Soccer Buzz

The United States plays Panama tomorrow in the Gold Cup quarterfinals. However, I’d rather point out that June 17 is the anniversary of two memorable World Cup games for the United States.

The United States drew Italy June 17th last year 1-1 in a wild match that seemed to feature everything. What an incredible range of emotions I felt during this game. Disappointment when Gilardino scored after US had the better of the play in the opening 20 minutes. Elation when the US equalized 5 minutes later off a Christian Zaccardo own goal. Excitement mixed with rage when De Rossi was sent off for a blatant elbow on Brian McBride. Rage and fear when referee Jorge Lorrionda decided that the Italians couldn’t dare play a man down against the Americans when he sent off Pablo Mastroeni and Eddie Pope on both sides of halftime.

Then came the 65th minute when DaMarcus Beasley appeared to give the US the lead, but the goal was disallowed for offside. This video of American fans at the game in Kaiserslautern seems to reflect how we all reacted at that point.

Still, we were pleased to hold on for a 1-1 draw playing with nine men for nearly 45 minutes (we even created good scoring chances with nine men). Of course, five days later, our World Cup came to an end.June 17, 2002, however, was one of the greatest days in US soccer history. The United States fortuitously advanced to the second round of the tournament despite losing 3-1 to Poland in the final group stage game. I, like most American fans, were just happy to advance…until I realized that our second round opponent would be Mexico. For those of you who aren’t aware, US/Mexico is an intense rivalry with plenty of animosity on both sides.

Unlike the Italy game last year, there was no emotional roller coaster in this one. It was just sheer ecstasy for ninety minutes. Mexico may have had more of the possession, but it was obvious the United States was calling the shots. Mexico was so desperate to shake things up that Mexican manager Javier Aguirre threw on over the hill forward Luis Hernandez in the first half. Hernandez’s most memorable moment was a comical dive after Landon Donovan put the US up 2-0 in the second half. The referee wasn’t impressed by Hernandez’s acting skills, and “El Matador” (or is it El Flop-ador) was booked for diving.

What an unbelievable day! Advancing to the quarterfinals of the World Cup was the ultimate reward for being an American soccer fan. I don’t think I’ll ever forget how I felt in the early morning hours of June 17, 2002.

US Soccer, World Cup 2006, World Cup 2002