his mind since February, and I doubt that he'll be unprepared.
Your thoughts on the gamesmanship? It's part of what makes the rivalry great, and I hold no ill will towards the FMF for doing what the USSF would do in the same situation. I just wish I was going to be able to see the game.
*UPDATE* Since I posted this, it's hit the blogosphere with a link to the FMF website confirming it. Just wanted to link to that source as well (in Spanish).
