Brazil v. Mexico Roundup

Last night my wife and I, along with some good friends, attended the Brazil-Mexico friendly held in Foxboro, Massachusetts. It was our first time attending a Brazil match, and it was quite an experience.

We live only a few minutes from the stadium, but left our house nearly two hours before the start to make sure we arrived in time, and it was a good thing we did. 495, one of the major interstate highways that leads to the stadium, was jam-packed with cars full of revelers, with many hanging out of their windows waving giant flags. The Brazil fans outnumbered Mexico’s (probably by a ratio of 8-1) but the Mexican supporters were very noticeable in their large sombreros.

After negotiating 495 and the equally treacherous Route 1 (the notorious two-lane blacktop that directly feeds Gillette Stadium) we arrived at the parking lot, and forked over $40.00 for parking. Because the Kraft family (owners of the stadium and the MLS team the New England Revolution) haven’t ripped us off enough this year.

Eventually we made our way into the stadium. It was a beautiful sea of yellow. The crowd was already going crazy ten minutes before kick-off, and just got louder as the teams came out. We were lucky, too. We had great seats behind the goal and both national teams brought their stars: Mexico had Rafa Marquez in defense and Brazil brought Robinho, Dani Alves, and Elano. Oh, yeah. Also Kaka and Ronaldinho.

The first half was great. Brazil played in constant attack and we sat right behind the Mexican goal and watched one shot after another. Ronaldinho was particularly fine the whole night; his incisive passes set up countless attacks, and he really looked like one of the best players in the world (often times he does not when he plays for Barca.) Clearly everyone on both sides came to play. Kaka was quoted after the game as saying everyone played so hard at least partially because of the fanatical Brazilian support from the stands.

Although Brazil was clearly the better team in the first half, Mexico struck first on a lightening-quick counter-attack finished by Juan Carlos Cacho in the 42 minute. Brazil got it back moments later on a corner finished by Klebler, and Brazil never looked back. In the second both teams opened it up and really starting attacking. Brazil got a second on a sweet goal by Kaka and a third on a killer strike by Alfonso Alves. The big stars stayed on the field until nearly the end, and thus I left feeling I got my money’s worth. Everyone played, everyone played hard, and I saw some fantastic football played by genuine world stars.

Other assorted thoughts from the game…

• It isn’t hard to figure out why Dani Alves is one of the best players in the world if you watch him closely. The right back was constantly moving up to threaten in attack, and would then zip back to break things up on defense. Truly a two-way player, and a clear threat on offense. Chelsea, he might very well have been worth it…

• I wish both teams would have put names on their shirts as well as the numbers. I thought Elano scored the first goal, and I didn’t even realize that 18-year-old Barca starlet Giovani Dos Santos had taken the field as a sub for Mexico. I would have watched this up-and-comer much more closely had I known.

• The ‘Keystone Kops’ level of security at Gillette was laughable. Our section (right behind the goal) was flooded with people from the cheap seats who wanted to be closer to the action. Many were sitting in seats they didn’t buy and the aisles were completely blocked. Twice security tried to clear things out and openly gave up the second time, clearly intimidated by the Brazilian and Mexican supporters. If something bad had happened, it could have been a bloodbath. Luckily, everyone we encountered, from both sides, was good natured, so everything was fine.

• But, as my wife has pointed out, the security goons at Gillette don’t mind busting chops and cracking heads when it’s the 13-year-old girls who attend the Revolution games. Then security keeps the aisles clear.Let’s not be frightened just because some guy is wearing a sombrero, okay fellas?

• Finally, the Boston Globe is reporting that the game was considered such a success that Brazil will almost definitely come back again. I say great: this was a fun experience for any football lover, and I would do it again in a heartbeat.

Brazil-USA Clash

Below find a link to a story about the upcoming Mexico-Brazil game that is being played in Foxboro, Massachusetts tomorrow night. It is gratifying to know how many tickets have been sold. This, more than David Beckham, indicates that there certainly are football lovers in the US. Sometimes they are just a little hard to find...

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2007/soccer/09/11/bc.soc.brazil.mexico.ap/index.html

USA Re-fights Mexican-American War (at least according to ESPN)

A few quick thoughts on last night’s USA-Mexico game…

• Overall, it was an entertaining game that was fun to watch; as many commentators noted, the U.S. team played particularly well, and it was good to see Landon Donovan play aggressively. His assist on the corner kick was nice (although some credit must be given to the lackluster Mexican defense) but his second, charging goal was great and really cool to watch.

• Bob Bradley should be safer now after this resounding win; as almost every commentator was saying this morning, it looks like the interim tag in front of Bradley’s title should be eliminated; it is better in the long run to have a coach in place now than hold out hope for a big European name. Personally, I was hoping we would get Carlos Queiroz and expected that we would get Jürgen Klinsmann; but we have Bradley and he has done a good job; he should get extended and get his system in place now.

• ESPN went, as I predicted yesterday, completely over the top. One of my friends compared it to the Super Bowl. I am glad ESPN hypes the sport and makes the game seem like a big one, but really, we need to remember that this was still just a friendly against Mexico. Yes, the Mexico fans are passionate; although certainly less so than virtually any group of national or club fans in Europe; and yes, the fans give the players a hard time; prank calls at three in the morning, for instance, but no death threats and attempted beat downs, a la’ Argentina. In the end, it was a good game. There’s no need to oversell it. People who like the sport will watch it, but those who do will know what real soccer passion is all about.

• On that note, I can’t wait until ESPN starts coving every David Beckham match in the MLS live. I’m sure they won’t sell those too hard.

• It was…interesting to listen to the announcers last night. Eric Wynalda sounds good on TV but added nothing of substance the whole game; if he didn’t keep repeating things he picked up from Kobi Jones he would have nothing to say. I thought Bruce Arena was insightful; he correctly predicted exactly what the U.S. team would do on setpeices, but then he should since he was coaching the team a few months ago. In contrast from Wynalda, however, Arena gives off a creepy serial killer vibe both when he’s shown and when he speaks (in that spooky monotone) on television. When he was holding that unblinking, Jack Nicholson-as-the-Joker smile during the intro I almost left the room I was so frightened.

Friendliness

There are some pretty interesting international friendlies that will be played over the next few days, including France v. Argentina. The three games that will be easiest for fans in the U.S. to watch, however, are as follows:

Brazil v. Portugal

3:00pm EST, Tuesday, FSC

Should be an interesting game with some big names, although traditional stalwarts of the two teams, including Figo, Ronaldino, and Ronaldo will not be playing. It will be a good chance to see Kaka, Adriano, Robino (if he plays) for Brazil as well as Christiano Ronaldo for Portugal, who has become one of the best players in the world over the past few months. Presumably there will be no winking during this game, and one thing we know for sure is that Wayne Rooney will not be around to stamp anyone’s nuts. Shame.

England v. Spain

3:00pm EST, Wednesday, FSC

Lots of big names like Raul, Rooney, Owen, Cole, Terry, and Beckham will not be playing, but still enough star power to make this fun. We’ll see how Steven Gerard takes to wearing the captain’s armband, and see how the English team as a whole does when half their team is out injured. The bloodthirsty English press is already calling this a make-or-break game for manager Steve McCalren, but that is probably just typical bluster from a news corps that wouldn’t know moderation if it was, say, kicked in the nuts by it. In the form of a maniacal Wayne Rooney.

USA v. Mexico

9:00pm EST, Wednesday, ESPN2

For the grand championship of North American soccer! (South of Canada, at least.) Bob Bradley looks to be going with a fairly experienced squad for tomorrow night’s match, presumably because he would like to shed the ridiculous “interim” tag and just manage the U.S. team without worrying about being replaced in three months. Personally, I’m all for it. He seems like a good man for the job and, more importantly, he actually wants the job. Anyway, seems like an entertaining enough match that, I’m sure, ESPN won’t try to oversell at all. After all, they never do.