Michael Orozco celebrates the US’s historic win over Mexico.
The game Wednesday night between the United States Men’s National Team and the Mexican side in international soccer was only a friendly. Basically, it’s a relatively meaningless exhibition game, but when it’s the US versus Mexico, the games are never meaningless. In 75 years of soccer between the two countries, the US had never won in Mexico; the team’s record was 0-23-1 and 0-19 in Mexico City. The US snapped that 75-year winless streak in Mexico, beating El Tri 1-0.
Both teams were playing below full strength, with Mexico recovering from the brutality of the Olympics and several of team USA’s stars busy preparing for the European club season. Still, when it comes to changing a team’s mindset, winning for the first time ever in your enemy’s home territory is very important. The US Men also knocked off Italy in Genoa earlier this year, another historic event. It’s not exactly a World Cup title, but it’s a good first step. In order to compete with the best, US coach Jurgen Klinsmann has to score wins like these to build the team’s confidence.
“I think it’s huge. It’s huge for I think all American fans, it’s huge for the team, and it’s historic,” said Klinsmann, who is in his second year as the US coach. “We were very well aware that we’ve never won here at the Azteca Stadium. This is an amazing experience for the all the players. We told them before the game: This moment is for you, go and grab it. We are all aware that it was a lot, a lot of work.”
No better way to build up confidence than to knock off El Tri in Estadio Azteca.
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