It's on. With the announcement by the USSF that the U.S. will take on Mexico in the Estadio Azteca on Sept. 9, the heated rivalry is set once more this year for Round 3. While this matchup won't have the same ramifications as the Gold Cup final did, there are still a number of intriguing things to consider:
1.
Can the U.S. finally win in Mexico? The U.S. is 0-22-1 all-time in Mexico, but this squad has as good a chance as any before, if not better, to break that duck. The U.S. has a couple of things going in its favor. First it's brimming with confidence against Mexico having beaten El Tri twice already this year. Second, coach Bob Bradley brings a more attack-minded philosophy than his predecessors which might be the key against Mexico at the Azteca. What you have to love about this fixture (other than the fact it gives some of the younger players some valuable experience) is that it's part of what appears to be a more aggressive scheduling posture from the USSF, which has lined up a nice slate of quality opponents in the next couple of months in Mexico, Sweden, Catalonia and Switzerland abroad.
2.
This is a huge game for Mexico. You have to think that part of the reason Mexico wants this game is because its fans badly need to see it beat the U.S. As much credit as coach Hugo Sanchez gained from Mexico's fine showing in the Copa America, that would pretty much evaporate if he loses at the Azteca, where Mexico still feels it's invincible against most teams. Between the altitude, historical home supremacy and the hostile crowd, Mexico will suffer a huge psychological blow if it loses.
3.
Nery Castillo. The one player most capable of turning the game for either team is Castillo. He adds a "juice" factor to the Mexican attack that wasn't there previously, and as he showed in both the Gold Cup and Copa America, he's blossoming into a world-class player. Mexico has suffered from poor finishing against the U.S. the last few years, but Castillo's unlikely to be as profligate as his predecessors. The difficulty in containing Castillo is his ability to roam all over the field and show up on the wings, which marks a sharp contrast to the slowing Jared Borgetti, plodding Bofo Bautista and wasteful Omar Bravo.
4.
Will Sanchez use the game to blood Giovanni Dos Santos? The Mexican teen phenom has been in sparkling form during preseason for Barcelona and is slated to play with the full first team squad for the upcoming La Liga campaign. Sanchez has already said he might call up Dos Santos to the full national team at some point this year, but it's still unclear if he'll risk him for the U.S. matchup.
On a separate note, I was surprised to see former Manchester United starlet Giuseppe Rossi sign for Villarreal this week. By now everyone knows the story of the dual citizenship-holding Rossi, who's eligible for both the U.S. and Italy. Rossi's eschewed overtures from the U.S. in the past in his determination to don the colors of the Italian national team. Given his performances on loan to Parma last season (where he scored 9 goals in 19 games and was credited with being a key factor in helping Parma avoid relegation) and the fact that he'd recently broken into the Italy U-21 setup, it would seem that a move to Serie A was logical.
With his stated desire to represent Italy, it's odd that he would choose La Liga, since Italy has traditionally eschewed players that have chosen to play outside the homeland. Granted, current coach Roberto Donadoni is more open-minded about such matters, but he won't be coach forever, and moving to Spain may put Rossi off the Italian radar once more unless he really tears it up.
Jen Chang
