By: Peter Goldstein.
Planetworldcup.com.Guatemala-Trinidad & Tobago.
Guatemalan reporters love to follow their team close up: what time they awake, what they eat, when they go swimming and what stroke they use, etc., etc. So, courtesy of Siglo XXI, we learned all sorts of fascinating stuff about the flight to T&T. For example, when the team travels by commercial airline, there's a lottery for who gets to sit in first class with the technical staff and star Carlos Ruiz. This time around, Gonzalo Romero and Pando Ramírez drew the lucky numbers. Meanwhile, back in coach, Rigoberto Gómez took out his laptop and Mynor Dávila watched the movie Troy on DVD. Brothers Elmer and Selvyn Ponciano got to sit together, but Edwin Villatoro and Paulo Cesar Motta had to sit next to fans. The pilot joked that they were waiting for Leo Beenhakker's clearance to land in Port-of-Spain, then teased Romero about his "airplane" goal celebrations. Can your heart stand it?
When Guatemala touched down, they found the city festooned with banners and flags in red, white, and black. Independence Day in Trinidad and Tobago--but more likely they were celebrating the return of Russell Latapy. Who's Russell Latapy, you ask? Only the Little Magician. Only the twistiest, cleverest midfielder ever to put on a T&T shirt. Only the 37-year-old player-coach at Falkirk in the Scottish Premier League. Only the guy who, along with Dwight Yorke, abandoned the team during the 2002 qualifiers…oops. But when the prodigal son returns, you open your arms, especially if you're a team desperately in need of the one thing he can provide, creativity in midfield. Beenhakker warned that Latapy didn't have a spot sewn up, that he'd have to look at him in practice--but one look was all he needed. Latapy was in, with the number 10 shirt to boot.
Stern John was in too, by the way. Yes, that Stern John, The Most Unpopular Man in the Caribbean, Hexagonal and Gold Cup statistics as follows:
Games: 9
Goals: 1
Chances Missed: 67 (approx.)
Swear Words Directed At: 3,436,279 and counting
Why was he in the lineup? Kenwyne Jones had gone down with an ankle injury, and there wasn't much choice. But as we shall see, the football gods like a joke now and then"
T&T's first order of business was to avoid an early goal, as against the USA. But as the saying goes, deflections happen. Three minutes in, Brent Sancho took down Carlos Ruiz, and it was free kick time. From fully 35 yards out, Pando Ramírez launched a howitzer, Marvin Andrews thought he might try to block it, and the ball was in the net quicker than you could say "What the…?" Only three minutes later Kelvin Jack's desperate dive barely kept out a shot by Fredy Thompson, and you remembered that last time these teams played, Guatemala had won by four goals.
But this is a different T&T. Guatemala was playing a 4-5-1, letting the Warriors come at them, and the home side got the upper hand. Latapy, playing mostly out on the left, was tightly marked by Thompson and Elmer Ponciano. But there was plenty of danger from the right, with Carlos Edwards and an overlapping Silvio Spann generating trouble and several good crosses. They even got the ball in the net once, when John headed a Spann cross, Miguel Klee bobbled the shot, and Yorke put in the rebound. But the flag was up, and the tape seemed to indicate he'd been a whisker offside. Rotten luck, but at least you couldn't blame it on Stern John.
But you could blame almost everything else. He wasn't hustling enough. He got caught offside about a hundred times. And at one point when a defensive error handed him a free shot at goal, he put it wide. When at halftime the score was still 0:1, his best bet was the bench, where he couldn't embarrass himself further.
As for Latapy, it was odd to find him on the left, because he's a classic number 10. But Beenhakker's sharp enough to know when he's made a mistake. After the interval he put in an extra striker, Jason Scotland, took out midfielder Aurtis Whitley, moved the Little Magician into a more central role, and sat back to watch the show. Only two minutes later Edwards stole the ball on the right and fed Latapy about thirty yards from goal. He homed in on a mesmerized Gustavo Cabrera. He pulled a rabbit out of his hat. He did the Indian rope trick. He sawed a woman in half. He faked to the right, put the ball on his left, and drove it low into the corner. Delirium. They literally had to call out the riot police.
And now the Warriors were in full cry. Latapy again ran right at the defense, got into the area, and went down--no call. A few minutes later a superb combination between Yorke and Latapy found John, back to goal. He pushed it out for Chris Birchall, who unleashed a tremendous 25-yard shot that forced a magnificent save from Klee. Then a cross from Edwards to the far post, Klee came out wrong, and John, with the net open…missed. Shortly afterwards a rocket from Scotland was blocked by Klee, and John got the rebound…and missed. But it didn't matter, because he had already been called offside. Forget the bench--he needed a witness protection program.
Still, it seemed even John couldn't keep T&T from taking the lead. But when you go all out in attack, you leave gaps, and in the 61st minute the chapines found them. Cabrera played the ball out of the back to Romero in the center circle, who nodded neatly ahead to Carlos Figueroa. He one-timed it to Ruiz just outside the area to the left of the arc. In his haste Ruiz ran past it, then set himself, let the ball catch up, and delivered a lovely ball to Romero on the right to smash home. This was the Guatemala of the semis, and the win over Panama: cohesive, opportunistic, precise.
T&T were deflated. The riot police withdrew. Beenhakker sent in yet another striker, Scott Sealy. For John? No, for Spann. Scotland tested Klee with a shot in the box. Then Latapy blasted one from outside the area, and John actually, amazingly, put in the rebound--but was offside. Again. One of the T&T radio announcers, absolutely beside himself, said "get a hairbrush and whack him!" and not in a fun and spanky way, either. The game was winding down, the chances were going Guatemala's way, and John was contemplating plastic surgery. But, as we say, the football gods love a good joke. Did you hear the one about…
…the 85th minute, when Gustavo Cabrera, possibly having been whacked with a hairbrush, had to come off because his face was bleeding? And about a Guatemala team whose defense, shaky at the best of times, devolved from confusion into anarchy? An unmarked Scotland got possession in the center circle, ran straight down the middle and passed to the right for an equally unmarked Sealy, back to a still unmarked Scotland, a little to the left to a very unmarked Latapy, a lovely step and pass in the area to a thoroughly totally completely unmarked #14 (can't remember right now), and an absolutely perfect strike low inside the far post. Perfect equalizer. Perfect madness. Check the program--who's #14?
Stern John, of course. Our Hero.
Think the joke's over? Now Cabrera was on the sidelines desperately trying to get back into the game. But the fourth official wouldn't let him, because his uniform was bloody. Victor Hernández had been warming up, and could have gone in, but the coaches wanted Cabrera. The game started again with 11 on 10. Someone made a frantic call to the express laundry for a clean shirt. Two minutes later, Cabrera, clad in pristine white with light blue diagonal stripe, stood on the touchline waving wildly to the ref. But it was too late. Edwards crossed, Thompson cleared weakly, Yorke got there first, beat a defender, flicked to a wide open #14, Stern John, The Greatest Striker Ever, and he delivered the punchline, a textbook chest-trap and volley. Oh, and the ironic afterword: in stoppage time, Carlos Ruiz, the deadliest finisher in CONCACAF, missed an open shot from 6 yards.
At the final whistle the fans poured onto the pitch, and the riot police whacked them back with hairbrushes. Beenhakker was a genius, Latapy was a sorcerer, Stern John was a god. Ramon Maradiaga, the most reserved of men, who never ever argues with officials, practically had to be restrained. Romero, the last Guatemalan left on the field, answered questions quietly: "It seems like we have no memory…we wanted to win…it looks like we can't stand prosperity…we lost because of our own errors…" We didn't hear much about the flight back.
Costa Rica-Trinidad & Tobago
This was the tenth game of the tournament between teams not named USA and Mexico--and the very first in which both teams were coming off a victory. Costa Rica had ground down Panama, T&T had scored an inspirational comeback win over Guatemala. How to react?
Change tactics, of course. (Coaches have too much time on their hands.) With Avery John suspended and Brent Sancho injured, Leo Beenhakker unveiled a new-model 3-5-2, with Ian Cox, Dennis Lawrence, and Marvin Andrews left-to-right across the back, Carlos Edwards at right wingback, and Silvio Spann in an unfamiliar spot at left wingback. A 3-5-2 wasn't a bad idea against a Costa Rica deficient in wingers, and Spann was a decent try at a spot that's been a hole since the qualifiers began. What was strange was the setup in attack. Didn't we just compliment Leo for playing Latapy as a number 10? Well, scratch that, because this time he put Latapy up front alongside Stern John, with Dwight Yorke in the hole behind the strikers. It's true Yorke has played well in attacking midfield, but you can't waste the Little Magician like that. 3-5-2, 4-4-2, 3-4-3, 4-5-1 or whatever, Latapy has to get the ball where he can run at the defense and view the whole field. How much is Beenhakker getting paid?
Alexandre Guimaraes didn't pull anything so dramatic, but he started his fifth different attacking setup in five games. Paulo Wanchope, back from suspension, was joined by Álvaro Saborio at striker. Behind them, left to right in a line of three, were Alonso Solís, Walter Centeno, and Rónald Gómez. For tico fans this was more like it--all the attackers on the pitch at the same time. Gómez, a left-sided player, may have been a bit out of position on the right, but Solís is left-sided too, and something had to give. At least you knew the team would be going forward.
And forward they went, dominating the first 20 minutes. It was easily Costa Rica's best stretch since the beginning of the Hexagonal. Solís was dribbling his head off, Centeno providing incisive passes, Saborio sliding in and out to shoot and create, and Gómez doing pretty much everything. Wanchope was still subpar, missing two good chances early, but was getting stuck in where possible. T&T was battling bravely, but were in danger of being overwhelmed.
As it turned out, they were merely whelmed, but that was enough. In the 15th minute Centeno blocked a Spann pass, Gómez nipped in front of Aurtis Whitley, got the ball, and took off down the right wing. And suddenly the 3-5-2 showed its weakness. Gómez, in absolutely top form, blew by Spann and into the miles of open space. He caught Cox backpedaling, and turned him inside out. He crossed low for Saborio, marked closely by Andrews; the ball caromed off Andrews' foot and Saborio's leg, and into the net. A bit of good fortune, perhaps, but Gómez' sensational run deserved no less.
Down a goal on the road, on artificial turf, and facing a rampant opponent, T&T could easily have folded. But they didn't, mainly because they too came ready to attack. Spann, Whitley, and Chris Birchall all were getting forward, and soon the Warriors were getting their share of possession. But the attack lacked a leader. Latapy, stranded up front, didn't see the ball enough, and Yorke, having his least effective game in months, couldn't take charge. Still, at the end of the half came two great chances. First, Edwards beat Roy Miller on the right and pulled it back for Birchall just inside the area. He unloosed one of his patented high smashes, but José Francisco Porras was equal to the task, and pushed it over the bar. From the ensuing corner, Lawrence headed at the far post down to John, whose neat overhead kick found Andrews on the doorstep. But somehow Porras was in the right spot again.
The late T&T surge promised an exciting second half. But it never materialized, because five minutes in Wanchope won a doubtful free kick from 25 yards, and Walter Centeno rifled it over the wall and past a helpless Kelvin Jack. Beenhakker tried the same substitutions that had worked against Guatemala--Jason Scotland for Whitley (with Latapy at last dropping back) and later Scott Sealy for Spann--but no cigar. Up two goals, Costa Rica could concentrate on defense, which they did very well. Mauricio Solís, Jervis Drummond, Luis Marín, and Gilberto Martínez were masters of the pitch, and for the next half hour T&T were thoroughly stymied. Towards the end Costa Rica seemed to tire, and the Warriors finally managed a couple of chances, but Sealy and Scotland both fired wide.
Costa Rica had taken six points from two games, and were suddenly all but qualified. No one really knew how to take it. The fans, who by the way had done the unthinkable and failed to fill the Saprissa, were appreciative but somewhat short of delirious. The press, pessimistic for so long, lost all perspective--La Nación rated Gómez only a 7, and Wanchope an 8 based entirely on "entrega" (commitment), "despliegue," (display) and "honestidad" (honesty). Hey, this could start a trend. What if you rated, say, airline pilots based on commitment, display, and honesty? T&T wants to know, because their return flight had to make an emergency landing when smoke was detected in the cabin. Even in fifth place, it helps to get home safe.
WHERE WE STAND NOW
Let's see. USA and Mexico on top, Costa Rica a clear third…couldn't we have phoned this in nine months ago, and saved everyone a lot of trouble?
But let's give a shout to the USA. In retrospect their rise seems inevitable, but let's not forget that last cycle they barely made it out of the semifinals, and barely made it out of the Hexagonal. The 2:0 win over Mexico in Korea was regarded by many as a fluke, but since then the Yanks have consistently excelled when it counted. They've earned their place at the top. Unless you count 1934, it's the first time the USA has qualified ahead of the rest of CONCACAF. Mexico may be their equal, and there's no reason the Tri can't outstrip them in Germany, but the stars and stripes deserve regional honors this time around.
Costa Rica remains a bit of an enigma. It's much the same team as four years ago (with the key absence of playmaker Wílmer López), but they don't have the same fire. Guimaraes has pleaded patience, and the team seems to have come round a bit recently. Certainly the goals have been high quality. And if in the early games they needed a bit of luck, so what? At this level everyone needs some luck to succeed. The standings are absolutely correct. They're the third-best team, and that means they go to Germany. At this point in the process you can't ask for anything more. After all, the USA and Mexico stumbled in last time out, and look what happened.
We've already talked a lot about Panama in this space. It's a real shame they went so meekly at the end. You expect to lose at the Azteca, but 0:5 isn't the legacy you want to leave. Let's see what happens in round 9, home to T&T, where they can play the spoiler's role. If Cheché can get them ready to rage one more time, they may yet wind up feeling good about themselves.
That leaves Guatemala and Trinidad & Tobago, in the mad and marvelous race for fourth place. T&T always gives the effort, rarely gets the results. Guatemala can redeem hours of failure with a moment's brilliance, and ruin hours of good play with a sudden nightmare. What's a football handicapper to do?
Look at the schedule, I guess. Guatemala has a one-point advantage plus the tiebreaker in hand. I assume they'll lose in round 9 at Mexico. T&T has to go for the win in round 9 at Panama, since they can't expect more than a point home to Mexico in round 10. Guatemala's final game is home to Costa Rica, probably against the second-stringers, so they're at least an even bet for a win.
So OK, here's my prediction. In round 9, Guatemala will lose at Mexico and T&T will win at Panama. In round 10, in Port-of-Spain, a Dennis Lawrence header off a corner in the dying moments will get T&T a draw against Mexico. That means Guatemala will need to beat Costa Rica. In the 93rd minute, with the score 1:1, Gonzalo Romero will pass to Edwin Villatoro, who will turn and feed Fredy Thompson 8 yards from goal. He'll make a quick move to his left, then to his right, and shoot--and all the lights in the stadium will go out. No one will know if the ball went in. The teams will appeal to FIFA, who will order replays of all 30 games of the Hexagonal, every game Uzbekistan has ever played, and the 1966 Final between England and West Germany. And we'll start all over again…
