I remember it clearly. Just a few months ago, the
Mexican National Soccer Team was on the verge of disaster. It was in fourth place in
a group of six teams from North America that wanted to qualify for the World Cup in South Africa next year. The situation was grim. After
losing the first game to the USA, in Ohio, in the dead of winter, the team didn't move forward very well. They went on to beat Costa Rica in a poorly played game in Mexico City, where they always win. (Except that one time.) Then they traveled to Honduras, where they were humiliated in a very hostile game. Perhaps the most hostile game was the next one in El Salvador. A new coach came in just days before a game that was played in the pouring rain.
El Salvador won 2-1.
At the end of that game, Mexico did not look like the soccer power that I had come to know all my life. Every time they faced these teams from Central America or the Caribbean, Mexico came out on top. The only real trouble has always been the USA, as far as I know. (Apparently, team USA decided to become a soccer power a few years before I started taking notice. Before that, they sucked.) After barely beating Trinidad and Tobago in Mexico City, soccer pundits around the world were writing the obituary for the "Giant of CONCACAF" (CONCACAF being the Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Football). And they all sang the praises of Costa Rica, who was at the top of the group, team USA, who looked very strong, and even El Salvador.
Soccer is a funny thing. It's a lot like life. (For
me some, it IS life.) Just when you think you're beaten or there is no more time on the clock, an opportunity comes up and lets you get back in the game, if not win it. Every four years, the World Cup qualifiers bring great drama to all four corners of the world. Likewise, life has a way of coming and going in cycles of bliss and despair... bliss and despair... bliss... and despair.
My little brother commented to me that he'd rather Mexico not qualify to South Africa 2010 if they were going to play as badly as they had been playing. I suggested patience. I know the mind of the Mexican soccer player. We don't go down without a fight. Knowing that everyone is against you and that everyone has a virtual orgasm at the thought of you losing plays weird things with one's mind. With the mind of a winner, this criticism makes you clench your fists, gather all your might, and drop kick an entire island made of kryptonite into outer space if necessary. (
That's the ending to "Superman Returns". I hope I didn't spoil it.) With the mind of a loser, you wallow in your despair. It is as if the criticism and lack of faith from others justifies you being down. If that is what they expect, you give it to them.
The next game was against, who else, team USA. That game was different. First, it was in Mexico City. Second, Mexico had just come from
winning the Gold Cup in a routing of a younger team USA, one without its superstars. (The superstars of team USA were in South Africa for the Confederations Cup. Although they were runners-up, they played poorly, dropping back to defend leads, allowing the Brasileros to have their way... on the soccer field.) Third, the new coach had enough time to see what needed fixed. Fourth, 104,000 souls gathered at Azteca Stadium, the biggest soccer venue in the world, to cheer them on. Thousands of miles away, I went to a restaurant full of USA fans to
watch my team win.
After that game came
a trouncing of Costa Rica in Costa Rica, 3-0. The team that had been at the top was just taught a lesson in soccer by a team that was supposed to be dead. The giant had a pulse. Then, Honduras went to Mexico City, touting their might, promising a historic win, kicking the giant while they had it at eye sight. From the first minute of that game, Honduras threw everyone back to defend. Analysts would later say that it was surprising that Honduras did not get the team bus and park it in front of the goal as well. Mexico won. The giant took a breath.
Then El Salvador came. That was a special game.
Back in June, Mexico was the epicenter of the 2009 influenza pandemic. Thousands were sick and hundreds were dying. In response to the situation, though the cat was out of the bag, the World Health Organization asked that people refrain from traveling to and from Mexico. Thousands of Salvadoreans who went to the game in San Salvador donned surgical masks, teased the Mexican team for carrying swine flu, and... Well, the Salvadorean fans went as far as to assault a female Mexican reporter at the stadium. The fans then teased and made fun of the tragedies happening in Mexico due to the flu.
Last week, on October 10, a very proud El Salvador stood in Azteca Stadium. They were proud though they had to win or be knocked out of qualifying to the World Cup. Everyone in El Salvador promised a surprise. And the surprise did come. It came in the form of bees that made the Salvadorean goal posts their home. The Mexican bees were pissed over what happened in June, I'm sure.
The surprise also came in the 4 to 1 routing that the Mexican team provided to their guests. With a feast of goals, El Salvador were eliminated. Better luck in 4 years. (No one was attacked. No one was made fun of. Surgical masks, however, were worn.) With that win, Mexico clinched a spot for the World Cup in South Africa.
The giant was up, dusting itself off... Looking at Africa, wondering what language they speak there.
Tonight, Mexico tied Trinidad and Tobago in a meaningless game in Trinidad. Team USA tied Costa Rica at RFK Stadium in Washington in a game that meant more to Costa Rica than to the USA. (Although, it had a certain vibe to it because of a tragedy that happened a couple of nights back.) And Honduras went into El Salvador (flu-free) and clinched their spot to go to South Africa. Costa Rica will now play Uruguay for one of the final tickets to the big dance. With these results, Mexico finished second but was the first to clinch. The team that everyone, and I mean everyone, except us who know better, said was done. Mexico, according to them, was a loser team. We would never see African land, they said.
Many times, perhaps in cycles, perhaps continuously, people are going to say some pretty rough stuff about you. They'll treat you like you're carrying a plague some of the time. But that is their problem. It's that kind of thinking, one that belittles the opponent, that makes people lose. The Mexican squad just played. And then they played some more. And they kept playing. Because all the talk in the world doesn't win soccer games, earn promotions, clinch a great job, or swoon the girl. Getting up, staying up, and acting like you own the stadium is what does.
See you in Africa in 2010.
¡Nos vamos al Mundial!
