Jurgen Klinsmann has taught us all something very valuable: we have to fire Jurgen Klinsmann.
Advertisement
Aguilar’s goal capped a wild 30 minutes of extra time that started with Oribe Peralta scoring what looked to be the game victor early in overtime, only to see Bobby Wood tie it for the U.S.in the 108th minute.
Paul Aguilar scored late in overtime to give Mexico a 3-2 victory over the US today in the inaugural CONCACAF Cup soccer game at the Rose Bowl before a sold-out crowd announced at 93,723.
The USA won the 2013 CONCACAF Gold Cup, while Mexico won the 2015 edition. That meant the Gold Cup this year, the Copa America featuring a few of the best teams from South America coming to US soil next summer, and the Confederations Cup the year after that.
“A loss is always hard to swallow especially when there’s a lot at stake”.
The bad news for the U.S. seemed to be piling up before kick off. As fans picked their way across the golf course turned vehicle park next to the Rose Bowl, through impromptu mariachi sessions and Donald Trump piñatas, news was filtering through of a familiar narrative in Sandy, Utah, where the US Under-23 team were playing in the Olympic qualifying tournament.
But not everyone will be aboard the Klinsmman bandwagon. The author, Raphael Honigstein, tells the story of how the Germans completely rethought their approach to talent development starting in the late 1990s, refined it even more in the early 2000s and reaped the ultimate reward by winning World Cup 2014.
Jozy Altidore (5) – The big striker went close with a tough try in the 40th minute, and generally did good hold-up work which went under-utilized much of the night.
“You can have your own impression there”. It’s a feeling that I’ll never forget.
‘So I do my best… and leave the judgement out there for… people who want to express themselves. But it’s highly unlikely that the U.S. Soccer Federation will do anything about that. The visitors had their number from the very first whistle, displaying much greater quality throughout, starting with a attractive first goal from Javier “Chicharito” Hernandez and not letting up for the marathon two-hour match.
Just after the restart Mexico were denied by a courageous save from Brad Guzan, Raul Jimenez jumping on a defensive miscue but the Aston Villa shot-stopper denied El Tri’s No9.
Aguilar scored the decisive goal in breathtaking fashion in the 118th minute with a thunderous volley after the ball had bounced clear of the U S goal following a free kick.
Paul Aguilar etched his name into the history books when his on-running volley moved through the Southern California night and into the back of the net.
The next 25 minutes was more of the same, as the USA sat back and was content to get forward on the counter to limited success.
While the US managed to sneak into the Mexican area in the opening seconds of extra time, it would be Mexico who scored the first goal just six minutes into overtime. El Tri soundly outplayed the USMNT for most of the second half and extra time, and Wood’s equalizer was the only chance of any quality that the Americans created after 45 minutes.
Advertisement
After four winless years in the rivalry, Mexico had finally beaten the United States with a goal they will remember on both sides of the border. Bradley sent the free kick right at the near post, where it was knocked away by Mexico goalkeeper Moises Munoz. Out wide, Jones and Zardes are both out of possession and have to over-compensate on one end of the field (defensively for Zardes, offensively for Jones) in order to do both parts of their job.
