Looks like this is turning into a blog again....

If I had a blog posting after every time the US beat Mexico, I would have two this year... oh wait! This is the second blog post of the year, and now that we are a full year away from the Markus Merck disaster of 06, I should post with more regularity. Joe is back in the Verengen Statens (whatever) and made up this delightful image that pretty much sums up US vs Mexico soccer. Almost as well as this does:

"They deserve to be the number 1 team in CONCACAF."

That was said by our old favorite, Cuahutemoc Blanco, who can no longer see the team above him because of his severely hunched back. Granted, I've never really had a true distaste for Blanco - he rarely played against or did well against the US, and he's one of the few Mexican players that I admire, mainly for his tricks and hard-headed-ness, and besides, he's coming to MLS - but the quote really sticks out as being the final shot in the US-Mexico rivalry of recent years. The ride started in 1995 during the old US Cups (loved those!), and while we weren't totally as dominant back then, the signs were always pointed to this day. To say Mexico doesn't have a chance at regaining regional supremacy would be foolish; after all, they have a deep-rooted interest in the game, which is more than we can say here, and will always produce quality players.

That said, Mexico does need to change. Much like how Ohio State spread things out and broke out of their funk against Michigan, or how the Red Sox anted up to match the Yankees, Mexico needs to realize what they do now just isn't working. They were lucky to be seeded in the last World Cup and were blessed with Iran and Angola as their first round opponents. There's no chance in hell they would have earned a point in Group E.

Nearly every goal scored by Mexico as of late (and there haven't been many) were the result of poor breakdowns by the US defense and El Tri capitalized on the USA's lack of balance, in both cases Oguchi Onyewu was guilty of poor positioning. I'm thinking of two particular cases here - Borgetti's goal in the Azteca during the last qualifying cycle, and Guardado's on Sunday, mainly as those are the only two I can remember - and am by no means arguing this as fact. It simply appears that, for all their supposed technical prowess, there goals against the US boil down to luck and inexperience on the US backline. Looking back on US goals scored on Mexico - Wolff-to-Mathis, Reyna-to-Wolff-to-McBride, Lewis-to-Donovan, Convey-to-Pope, Lewis in Azteca, Beasley's short corner in C-bus - and most were the result of well-executed build-ups, counter-attacks and set pieces. So for a team that criticizes the US team's lack of invention, they certainly get burned by it a lot - not to mention the fact that they just purely get out-coached (I'm looking at Arena in 2001 and 2002 and Bradley twice already in 2007). Stick Mexico in a group with Italy and the Czech Republic, who knew the best way of stopping the US was to not let them start at all and put numbers behind the ball, and it's pretty obvious that El Tri would have finished bottom of the group.

So another Gold Cup is in the books, and all I can pretty much say about it is, you get what you put into it. I'd like for this competition to one day matter, but ultimately I don't think we can imagine that with CONCACAF and, worse, Jack Warner in charge. The only games on US TV were the US games, implying that Fox Soccer Channel had better things to do like replaying West Ham-Aston Villa from last September, Milan Classics and Boca Juniors games. I resorted to watching games on the various network of Spanish stations, which gave far more relevance to the event and more enjoyment to them. But that's nothing new; Hispanics will always be more passionate about soccer and their TV networks will pass that along.

It turns out that I am now far more excited about the Copa America than I was before the Gold Cup was clinched. I have to say it, I am down with Bob Bradley - he looks the part, doesn't make feminine gestures or wear a pink shirt to a freaking championship game, not to mention our national coach could legitimately kick your national coach's ass (always a good thing) - and I am excited about the team he is taking to Venezuela. It's great to see untried players get a shot, and if one or two shine down south, then the tournament will be a success. Furthermore, I'm not above saying Bob can't put together a good run. Argentina aside, our group isn't that terrible, and will have more to do with hostile conditions than anything else. The return of Eddie Gaven brought joy to at least two people - not his parents, but me and Joe - and I'm hoping he can get back on track. After all, the dude is only 21.

The Summer of Soccer doesn't end there: I'm also very, very excited for the Under-20 event in Canada. I have a soft spot for this tournament, as it gave me a great month in the United Arab Emirates, among many, many other places, but it's also a mini World Cup, in every way imaginable. These days, it's more fun to watch the guys that haven't made it yet or are about to make it big; in the age of seeing Thierry Henry bolt for Barcelona, Chelsea buy up anybody and everybody for a ridiculous cost and a lack of parity in European leagues, it's just more fun seeing guys I've never heard of, if only to say I watched him way back when. I've been very interested in scouting and youth development lately, reading numerous articles and blogs about it. While it is infringing on college recruiting as some of the most shady dealings in sports, there's something enjoyable about keeping an eye on the future, 'this player's gonna be special.' Furthermore, it's fun to watch any soccer tournament where the US is a legitimate threat. Their Alexandre Pato could easily be our Jozy Altidore.