U.S., Mexico Take Rivalry to Grand Stage

Cobi Jones and Jorge Campos always got along well when they were teammates on the Galaxy, and their friendship continues to this day.

The U.S. national team midfielder and the Mexico national team goalkeeper recognized in each other the same spirit of mischief and fun. They played the game because it paid them very well but also because they enjoyed it. That enjoyment showed in their on-field performances and their off-field antics.

On Monday afternoon, Jones and Campos will meet again, but no matter what happens at Jeonju World Cup Stadium in Jeonju, South Korea, the two will remain friends.

If Mexico wins, Jones will be the first to congratulate Campos. If the U.S. wins, Campos will be right there congratulating Jones.

The most eagerly awaited match in years for U.S. and Mexican fans--perhaps the most eagerly awaited ever--pits the two giants of North American soccer squarely against each other, with a coveted place in the final eight of the World Cup going to the winner.

The game could have filled the Rose Bowl five times over. The U.S. and Mexico have played each other 46 times since their first encounter in 1934, but Monday’s game marks the first time they have met on such a lofty stage and with so much at stake. Hence the widespread interest from Glendale to Guadalajara.

The U.S. has not reached the quarterfinals since 1930. Mexico has not done so since 1986.

It promises to be an intense match, with neither side holding any great advantage over the other. Mexico defeated Croatia and Ecuador and tied Italy to get to this point. The U.S. defeated Portugal, tied South Korea and lost to Poland.

The soccer rivalry between the countries is legend, even if mainstream America has been slow to pay attention. There is a special atmosphere around the game, an electricity that sparks players and fans alike.

Jones tried to explain it to a reporter from Europe, who was unfamiliar with the long soccer history between the countries.

“Imagine a match between Holland and Germany,” he ventured. “How’s that? Imagine how that would be. It’s like Argentina-Brazil. It’s going to be a battle.

“There are going to be a lot of antics going on on the field because it’s always very lively when it’s U.S.-Mexico. I don’t think you can get any bigger match for our team or the Mexican team because there will be a lot of bragging rights ... for someone.”

Much is made of the rivalry and sometimes things do get heated on the field, but U.S. goalkeeper Brad Friedel said Saturday that there is no real animosity between the teams, even if their fans would like to think there is.

“It’s a friendly rivalry before the game and after the game,” he said, “but on the field it’s not too friendly. But it’s not a hatred or anything of that nature. I think it’s more like bragging rights.

“We’re both in the same region, and I think they’re under big pressure from their public and their media if they lose to us. We always enjoy getting good results against them.”

It has only been in recent years that those results have arrived. Mexico leads the all-time series, 28-9-9, but the U.S. has won four of the last five games.

Mexico has looked the more settled team during group play. Coach Javier Aguirre’s team is injury-free and fully fit. The U.S., on the other hand, will be without injured defenders Steve Cherundolo (knee) and Jeff Agoos (calf) and suspended defender Frankie Hejduk.

The absence of Hejduk leaves U.S. Coach Bruce Arena with the problem of filling the spot at left back. He could move John O’Brien there, since O’Brien has played the position with his club team, Ajax Amsterdam.

But that would limit O’Brien’s ability to get forward, so it is possible that Arena could give David Regis his first start at this World Cup, with DaMarcus Beasley dropping back from midfield to help him out.

Filling in for Agoos in the center could be Carlos Llamosa, Gregg Berhalter or Pablo Mastroeni. Arena would not tip his hand.

Mexico will be well aware of the defensive patch-and-fill job the U.S. is contemplating, and forwards Cuauhtemoc Blanco, Jared Borgetti and Francisco Palencia, not to mention midfielders Jesus Arellano and Joahan Rodriguez, will be instructed to probe for weaknesses early and often.

The most influential player on Mexico’s team so far has been midfielder Gerardo Torrado, even though it is the lanky Borgetti who has scored twice, both on headers.

“Most every game that I’ve ever been involved in has been won and lost in midfield,” Friedel said. “Right now they [Mexico] look incredibly strong in that department.

“I’ve been impressed with Torrado. I really have. He has been box to box, he wins almost every second ball that gets knocked down, and just when you think he has gone too far forward, he breaks up the play at the back.”

Players from both teams have been talking up their rival over the last two days. Mexico’s Blanco, for instance, has mentioned the U.S. players’ quickness, and goalkeeper Oscar Perez has remarked on how the U.S. can “hit you hard on the counter-attack with very fast players down the wings.”

From the U.S. side, forward Josh Wolff echoed the American line when he said familiarity has removed most of the secrets between the teams.

“The guys are pretty aware of what Mexico is all about,” he said Saturday. “We’ve had a pretty good record against them in the past two years. Obviously they’re a tough team and they’re playing very good soccer right now, so I don’t think there will be any lack of concentration or taking these guys for granted.”

Forward Landon Donovan, who scored against Mexico in his national team debut in 2000, summed up his feelings in a few simple words.

“I want to beat Mexico even if it’s in my backyard,” he said.

The final word, however, belongs to Campos’ old friend, Jones.

“We know we can beat them; they know they can beat us,” he said. “We’ll just have to go out and play it.”

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*--* Balance of Power U.S. and Mexico since 1990: The bitter rivalry there is now between the U.S. and Mexico festered in the 1990s, when the teams played 19 times, after only four meetings from 1978-1990. Since 1990, the U.S. has been narrowly on top of the rivalry, winning seven matches, losing six and drawing six Since 1990: 7-6-6 (GF 23, GA 18) In United States: 7-3-4 (GF 23, GA 12) In Mexico: 0-3-1 (GF 0, GA 6) Neutral Site: 0-0-1 (GF 0, GA 0 U.S. wins 4-1 in penalty kicks)

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The Highlights

*--* 1934: U.S. 4, Mexico 2 The first meeting in the series took place in Rome, where qualifying games were held for the second World Cup, meaning a very short stay for the loser. The U.S. won behind four goals from Aldo “Buff” Donelli, who went on to coach Pittsburgh and Cleveland in the NFL 1957: Mexico 7, U.S. 2 The first game in the series played on U.S. soil, in Long Beach, was an anticlimax, as Mexico had already built a 6-0 lead in the first game of a home-and-home qualifying series for the 1958 World Cup. Ed Murphy scored both U.S. goals 1980: U.S. 2, Mexico 1 Steve Moyers’ two goals helped the U.S. end a 46-year, 24-game winless streak in the series. This World Cup qualifier in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., was little more than an exhibition, as Mexico had already clinched first place in the pool 1991: U.S. 2, Mexico 0 In the first Gold Cup, the U.S. stunned its fellow CONCACAF rival by going through the tournament unbeaten. This semifinal victory, made possible by goals from John Doyle and Peter Vermes, was the first indication that Mexico’s dominance in the region would be challenged 1993: Mexico 4, U.S. 0 Payback time: In the championship game of the second Gold Cup, Mexico exacted revenge with a decisive victory at Azteca Stadium in Mexico City before 120,000, the largest crowd for a U.S. game 1994: U.S. 1, Mexico 0 Two weeks before the World Cup, the host U.S. team proved it was ready by winning in the Rose Bowl before 92,405, most of whom were rooting for Mexico. Roy Wegerle scored the game’s lone goal 1995: U.S. 4, Mexico 0 The most one-sided U.S. victory in the series, this U.S. Cup game in Washington was significant because of a breakout performance by Claudio Reyna, who scored a goal and had two assists 1995: U.S. 0, Mexico 0 U.S. won on penalty kicks, 4-1 Invited to take part in South America’s biannual championship, the Copa America, both teams shocked the field by advancing through pool play to meet in the quarterfinals. After a scoreless tie, Brad Friedel saved two of three Mexican penalty kicks, while the U.S. scored on all four of its shots to advance to the semifinals 1996: Mexico 2, U.S. 2 Mexico’s Cuauhtemoc Blanco and Tom Dooley of the U.S. both scored in the 90th minute in a U.S. Cup shootout in front of 92,216 at the Rose Bowl. The tie gave Mexico the title 1997: Mexico 0, U.S. 0 The scoreless tie at Azteca Stadium kept the U.S. on track to qualify for the 1998 World Cup. But perhaps of more significance, it was the first time in 16 games in Mexico City that Mexico had failed to defeat the U.S 1998: Mexico 1, U.S. 0 The U.S. was coming off its first victory ever over Brazil, in the semifinals of the CONCACAF Gold Cup. But Mexico won in the championship match on a goal by Luis Hernandez just before halftime, before a crowd of 91,255 at the Coliseum 1999: Mexico 1, U.S. 0 (OT) Cuauhtemoc Blanco’s goal six minutes into sudden-death overtime at Azteca Stadium propelled Mexico into the championship game of the FIFA Confederations Cup, and overshadowed a standout performance in goal by Kasey Keller of the U.S 2001: U.S. 2, Mexico 0 Goals by Josh Wolff and Earnie Stewart got the U.S. off to a good start in the final round of qualifying for the 2002 World Cup, on a cold night in Columbus, Ohio 2001: Mexico 1, U.S. 0 On the verge of elimination, Mexico jump-started its qualification run with a victory before 100,000 at Azteca Stadium, on Jared Borgetti’s header in the 16th minute

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