Mexico, Reloaded

9-1-2

While most US fans like to taunt Mexico with the numbers 2 and 0, these are the numbers that I'm most proud of as a fan. That's our record against Mexico since the year 2000. Their only two wins came in a home atmosphere you have to physically experience - the noises, the people, the smell, the air, and most importantly, the energy - to understand how improbable getting any result in the Azteca really is.

Outside of those confines, Mexico, we own you. We own your best teams, we own your C teams. We own your imported foreign coaches and players, we own your domestic heroes. We don't spend a lot of time talking about you anymore, simply because we don't hate you anymore. It's worse than that. We're apathetic. We just don't care about Mexico these days. We're that much better than you.

But those of us who are die-hard fans, those of us who still remember all the cheap shots, the kick to Alexi's nuts, Luiz Hernandez's elbows, Carlos Hermosillo's freakin' headed goal off of Kasey Keller's goal kick, Rafa Marquez trying to behead Cobi Jones, and most recently, that pussy Oswald taking a dive at Eddie Johnson's legs, our hate can be rekindled pretty quickly. Just remind us what a dirty, disgusting, unsportsmanlike group of chumps you will devolve into after losing to us, and we'll hate you all over again.

There are also some of us who quietly pay attention to Mexico. Not rabidly, and not consistently. Every once in a while, though, we check in, just to see how you're doing. I've done exactly that since I lived in Mexico. I still harbor dichotomous feelings towards the country - a deep love of the people, culture, food, and landscape, and yet an intense ability to hate their beloved El Tri. But, it keeps me checking back in from time to time. If you check in these days as a fan of the US Team, you may have reason to worry these days of owning Mexico may not last forever. Here are some new faces to watch out for...

Juan Carlos Cacho
My guess is this isn't the name you expected me to put down first as an up and coming Mexican. Maybe it should be. The guy is a finisher, and if you give him a window, he can burn you. He's unafraid of taking shots outside the penalty area, and perfectly capable of burying them. He's scored a couple of ridiculous goals in the Mexican league from more than 40 yards out when goalkeepers have fallen asleep off their lines. In 2007, he scored 38 - thirty eight - goals in Mexican league play. Our defenders will not be able to back off and give him space, or he'll be painting corners on the US goal. He debuted for Mexico in the Copa America and will likely start against the US next month in Houston. US defenders simply cannot lose sight of this guy.


Andres Guardado
One of a few Mexicans now playing in Spain, I find myself cheering for him as a Depor fan, and begrudgingly admiring him when he plays for Mexico. Guardado's rise to El Tri was nothing short of meteoric. He debuted for Atlas in August of 2005, and four months later was called up for the national team. One year after starting his professional career, he was on Mexico's World Cup squad. So, no, he's not an up and coming Mexican. He's already arrived, but he's only 21 years old. He'll be here for a while. This year at Depor he's been one of the few bright spots on the team. In last summer's Gold Cup, he could best be described as a menacing handful for the unfortunates tasked with marking him. He's a creative player with exquisite ball skills, and he's lightning quick. If he comes back next month, he's going to be the best left midfielder any US right back has had to mark since we played against him last time.

The Class of 2005
Giovanni Dos Santos and Carlos Vela. Two names that have concerned US Soccer fans since they exploded onto the national scene in the 2005 Under 17 World Cup. How good are they? They're good enough that two of the world's elite clubs - in fact just two years ago the two teams facing each other in the Champions League finals - own their rights. Dos Santos is getting minutes for FC Barcelona in Spain's Liga Primera. Vela's rights are owned by Arsenal of the Premiership, but he, too, is plying his trade in Spain's top league as a regular in Osasuna's lineup. Arsenal's manager, Arsene Wenger, has made it clear that Vela will be brought back this summer and given a shot to make it in their first team. Like most young talented players just getting their feet wet, these 18 year olds can be inconsistent. What forces you to pay attention, though, are those flashes of play when they show you what they're capable of. And both of these 18 year olds are capable of world-class quality. Dos Santos can play as a forward or any attacking midfield position, including on the wings. Vela is more of an out and out striker.

It's unknown if any of these players will be called on by Mexican coach Hugo Sanchez to play against the United States. If history is an indicator, though, Hugo wants to make a statement by beating his northern rival and reclaim the undisputed top dog of CONCACAF title for El Tri. We are also still not sure if Bradley will bring in any of his young guns. Because it is an international date, Bradley has the right to call in kids like Freddy Adu and Michael Bradley, who are making names for themselves overseas. What we do know is that both teams seem to be reloading themselves with young talent. The concern you have to have as a US fan is, are we keeping up? February 6th will be a good indication of what lies ahead in this critical year of World Cup Qualification.

What do you think? Will the US be able to maintain its domination of Mexico? Why or why not?

US v Sweden thoughts, random stats, and pseudoanalysis

It wasn't a pretty game, by any stretch. The players ran hard, passes were completed, and the play was back and forth. We had a few shots, a couple of goals, and the US will put a check box in the win column. Both sides, though, lacked a key element in soccer entertainment - creativity to do the unexpected. It was remarkable to see both teams consistently attempt, and more often than not succeed, in doing exactly what you would expect them to do. While predictable execution may be a coach's wet dream, it makes for a bit of a sleeper for the viewing audience.

CLEARING THE PUCK

I don't pretend to be any sort of a hockey expert, but one thing I do know is that when a hockey team is pinned down in their own end, their defensive goal is to clear the puck - meaning, whack it down the ice as far as it will go. Then, I believe, you get to pin the team in their end, put a ton of pressure on them in tight space, hope that they turn it over or make some defensive lapse, and maybe put the biscuit past the 5 hole.

I think Bob Bradley is a hockey fan. He doesn't want his team to create goals. What a silly idea. Why not kick the ball as far down the field as you can, essentially giving away possession (Who wants possession anyway? The longer your team has the ball, the higher the chance is they'll lose it!), pressure them, and let their screw ups (hopefully there are some screw ups) create goals for you? Now that is GENIUS.

You'll forgive me, but there is a reason I'm not a hockey fan. It's boring. To me it is, anyway. I consider myself mostly realistic, and I realize many goals in high levels of soccer are scored directly as a result of a defensive screw up - what I call soccer turnovers. In fact, I've endorsed the idea of creating a team that is poised to both force turnovers and quickly strike once a team has coughed up a turnover. But here's where I draw the line - when you aren't under pressure, you're holding the ball in your defense, you have options to keep possession, and you choose to "clear the puck" instead.

I first started documenting US progression out of the back against South Africa. What I am charting here is how the US defense plays the ball forward when the US has first gained possession, not every single touch from a US defender.

• In that game, we played long balls 46% of the time. Against Sweden, we cleared the puck 47% of the time, not counting the GK's long kicks to nowhere.

• Our GK, Guzan, launched the ball forward 83% of the time, with the US retaining just 5% of those passes.

• Against South Africa, we completed 9% of our long passes from the back. Against Sweden, we completed 26% of the same type of passes, a much better percentage.

There is one area we were significantly better. Against South Africa, I made this observation:

Our attacking progression is predictable. From the back, we play either route one soccer from our central defense, or our outside backs play to our central midfielders. Remarkable was the rarity with which our outside defenders and wide midfielders tried to work combinations.

Our progression was much more varied against Sweden, and both Donovan and Davis received a lot of balls out of the back. Both Corrales and Moore did a fine job of playing in the wide midfielders and making themselves options for combination play, too.

One last thought on defense before I move on. Goodsen was a surprising standout to me, physically more than held his own, and made a lot of important tackles and clearances to preserve a shutout. Sadly, the one area he most needs to improve is in his distribution. It's the story of US defenders I guess. But Clarence Goodsen deserves more looks.

6 IN ONE, EDU IN THE OTHER

Maurice Edu and Ricardo Clark played great games against Sweden. Perhaps they compliment each other so well because they are, um, the same freakin' player.

Passing percentages:

• Percentage of passes completed: 85% Edu, 87% Clark

• Percentage of passes played backwards: 12% Edu, 21% Clark

• Percentage of passes played lateral: Edu 42%, Clark 28%

• Percentage of passes played forward: Edu 39%, Clark 51%

• Percentage of forward passes completed: Edu 62%, Clark 80%
  

OK, so they're not exactly the same player, but their games are eerily similar. These aren't the throwback days of Chris Armas when a completed forward pass from our defensive midfielder merited a standing ovation. Both Clark and Edu are willing and able to complete forward passes. They combined to get forward, they both played incisive through balls, and generally did a great job of running the US Team, involving their teammates all over the field.

They also both had 1 shot, 1 clearance, 2 fouls suffered, and both won 63% of the 50/50 balls they challenged. I'm telling you, it's freaky. By my count, though, Edu had 5 takeaways, while Clark only had 2. But, Clark had more touches overall, and his shot was on goal. Who was the better player yesterday? Who knows.

THE BREAKDOWN

So we have defenders who are doing a decent job of varying their play out of the back, when they're not clearing the puck. In the midfield, Clark and Edu are both playing solid games, and Donovan is playing well. Davis is finding his spots and keeping the ball moving. Everything is looking rosy, right?

Eh, no.

We won 2-0, and Bob can pat himself on the back - if the only thing that mattered was the scoreboard.

It's not. The US front line is broken, and Bob isn't adjusting to fix it. The lack of ideas here is frustrating. Bob, maybe we don't play two forwards, because it is painfully obvious to all who love and watch this team that we don't have two decent forwards to play together.

The US team breaks down because our forwards, like Taylor Twellman, can do one thing - score. I can hear moronic Revolution fans snickering from across the country. Here's the thing, if another player lays the ball on a silver platter, Twellman will occasionally help himself to the gravy. Sadly, on the US team, as often as not, he tries to eat that gravy with a fork, and we moan in agony as a wide open header goes just over the crossbar. He doesn't help create opportunities, gets knocked around like a pinball, loses possession, and can't find his teammates in combination play.

Noonan, well, he tries. In fact, his pass to Altidore set up Donovan's PK, so you know what? STANDING OVATION!

In US Soccer, it's often one step forward, another step back.