Howard helps USA to historic win

Does anyone know the reason this time period is open for internationals? Aren't most clubs going to try to keep their main players away from an international game this time of year?

Is it to blood in youngsters?

The Scene of the Crime of the (Last) Century
Thursday, 16 August 2012 at 01:17 Mexico City

I was fortunate enough to be working in Mexico City - and close enough to Estadio Azteca - to be able to leave the office just before 7pm and still finish my first beer before half time at the Mexico vs. USA game.

I had chills just thinking what the atmosphere must have been like during the England vs. Argentina game in the 1986 World Cup, and I thought back to my shared student house in Southampton, where along with my long time room mates, I watched Maradonna steal (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DbbsytHDp2o) and then charm back (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-rW-lK9F6TU) the 1986 world cup in one game, with a puffing Peter Reid far behind. Bracewell would have caught Maradonna but alas was unfit ... ifs, buts and maybes ...

Overall, the game was a fairly drab and routine "FIFA Day International Friendly" (yawn) for the most part; some flashes of interest from the Mexico left and right midfielders, but nothing of note except Chicarrito being offside (as usual) and Howard making some good saves in both halves.

Throughout the game the atmosphere was great, although nothing like the local derby game between Pumas and Club America I attended in March, and the crowd reached a frenzy at the half time, when some or all of Mexico's gold medal winners being trotted out at half time to rapturous applause, some fireworks and a never ending stream of Tannoy eulogies that I didn't even try to understand.

However, the rapture that this medal celebration gave Mexico (inclding newspapers and TV these last weeks) reminds me that in the UK and even more so in the USA, people take winning for granted, make it an expectation, and feel let down when their star athletes show themselves to be human (cf. USA gymnast last week in the individual ladies competition). Really, we shoudl treasure the effort that goes into it, enjoy all that qualify, not vilify those that fail, and finally of course celebrate the successes and sweet moments that arise out of human endeavour.

To be brutal, both Donovan and Chicarrito were very disappointing, the latter more so because he was not replaced at half time ...

The second half was punctuated by one moment of class from USA, to score the winning goal, which really transcended the rest of the game (barring Tim Howard's two great saves), and which at the time seemed unfair given Mexico's possession (and the fact that I was surrounded by 75,000 Mexico fans and two USA fans).

However, in retrospect, and in context of what Mexico actually did of note in the game, which was not very much, just like the USA, then perhaps the USA is deserving of this historic first victory, i.e. against Mexico on Mexican soil.

In the end this loss took only a very tiny bit of lustre from Mexico's warm and endearing afterglow, after winning the Association Football Gold in the 2012 London Olympics last week. Viva Mexico.