Photo by Mark J. Rebilas/USA Today Sports
By RYAN TOLMICH
In the months following the World Cup, Jurgen Klinsmann has adjusted and tinkered the lineup of the U.S. Men’s National Team, taking each and every opportunity to get looks at as many new faces as possible. Now, with the Gold Cup rapidly approaching, Klinsmann believes it’s nearing the time for the USMNT to start pushing towards some regional dominance.
That process begins Wednesday night in a friendly against Mexico, one which Klinsmann has earmarked as an important test for a team that has its sights sets on establishing itself as the number one team in CONCACAF.
“I think we all are in a similar situation,” Klinsmann said in a press conference on Tuesday. “For Mexico, it’s the same ambitions: they want to compete with the best in the world, they want to grow, they want to get better. Both of us want to be number one in CONCACAF to start with, so this is always about being number one in CONCACAF first of all.
“Same interests, both nations, we want to catch up with the best in the world because when the World Cup comes along, we want to go further than just the Round of 16. We have the same ambitions, and that will continue. Every time we can match up for a game like tomorrow night, it’s a welcome opportunity for us to see where our specific players are. We’re in very similar situations.”
Because of their similarities, and their differences, the rivalry between the USMNT and Mexico grows ever stronger. A veteran of the rivalry, USMNT midfielder Kyle Beckerman has seen his fair share of Mexico, and certainly understands the meaning behind it.
For Beckerman, each and every game against El Tri is a bit different, a bit special, and because of that, even a friendly takes on a different meaning when it comes to suiting up against Mexico.
“I think the U.S.-Mexico rivalry is a special one, not just in this region, but in the world. No matter where the game is played, whether it’s a friendly, a qualifier or a Gold Cup, it’s a really big game,” Beckerman said. “We’re all looking forward to the game. The Gold Cup’s coming up, so these are big moments for all of us to show that we’re in form and can be counted on for a big tournament like the Gold Cup.
“It’s almost like a game in New York City under the bright lights,” Beckerman added. “It brings out the media a bit bigger, so everything is a bit highlighted. I would just say it’s a special game, it really is, no matter what type of game it is. It brings out the best in both countries and it seems to make an exciting game no matter what.”
While Klinsmann would love excitement, Wednesday’s friendly is all about results and improvement, no matter how it comes.
As a true measuring stick game, the friendly against Mexico provides many opportunities for Klinsmann and the USMNT. While a chance to once again blood new players, Wednesday presents an even bigger opportunity for Klinsmann: a chance to send a message.
“We want to continue our successful road with the Mexican games. We want to have a good result,” Klinsmann said. “We want to give them a real game. We want to beat them if possible and send a signal out towards the Gold Cup. We want to stay as the number one team in CONCACAF, because we won the last one, but they have the same goal.
“The key is to be alert from the first second and to be very, very focused to get the job done individually and be very compact and very organized as a team and obviously create chances. We have to attack and we have to figure out ways to score. That’s what we’ll be trying to do tomorrow night.”
Yeah.
Finally, no more experimenting…Wait a second, then, why is Ibarra still getting calls?
JK picks different line-ups than I would if I were the coach!!!!!!! Fire him!!!!!!
Does anyone know whether the Unimas broadcast will be in English if you press the SAP button? I’m guessing no.
For the record I rarely watch international friendlies, any more than I watch the local high school team scrimmage. For various reasons, the final score indicates very little. The coaches might get something out of them, because they have set, at least mentally, certain benchmarks for players. For the rest of us, watching some Russian Premier League game would probably be a better use of time.
That said, I wish Jurgen would make up his mind. Just the other day, he opined that friendlies were for experimentation. Now he seems to be saying that a result against Mexico means something and is worth some extra effort. Frankly, I though he was right the first time. If more tinkering is needed, then tinker away and screw the final score. Of course, I will wait in great anticipation Jurgen’s words of wisdom after the game is over.
“…and USMNT loses a lot of them.” Understood.
Gold Cup is about regional supremacy, not this friendly on a non-FIFA date.
I wonder why Klinsmann and the USMNT don’t get this hyped up and competitive for all games.
Ives – the site is eating up major bandwidth with all these hungry ads.
Top spot in CONCACAF when neither teams are at full strength? Absolutely false.
Well… taking soundbites from a discussion loses context. I think the subtext is motivating/emphasizing to players the importance of every match against the region’s top rival and this game’s role leading into Gold Cup which will set the bar for who leads CONCACAF. Hiiiiighly doubtful, I don’t believe for a second that Herrera or Klinsman see this game anywhere near end-goal, critical or conclusive to anything- merely an opportunity at growth, to measure somer new faces and perhaps for building or maintaining momentum against a regional rival. Always fun to watch, but no one will or should be losing sleep over this game in a week.
While you should never under estimate Mexico, I like our chances in the GC. Tomorrow night will be difficult without Jozy and Dempsey, so we may struggle to score. But, when both teams are at full strength I feel confident we will win. If you check you will find that Mexico plays most of its friendlies in the US in front of adoring crowds and doesn’t play many big European teams. Before the GC the US will play both Germany and Holland at their homes. I think playing the tougher competition will help the US in the long run and better prepare them for the tournament.
Do not agree that JK took “each and every opportunity to get looks at as many new faces as possible.” He could have done better in giving more players a look and not calling in his pet projects multiple times.
Like Ibarra?
These friendlies are okay, but what really matters are the trip to Azteca for WCQ and the obligatory 2-0 victory in Columbus. THOSE games have the fire of a rivalry.
Against Mexico C team they better win. Mexican Teams are busy playing double fixtures Copa Libertadores in South America and their own league and those teams not in the Copa Libertadores still weren’t too accommodating to Piojo’s call up roster denying him many of those he wanted. So I don’t see why Mexicans are bragging I think their getting spanked. I don’t even see how their putting up 2 separate national teams for two separate competitions (gold cup & Copa America) when they won’t even lend him domestic league players for a friendly. LoL
They will advance out of the group in Copa America like always, although this time they won’t make the finals like they have twice in the past (yes twice Copa America finalists and Olympic Champions). Gold Cup Final: MEX vs. CRI, my humble prediction.
Mexico, for many decades, never worried bout the US….that changed in the Mid/late 90’s when the US started to actually split the series with Mex (winning at home) and started to top the table in the Hex round of qualifications.
However, the friendlies in the last couple years, have lost some of the bite. It’s still the best way to get quality experience for young players within CONCACAF (Costa Rica being the only other consistently quality side), but the fire isn’t quite the same now that the sides are more familiar with each other. I kind of miss the days of the Rafa cheep shots, the antagonizing of each other, and the stare downs (Gooch). Hopefully it’s back once the match counts for something again.
Funny, I was thinking the same thing today. Maybe it’s a guilty pleasure, but Mexico games are the one time I don’t mind seeing our players get a bit unruly … it used to happen 100% of the time we faced each other, be it in a pointless friendly or a cup final. The late ’90s and early 2000’s were almost guaranteed brawls.
The last few times we’ve played (even the competitive games) have looked very different. There are lots of reasons why this might be. Really, we haven’t faced a confident, full-strength Mexico since the 2011 Gold Cup, and it seems like we haven’t had a game where both teams were really worked up to express their dominance in years now.
But I’m with you all the way. I’d love to see some new rivalries and villains emerge on both sides tm. Lots more fun.
The Good Old Days also involved batteries and bags of urine being chucked at our players in Estadio Azteca…they still do the laser-light-in- our-keepers’s-eyes thing, but the last couple times we played them there it really didn’t appear that the Mexican hooligans were just that into it. Weak.
If I’m a soccer player dealing with that crap, and then Rafa Marquez shows me his studs after flopping when you breathe on him hard…well…yeah, you kinda get it. But the Mexican players are acting almost professional about this these days. Almost. It’s almost like they don’t expect to be the Harlem Globetrotters to our Washington Generals anymore.
It could be we’re into that honeymoon phase of mutual respect. Of course, what could tilt it back is if the US really starts getting a stranglehold on CONCACAF…whereupon El Tri will probably start showing their butts again.
Maybe the two best things about Cobi Jones as a US national team player are that he is the most capped in history and, for whatever reason, the Mexicans couldn’t stand him. Don’t know if he was a good trash talker or what, but his entrance into a game seemed to raise their ire.
Never truer than in that epic 2002 WC battle!
Yah – Cobi was always ready to cut the lumber.
He didn’t back down from anybody.
I’ve noticed the same thing and I think it really started to happen after Mexico won the Gold Cup 4-2. After winning back to back Gold Cups against the US, I think Mexico have a different sense of the US vs Mexico rivalry. There’s a lot more respect between the two teams and its fans and the trash talk in the media is pretty much non-existent now. Even after the US beat Mexico at the Azteca, it didn’t really seem like Mexico took it as hard as they would have even 5 years ago. Plus given the amount of Mexican-Americans that now play in Liga MX, the rivalry I don’t think will really ever be the same.
You mean the destruction of the USMNT in those two Gold Cups?
For the record, I’d definitely like to see us win this game.
Who’s with me?
I am with you! I always root for the USMNT. They better win too, I have far too many Mexican friends. Bragging rights are on the line.
Maybe Jordan Morris bags a brace for the win? 😉 (inside joke from another thread)
Always knew I liked you 🙂
^^^
the Bromance Brewing Co.
I like what you did there. Something tells me you’ve made the occasional trip into Westwood in the past.