although as friendlies go, this one comes packed with as much emotion as any other. The next version of the splendid and often testy U.S.-Mexico rivalry will play out Wednesday at festive Reliant Stadium in Houston, where officials had sold more than 53,000 almost a week before kickoff.
"We know who all these players are, on both sides," Bradley said of the region's armas jóvenes -- young guns. "We haven't had a game between the teams yet where we've seen all these [new] guys, or as many of these guys. But I think that's coming. Whether we get a little taste of it (Wednesday)? That's possible. But certainly, down the road, we'll see it. That's what I mean when I say it'll be a new level for the rivalry."
As rivalries go, this one has tilted decisively the United States' way lately. The Yanks are unbeaten (eight wins and a draw) in the last nine meetings on U.S. soil. The 15-1 goal difference is even more striking. A goal by Landon Donovan and that memorable wonder strike from Benny Feilhaber did in Sanchez's side in the last meeting, during last summer's CONCACAF Gold Cup final in Chicago.
Before that, goals by Donovan and Jimmy Conrad helped the United States prevail in an early 2007 friendly, that one in the Arizona desert, inside the same stadium where the Giants upset New England in Sunday's Super Bowl.
There won't be quite as much MLS influence in this year's version of what has become a regular U.S.-Mexico dustup early in the calendar. Last year, Bradley brought over just four players from Europe. This year, he's brining 12, which left room for 10 MLS players.
Don't read too much into that. The number of players who make their way across the Atlantic has more to do with individual circumstances than any pre-designed formula for MLS vs. European-player involvement. Take the case of DaMarcus Beasley last year. He had only recently arrived at his new club in Scotland, and to uproot him for a single-fixture date didn't make sense in the bigger picture. Several players fit that description last year, whereas more of those same names are settled for this go-round. (Eddie Johnson, on the other hand, has just joined Fulham, and Bradley opted to leave the former Kansas City Wizards striker to get entrenched with his new London club.)
It's safe to say that this is a big chance for a few of the MLS-based players. Most did well in the win against Sweden to open the 2008 campaign for Bradley, now in his second year in charge of U.S. Soccer's most high-profile program. Bradley says that fans and media make bigger deals of which players ostensibly "need" to perform. For him, it's nothing more than an ongoing evaluation.
Having said that, Bradley does admit that some matches weigh more heavily than others in gauging talent. "You always put little more weight on bigger games, more important games, when the stage is bigger," he said.
So, it looks like a big chance for Eddie Robinson, who more than held his own last month while earning his first cap against Sweden. The Houston Dynamo all-star defender was big in the battles against Swedish forwards and scored a goal off a set piece. Now, he might get a chance against a different kind of attacker in a far more vibrant atmosphere (unless Bradley sticks with the central defensive duo of Carlos Bocanegra and Oguchi Onyewu, which seemed to be the preferred pairing in big games last year).
Stuart Holden, Maurice Edu, Brad Davis and Jozy Altidore will be available to play their first minutes in the region's foremost rivalry. So will Freddy Adu, a former No. 1 overall draft pick who is now playing in Portugal.
Across the field, the rising young U.S. team will see Mexican contemporaries in players such as Gio Dos Santos, the Barcelona teenager, and Carlos Vela, now starting with Spain's Osasuna. Both young men starred as El Tri prevailed in the 2005 FIFA Under-17 World Cup. On the other hand, injuries will keep Manchester City's young Nery Castillo out of the fray.
Ironically, Donovan, still just 25 years old, is one of the old veterans of U.S.-Mexico clashes. It'll be up to the Galaxy midfielder to help steer matters as guys like Michael Bradley (an absolute scoring beast this year at Heerenveen, which is in second place in the sturdy Dutch Eredivisie), Benny Feilhaber and Tim Howard establish themselves as the new guard of the U.S. shirt and gain their footing in the sometimes-acrimonious rivalry.
He says the games are "fun," but admits that a big part of the fun is his country's recent dominance.
"These are games that you don't worry about being motivated for," Donovan said last week before leaving Los Angeles for Houston. "You don't worry about being ready for them. You know the stadium is full. You know it's a fun night, fun to be a part of."
Steve Davis is a freelance writer who has covered Major League Soccer since its inception. Steve can be reached at BigTexSoccer@yahoo.com. The views and opinions expressed in this column are those of the author's, and not necessarily those of Major League Soccer or MLSnet.com.
