Mexico Embraces Its Start
Soccer, like any other sport, can produce the most touching of scenes, sometimes joyous, sometimes heart-wrenching.
The 2006 World Cup on Sunday produced a moment that combines both.
Picture the scene: Mexico’s fans celebrating deliriously in the stands. Iran’s supporters streaming out of the stadium, a subdued mass, their team beaten but its spirit unbowed.
Down on the field a series of vignettes play out. Omar Bravo, the scorer of two fine goals in Mexico’s 3-1 victory, exchanges a high-five with normally taciturn Coach Ricardo Lavolpe. Defender Rafael Marquez, an influential figure during the match’s 90 minutes, stands and applauds the fans.
Most touching of all, Mexico’s players and coaches one by one go over and hug goalkeeper Oswaldo Sanchez. It is not simply a congratulatory hug, it is one of compassion and shared human feeling.
Sanchez’s father died Wednesday. He flew home to Guadalajara to bury him, then flew back to Germany to play on soccer’s greatest stage. And he won. If there were tears, who could blame anyone?
Then Bravo and Sanchez, both of whom play for Chivas de Guadalajara, held hands on high and saluted the crowd, both players smiling in the evening sunshine. When it produces such moments, sport attains a higher level.
“I know my father helped me to win the match from heaven,” Sanchez said. “That’s why I’m really happy.”
Lavolpe, too, is a vital part of the story. He could easily have kept Sanchez on the bench, opting for caution over bravery. He didn’t, and Sanchez rewarded him by making a superb diving save early in the match, denying Vahid Hashemian what seemed a certain goal.
Lavolpe could have chosen the easy route and settled for a tie after Yahya Golmohammadi’s opportunistic goal off Mehdi Mahdavikia’s corner kick had canceled out Bravo’s first goal. At halftime, the score was 1-1 in a finely balanced match.
Instead, Lavolpe went for broke. He played all of his cards just minutes into the second half, first introducing the attacking duo of midfielders Luis Ernesto Perez and the Brazilian-born Zinha, and minutes later replacing injured striker Jared Borgetti with Francisco “Kikin” Fonseca.
Substitution is a fine art in soccer, which allows only three subs per team per game. Bring them in too early and there are no options left. Bring them in too late and their effectiveness is perhaps limited.
Lavolpe played it exactly right, and Zinha made the play that led to Bravo’s second strike. It was a peculiar goal, resulting from Iranian errors and Mexican quick-thinking.
First, Iran goalkeeper Ebrahim Mirzapour’s attempted clearance went awry, the ball flying straight to Bravo. Then, defender Rahman Rezaei had the ball stolen by Zinha, who threaded a pass out of the reach of defender Golmohammadi and directly into Bravo’s path.
The striker stuck the ball into the far corner of the net, beyond Mirzapour’s reach, and Iran’s day was essentially over.
The game was played in a good spirit, and the fans on both sides were loud, enthusiastic and friendly. Among myriad signs and placards, one notable message was printed on the back of a shirt worn by an Iranian journalist.
“We Come in Peace,” it said, and then somewhat contradictorily, “Shoot to Win.”
The only Iranian player with thoughts of shooting was midfielder Mahdavikia, by far the finest Iranian player on the field. Mahdavikia did his best to unlock the problems Mexico’s defense presented, but he could not carry the load alone.
Angola and Portugal are in the same first-round group, and, based on Sunday’s performance, both will be wary of Mexico.
Lavolpe, who paced the sideline, shouting and gesticulating at his players and moving them like chess pieces, was pleased with his team’s second-half performance.
“I believe the team started to loosen up, play better touch football,” he said. “Before then, they were a bit nervous.”
Said Iran Coach Branko Ivankovic: “The players are not happy with this result,” suggesting he felt the same way.
