A Rivalry Is Born : The Head Coaches Are Buddies, but No Love Is Lost Between Soccer Teams of the United States and Mexico

The last time an American soccer team played here, in 1992, it ran smack into Mexican soccer pride.

An upstart U.S. Olympic team had the audacity to beat Mexico’s Olympic team, 2-1, in a qualifying game at Azteca Stadium, the country’s shrine to its national pastime.

The U.S. team hardly had a moment to reflect on its victory, however. Forced to retreat to the center of the field by angry fans who threw coins and bottles, the young Olympians huddled for nearly half an hour after the game while Mexican fans vented their frustration.

For Mexico, losing at soccer is hard to accept. But losing to the United States is utterly unacceptable.

So as the teams prepare to meet once again--in Sunday’s CONCACAF Gold Cup championship game--the fortunes of these two very different soccer nations remain as intertwined as ever. And the teams’ rivalry is as bitter and complicated as any relationship between two proud and competitive neighbors.

“You can lose to the United States,” Mexican assistant coach Javier Aguirre said. “But you can’t lose to the United States two times in two years.”

The rivalry began when the U.S. team beat Mexico, 2-0, in the semifinals of the first Gold Cup--the regional championship--in Los Angeles in 1991. So humiliating was the defeat that the

Mexican federation immediately replaced Coach Manuel Lapuente with Cesar Luis Menotti of Argentina.

Two months later, a young U.S. team beat Mexico, 2-1, in overtime and won the United States’ first soccer gold medal in the Pan American Games in Havana.

That victory, marred by a melee between opposing players after the game, signaled a change in power in the region. At that point, the United States had beaten Mexico only four times since the countries began playing in 1934.

But since 1991, U.S. teams are 4-0 against Mexico, counting all levels of play. Sunday’s game is on the level that counts the most.

Not all soccer relationships between the United States and Mexico are acrimonious, though. The national coaches are best friends, and U.S. Coach Bora Milutinovic is still revered here for his long connection with Mexican soccer.

Beginning in 1972, Milutinovic was a player and coach for Puma, a powerful Mexico City professional club in the Mexican First Division. From 1983 through 1986, Milutinovic was Mexico’s national coach, compiling a 29-7-15 record.

While with Puma, Milutinovic roomed for a time with Miguel Mejia Baron. Mejia Baron is the new Mexican national coach, having replaced Menotti in January. Milutinovic calls Mejia Baron his brother.

“The game will not affect our friendship,” Mejia Baron said. “Of course, we want to win. If you play marbles, you want to win. Bora will still be my friend after.”

Milutinovic, whose wife, Mari Carmen, is Mexican, is best remembered for taking a talented but undisciplined Mexican team to the quarterfinals of the 1986 World Cup in Mexico City.

“Bora is like a god (in Mexico),” said Cle Kooiman of the U.S. national team and also captain of Cruz Azul, a first-division team in Mexico City. “They love him, and they love their national team. They have never seen the (national) team lose (at Azteca), so it will be interesting.”

Kooiman scored the winning goal in overtime against Costa Rica at Dallas on Wednesday to put the United States in the final. A victory for the U.S. team would affirm its place in the region, which includes teams from North and Central America and the Caribbean.

“We have come out of the pack in our region,” U.S. assistant coach Timo Liekowski said. “At the moment, the top two teams are Mexico and the U.S., without a doubt.”

Mexico became the first team to qualify for the 1994 World Cup when it defeated Canada at Toronto in May, ending an ugly chapter in Mexican soccer, which involved the United States. Mexico was disqualified from the 1990 World Cup for using over-age players in a youth championship. In the absence of the regional powerhouse, the United States qualified for its first World Cup in 40 years.

The U.S. team failed to advance past the first round, though, and soon after it hired Milutinovic, Mexico’s miracle worker from the former Yugoslavia.

Milutinovic, who is far more comfortable speaking Spanish than English, retains an obvious affection for Mexico.

“I have a very good feeling for the people,” he said. “It is my big pleasure to watch the team do so well. It makes me so happy for the people of Mexico. They have such a passion for soccer. I tell you, for me to come back to Estadio Azteca, is to come back to my home. It is like a dream to come back.”

On the national team level, Azteca has not been hospitable for any visiting team. The Mexican national team has not lost in Mexico City since Spain scored a 3-1 upset in 1981.

And Mexican soccer officials are fond of referring to their fans as the “12th player” because of their remarkable support. Still, The fans’ angry behavior after the loss to the U.S. Olympic team was uncharacteristic; Mexico generally has hooligan-free soccer.

“Without doubt, I can say for sure our fans are the best in the world,” said Marcelino Garcia Paniagua, president of the Mexican Soccer Federation.

Another part of Azteca’s mystique is the oxygen-starved altitude of 7,575 feet, coupled with Mexico City’s gritty, exhaust-filled air. This double whammy usually takes its toll on opposing players in the second half, when lungs burn and legs become leaden.

The stadium itself is an impressive bowl rising steeply from field level. A partial roof captures the crowd’s cheers and whistles and flings them down to the field.

“The atmosphere . . . there’s nothing like it in the world,” Milutinovic said.

Fans proudly wave the red, green and white Mexican flag, copies of which can be purchased from vendors working the inevitable traffic jams on roads leading to Azteca. Horns, bells and drums are also common.

During Mexico’s 6-1 victory over Jamaica in Thursday night’s semifinal here, some 120,000 flag-waving fans called upon their team to score more and more goals. They have become accustomed to it. Mexico is far and away the goal-scoring leader in the tournament with 24 in four games. Mexico has given up only one goal.

“We used to have a poster in the locker room at Puma,” Milutinovic said. “It said, ‘Our Obsession Is To Score Goals.’ This is what the Mexican people want. They expect it.”

Mexico is expected to beat the United States. It is possible that the teams will meet again in the World Cup, which will be held next year in the United States. Mexico can be expected to play its first-round game in Dallas.

“I come back to my home, I play with my best friend, it is wonderful,” Milutinovic said. “Of course, the U.S. is wonderful. But the passion for soccer in Mexico is the best. Together we are friends.”