On Sunday I went to the final round of matches in Group C at the University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale. It really is quite a facility. I've been there for three different sporting events (NFL football, college basketball, and soccer), and I participated in a behind-the-scenes tour of the stadium last year, so I've seen the UP stadium from a variety of perspectives. It's not too far from Phoenix (about 10 miles west of central Phoenix), so if you're in the area I highly recommend the tour. Especially if you're a Maricopa county resident so that you see where your tax dollars went!
With Mexico's place in the quarterfinals confirmed I didn't think the final round of matches would be very interesting, then remembered that they could still finish between first and third in the group, so I decided to go to the game on Sunday morning. I arrived in time for the first match between Nicaragua and Panama, and there was a small line in front of the ticket booth. There was a sprinkling of fans inside the stadium when the two teams walked onto the field.
There were a few Panama fans waving Panamanian flags, and maybe 10 Nicaragua fans wearing hats and Federation shirts. The rest were either Mexican fans waiting for the second game or neutral gringos like me who just wanted to check out a soccer game.
As for the first game, I didn't find it very compelling. Panama were a stronger team physically and technically than Nicaragua, but they needed to score a goal to feel comfortable about their chances. You had a feeling it was inevitable unless Panama decided to play really poorly, and I didn't see that happening. Blas Pérez scored on a beautiful flying header -- what made it such a good play was that the initial cross took a deflection off a Nicaraguan player on the right, but Pérez picked up the path of the ball and ran into space to head the ball home. The red card to Nicaragua's López effectively ended any chance of coming back, and Gómez's goal before the hour mark opened the floodgates. Tejada added two more in the final 15 minutes. So Panama were through to the quarterfinal round, and Jamaica were out.
While this was going on, the lower bowl was filling up with the green shirts of the Mexican supporters. I was actually looking forward to this match -- I wanted to see if Guadeloupe were as good as they appeared to be in this Gold Cup and the previous one.
Once again, I was disappointed. Guadeloupe didn't put forward much in terms of attack, and Mexico were finding Bravo time and again up front. Bravo really should have scored in the opening minute, and had some other chances later on, but the Guadeloupe 'keeper Fausta kept his team in the game. (I had to search on a website for his name because CONCACAF didn't list player numbers in their complimentary program guides.) Finally, Mexico scored from a goal out of nowhere. Torrado received the ball outside the area and launched a rocket that Fausta got a hand to but could not stop. It was still rising when it hit the back of the net.
In the second half, Mexico were much closer to their second goal than Guadeloupe were to their first, and then the wheels came off the Caribbean side. First Vertot received a second yellow card, then Godin got a straight red for a studs-up tackle. Near the end, Sabah struck a fine header off a corner, and Mexico had clinched first place in Group C. They made it harder for themselves than it should have been, but in the end they finished where they were supposed to finish, and they will avoid the USA until the final. Mexico can exhale, and so can CONCACAF. I'm certain they didn't want to see the top two teams in the region meet in the quarterfinal.
So I saw six goals in two matches, but I wasn't impressed with the level of soccer as a whole. I was expecting more from Guadeloupe but didn't see it, and Mexico, while improved, are far from their best. Panama routed Nicaragua by getting to deflections first, and Nicaragua's quest ended before it had even started.
As for CONCACAF, I'm not sure what they gained by having matches in Glendale. I can't imagine that they've made a lot of money from this venue -- parking was free (almost unheard of at University of Phoenix Stadium), and there were around 24,000 people in the stadium. I don't know how much the stadium costs to operate, but I wouldn't be surprised if CONCACAF made a net revenue of low six figures, at best.
One more thing: those plastic horns are annoying. I don't know why the European players were so shocked with the vuvuzelas in South Africa; we in North America have had to deal with those obnoxious things for 15 years!
The fact is, this is the Gold Cup, not the Wrold Cup. The teams and level of play will never be that high because the players are not top quality. It is still good to see many goals in two matches.
Posted by: Giovani Dos Santos | July 15, 2009 at 10:55 AM
Actually, the level of play will be higher with the end goal of going to a Confed Cup. This one gains the winners nothing but a trophy and a little money. Two years from now the level of play will be much higher. I remember people talking about how good the tournament was two years ago. I don't think that our perceptions have changed that much in two years. I think a lot of good players were left to take vacations.
Posted by: Eric | July 15, 2009 at 06:12 PM