Football wins with Mexico-USA

Eighty long years ago, in Rome of all places, the rivalry was born.

Actually, to be fair, it wasn’t much of a rivalry at all for the first sixty. After the United States won its first ever international against Mexico to qualify for the 1934 World Cup (three days before the tournament started), it would have to wait another 45 years to taste victory once again.

During those lean decades of American soccer, our southern neighbors rattled off a 24 match unbeaten streak before the U.S. finally pulled off a miracle 2-1 victory in 1980. How many folks showed up for that little slice of history? Just over 2,000. Awe inspiring.

But let’s be honest. You know all this. Why? Because every time the U.S. once again tackles the green menace, the stories, stats, hyperbole and smack talk reach fever pitch faster than Rafa Marquez can crush Cobi Jones’ leg at the corner flag.

It was no different in the buildup to this week’s showdown in San Antonio, with the U.S. B-team coming out on top against El Tri’s C-team by a 2-0 score. And that’s about all there needs to be said about that.

Like two heavyweight fighters having their accomplishments rattled off by Michael Buffer before a title bout, U.S. and Mexico fans hurtled their digital jabs across digital platforms from Playa del Carmen to Nome. Each was well prepared, and convinced that their argument surely trumps the other.

In the green corner, El Tri fans rely on long-term history, accomplished and talented star players, massive youth and regional titles, dominant crowd support, and a very respectable record in the World Cup.

That’s pretty tough to beat. With 32 wins against the USA’s 18 (and 14 draws), it’s no contest who has been the historically dominant team. And while Americans can be proud of what Clint Dempsey did at Craven Cottage, nothing compares to what Hugo Sanchez did at Real Madrid. When an American wins four consecutive Pichichi awards for the biggest club in the world, let me know.

Mexico’s continuing evolution of its next generation has produced some truly remarkable achievements in the last decade, including an Olympic gold medal in London just three years ago, and two U-17 World Cup titles in 2005 and 2011. While much of that success has yet to translate to the senior team, the pipeline is rich and gives El Tri an enviable strength in depth.

At the senior and local level, the Mexicans have the edge as well, having claimed the CONCACAF Gold Cup six times (the U.S. has won it five times), while also laying claim to a 1999 Confederations Cup on home soil.

Mexico also boasts the stronger fan base by a country mile, even when playing matches against the U.S. within its own borders. There seems to only be one safe haven in the U.S. where the American Outlaws aren’t drowned out by chants of ‘Puto!’ every time Howard, Guzan or Rimando let fly with a goal kick. You know the place. But U.S. Soccer saves Crew Stadium like an ace up its sleeve once every four years.

And of course there’s no point in discussing international football if it doesn’t at some point come back to the World Cup. Since 1950, Mexico has only failed to reach the World Cup three times (twice failing to qualify, once banned in 1990), and since 1994 has reached the knockout stage of the competition every time. El Tri also boasts two quarterfinal appearances – both at home in 1970 and 1986 – but for many that record says more about Mexico’s inability to win the big games with all that talent than anything else.

A daunting list of bragging rights without a doubt. How could American fans ever compete with that, especially when soccer is at best the nation’s fifth or sixth most popular sport? You might be surprised.

In the red, white and blue corner, the U.S. is the burly prizefighter – lacking in skill compared to its more refined foe, but more than making up for it in guts, belief and the distinctly American trait of never knowing when it’s beaten. It’s the underdog spirit of Lake Placid, only on grass. It’s the up-and-comer, the outsider with no business being here, but slowly, methodically, finding its legs and starting to throw some combinations of its own.

While Mexicans can boast all day long about their 80-year dominance, does it really matter what happened in the 1930s with how much football has changed since then? That’s like Hungary still claiming to be a player on the world stage after the Miracle of Bern in 1954.

In the modern era, the U.S. has dominated El Tri, going 13-5-5 since the turn of the century. During those early years of the new millennium, U.S. players took their fair share of chances in Europe, while another section of the pool found regular playing time at home in MLS. All the while, Mexican players stayed comfortable and perhaps even stagnant in Liga MX. Those times have changed though, with seemingly more and more Mexican internationals testing their wares in Europe, while many more American’s are returning to an ever-improving domestic league.

Only time will tell which proves the better decision.

The U.S. has also got some rounds in the smack talk chamber when it comes to the World Cup. While Mexico has only managed two quarterfinal appearances in 15 trips, the American side has a semifinal to its credit from the inaugural World Cup in Uruguay in 1930. And few things can trump an actual head-to-head World Cup meeting, when the Americans ousted their border bullies 2-0 in Korea to reach a quarterfinal of their own.

Not an official title by any means, but there’s also some U.S. pride in the fact that it has won each of the last three Hexagonals – the final CONCACAF qualifying round before each World Cup. That might be one of the more telling indicators of which team actually dominates our region, but America can settle for five Gold Cup titles and a thrilling opportunity to defend that trophy this summer, very likely against La Verde (but the Ticos will have something to say about that).

The ultimate sucker punch has to be the legend of San Zusi though, and that’s one that will never lose its sting for a Mexico fan. Imagine the pain of a non-stop barrage of ‘De Nada’ every time the two sides meet. Heart wrenching. The ignominy of having had to rely on your greatest enemy to still have a shot at the World Cup – that’s gonna leave a mark.

But let’s not let the facts get in the way of some good banter. Each side has a strong case, and for the foreseeable future, will be adding to it as both teams jockey for position in the theater of public perception.

One of the greatest rivalries in world football now, it feeds off the passions and stubbornness of its supporters. Ironically, the deepest fires of animosity are likely coming from the fans today more than the players themselves.

Mexican-Americans play on either side of the divide, and where there was once vitriol, there is often now a shared respect. Americans play their club ball in Mexico, while a growing number of El Tri hopefuls and starlets continue to call MLS home. And across the pond, Americans and Mexicans can come together and fight for the same shirt, like Carlos Salcido and Clint Dempsey did while at Fulham together.

Yes, the USA-Mexico rivalry will always be a heated affair, and for 90 minutes those players will deliver the blood, sweat and tears required to sustain the intensity, but like many of the storied rivalries of old around the world, the mixing and matching of club football is minimizing the hatred between the players that was so prominent in the 80s and 90s.

Just look at what a beloved star Arjen Robben is in Munich, or Sergio Aguero in Manchester. At times it’s beginning to seem that the frenzy of rivalry lives more in the fans in the stands and in the pubs and bars than on the pitch itself.

So when it comes to our rivalry, who’s the big winner? Who comes out on top when all the cards are laid on the table?

Football. That’s who.