http://www.planetworldcup.com/CUPS/2006/concacaf_wrapup04.htmlPanama-Trinidad & Tobago
Match of the Day. Costa Rica was certain to qualify, Mexico certain to beat Guatemala. But this one could go either way. Could T&T, with everything at stake, get three points on the road? How great was the pride of the Panamanians? It was the match all true CONCACAF fans wanted to see.
Which meant, of course, it was the one they couldn’t. Unless you lived in Trinidad & Tobago yourself, no TV, not live, not tape, not Internet. Your humble correspondent opted for the T&T radio broadcast, with announcers in a studio calling the game from a live feed. Which would have been OK, if they hadn’t been in a parallel universe. They kept announcing plays by Felipe Baloy (suspended, not in the stadium) and Luís Tejada (with his club in the United Arab Emirates, not even in the same country). And they repeatedly named such noted Panamanians as Walter Centeno and Rónald Gómez, who at that moment were as usual playing up north for Costa Rica. It was almost a relief when the feed cut out near the end of the first half--eventually we would have heard about DaMarcus Beasley and Jared Borgetti, if not actually David Beckham.
But in a way you could hardly blame them. The Panama team on the pitch was unrecognizable. Out of the competition and looking to experiment, they started only four regulars: Jaime Penedo, Luís Moreno, Gabriel Gómez, and Julio Medina. The rest were youngsters, and I mean youngsters. Gabriel Torres, currently fourth-leading scorer in the local league, is sixteen years old. They were building sandboxes on the touchlines for the team to warm up in.
All this was tailor-made for T&T, who absolutely needed a win. Unfortunately, before the game, they had run into accomodation problems: several Panama hotels who had agreed to take them suddenly wouldn’t. Gamesmanship? Nope--the whole town was booked for the Nineteenth Latin American Poultry Farmers Conference. I’m not making that up; you can find the conference program in Spanish right here. It looks pretty interesting, with papers like “The Egg, Unbeatable Source of Nutrients--New Discoveries,” “The Eight Most Frequent Questions On Ventilation For Chickens,” and my favorite, “Which Came First, the Chicken, the Egg, or the Dély Valdés Brothers?”
Eventually the team found a hotel, even if they had to pick feathers out of the sinks. And with everyone except Brent Sancho healthy, even a town full of manic poultry farmers would find them tough to beat. But there was one problem: Leo Beenhakker insisted on playing Russell Latapy up front again. I suppose we can’t expect him to read Planet World Cup, but after all, he’s right there on the sideline watching the games. Don’t they have contact lenses in Holland? Once more, slowly: unless Latapy’s in midfield, the attack doesn’t function.
And so, in the first half, T&T had little but the longball and set pieces. Their best chance from open play came when Latapy dropped back to feed Yorke, whose blistering shot was turned aside by Penedo. Meanwhile Panama’s toddlers were toddling in, out, and all around, controlling midfield, producing some nice passing combinations, putting the pressure on. Alas, when it came to the finish, they were short a few teddy bears. Shots from all angles went wide. At one point, with an absolutely free header from only 8 yards, Torres chose instead to head to a teammate. Put it down to immaturity--but remember that in earlier games the adults had missed lots of chances themselves.
At the interval Beenhakker must have picked up some new bifocals, because he had Latapy drop back a bit, and T&T began to look more dangerous. But it wasn’t until the 61st minute that he figured out the eye chart. He sent on Kenwyne Jones, a true striker, and put Latapy back where he belonged. And in the very next minute, Penedo drove a long goal kick, and Dennis Lawrence headed powerfully to Stern John, who dropped it back for Latapy, playing MIDFIELD. Latapy sent a pretty through ball for Jones, on a neat diagonal run. Jones collided with a defender, went down--but managed to push the ball to Stern John, who blasted a beauty of a left-footer past Penedo. The rest was mopping up. Panama gave it their all, but never seriously troubled Kelvin Jack; if Yorke and John hadn’t missed good chances, it could have been a rout.
It had been a fine effort for the pre-schoolers, particularly in the first half, and the press was properly appreciative. The real disappointment was the “crowd,” maybe only a couple of thousand die-hards, out-noised by T&T’s enthusiastic steel-banders. You know you’re in trouble when the fans prefer a poultry convention.
For the Warriors, a professional performance: nothing special, wobbly at times, but a vital win on the road. Most encouraging was John’s goal, a real striker’s goal; it showed again he might be able to deliver the goods when it counted. And maybe, just hopefully, just possibly, Leo had spotted exactly where to put the Little Magician. With Mexico only four days later, there was no time for an appointment with his optometrist.
Trinidad & Tobago-Mexico
Twenty months and 109 games came down to this: could Trinidad & Tobago beat Mexico in Port-of-Spain? They had done it back in 2000, in the WCQ semifinals, a late goal by Russell Latapy bringing home a 1:0 victory. Now they had the manpower advantage: with nothing to play for, Mexico had brought only a few regulars--although Guillermo Franco and Kikín Fonseca were still together up front. T&T were missing Silvio Spann via suspension, but were otherwise at full strength. And they had a mad red-clad Hasely Crawford crowd beating the drums behind them. But could they actually do it?
It helped that Beenhakker had figured out the Latapy factor. For the first time, he played a 4-5-1, with Stern John as lone striker. Behind John was a line of three, Latapy, Dwight Yorke, and Carlos Edwards. Latapy on the left wasn’t quite the same as Latapy in the middle, but he had full license to roam, and Yorke was in his optimum spot. One worry: at right back replacing Spann was Cyd Gray, who had been substandard at the Gold Cup. But Avery John, suspended against Panama, returned at left back, and the big men in defense, Marvin Andrews and Dennis Lawrence, were in their best form of the tournament.
The first part of the game was played underwater. Not literally, I suppose--although in CONCACAF you never know--but how else to explain the achingly slow play? T&T, understandably tentative, emerged for a dog paddle or two: Latapy dribbled a bit and occasionally tried a through ball, and some crosses came in for Stern John. But mostly they treaded water and watched the sea turtles race by.
Meanwhile Mexico were completely submerged, probably as a result of the Elcock Effect. Back in a 2000 qualifier, T&T’s Ansil Elcock put Cuauhtémoc Blanco out for 8 months with a horror tackle. Ever since, Mexico has openly acknowledged that they play extra-carefully against Caribbean teams, particularly on the road. T&T has always been more technical than physical, and that’s particularly true under Beenhakker, but don’t tell that to the Tri. Rodney Jack’s ugly tackle on Israel López at St. Vincent & the Grenadines this year did nothing to change their point of view.
And so we had 25 minutes of synchronized swimming. But all at once T&T picked up the pace, as if someone had heard the score from the Mateo Flores. On the half hour, Edwards, who makes his living racing up the right wing and getting in crosses, finally did his thing. The ball caromed off Carlos Morales and went out for a corner. Latapy sent it in low, Yorke tried an acrobatic kick--and referee José Pineda was pointing to the spot. Joel Huiqui, a powerful but not particularly agile defender, had dragged Stern John down in the area. Mexico hardly bothered to argue.
So who would take it? T&T hadn’t had a single penalty in the qualifiers, so there was no form book. Latapy was a logical choice, and so was Yorke. But the man who grabbed the ball and stepped up to the spot was none other than Stern John.
If you’ve followed the Stern Saga, you’ll know what this meant. T&T’s all-time leading scorer, he’d been in a horrendous prolonged slump over the course of the qualifiers. There was no end to the abuse from the fans. Somehow the coaches, first Bertille St. Clair, then Leo Beenhakker, had kept the faith, and a couple of months ago he burst out with the two late goals that beat Guatemala. But lots of people still weren’t convinced, and although he’d scored the winner at Panama, he’d missed a few chances as well. To claim the PK now was a courageous statement: I can do this, and I will.
He blew it. You’ve heard the phrase “telegraphed the shot”? He sent mass e-mails, personalized handwritten notes, and a flock of carrier pigeons. You could see it all the way from Guatemala City. José Corona dove to his left and saved easily. And Mexico awoke. A couple of minutes later the Tri took their very first shot of the game, a snapper from Jaime Lozano that Jack turned aside. Then Lozano, open in the area, headed Franco’s cross wide. And in the 38th minute, Luís Pérez slanted in from the right and passed to Franco, who side-footed back for Pérez, who found Lozano on the left at the top of the area. He spotted Kelvin Jack out of position and lifted a glorious chip into the far corner.
Bing-bang-bong, and Mexico were ahead. It had been so casual, so elegant, like flicking dust from your sleeve. This was pedigree. Shortly afterwards Fonseca just missed getting onto Lozano’s cross. You would have bet your life that T&T were done.
But sometimes desire, with a little luck, is stronger than pedigree. Less than a minute later Aurtis Whitley drove past Pérez on the left, moved inside, and cracked a heavy shot from 25 yards. It hit Corona’s right post and came straight out. John, in perfect position--a bit too perfect, it seemed--banged in the equalizer. Check the replay…slow it down…uh oh. Offside. A clear step behind the defense when Whitley shot. But the goal counted, and T&T weren’t about to look back. In the 45th minute John nearly broke away from Hugo Sánchez Guerrero in the area. In stoppage time Marvin Andrews came out of the back to blast a shot just over the bar. Mexico barely got into the locker room even.
Now 90 minutes had become 45. Kelvin Jack had injured himself on the Lozano goal and couldn’t continue, but that just meant Shaka Hislop, the more experienced keeper. Two minutes into the second half he made his mark, diving to the left to save Fonseca’s header.
The big question was how T&T, absolutely needing to score, would play it. All-out pressure, you’d figure. But no. They kept their shape, met Mexico in midfield, controlled the action, poured forward when they got the ball. Whitley in the middle and Latapy on the left made dangerous inroads. On the right Edwards was in top form, dribbling and getting in crosses. In the 55th minute a dazzling move by Latapy sent John through for a goal--but offside again, and they called it this time.
Mexico were being outplayed. T&T were quicker, more skilful, smarter, better. And when they got another piece of luck, they cashed it in like champs. In the 61st minute Whitley, having a tremendous game in attack, surged forward in the middle past Jaime Lozano, but with a comeback slide Lozano poked it free about 30 yards out. Israel López tried to clear, but the ball caromed off Whitley and bounced right to Stern John at the top of the area. He braced, pounced, drove a gorgeous left-footer into the far corner of the net. 2:1 to Trinidad & Tobago.
A half hour to go, to hold on against the CONCACAF giant. How many Mexico chances would T&T have to survive? The answer: none. The Tri never got close. The Warriors played them off the park. Eleven heroes, twelve including sub Densil Theobald. Everyone did remarkable things. But let’s mention three names in particular. First, Cyd Gray, right back. He was the suspect man, the supposed weak link. But he held off speedy substitute Alberto Medina the whole second half--it wasn’t always pretty, but he made every play. Second, Dennis Lawrence, central defender. Early in the qualifiers he had been a liability, even a disaster. But under Beenhakker he became a different player, composed and precise. In the final half hour he was letter-perfect, positioning, marking, heading, six foot seven inches of mastery. Third, Marvin Andrews, central defender. Less than a year ago he was facing a cruciate ligament injury that threatened his career. He defied the odds, refused surgery, and somehow managed to continue for club and country. When T&T most needed him, he was everywhere, bodying up to strikers, launching powerful tackles, and in a memorable sequence, striding commandingly all the way up the field to set up John, whose 84th minute shot for the clincher was somehow deflected off the post.
But let’s not forget the ultimate profile in perseverance, Stern John. Hated, reviled, cursed--even after the goals against Guatemala and Panama, not everyone believed in him. You don’t want to know what the fans were saying when he blew the penalty. (If you do, check the forum at socawarriors.net.) But then the tying goal--sure, he was offside, but reacted alertly on the rebound. And then the winning goal, with absolutely no hesitation. SMASH! There’s a striker for you. A few minutes later, with all the assurance of the great ones, he lifted a breathtaking 40-yard lob that only a magnificent leap by Corona kept out. He knew it was his night, and the Warriors’ night too.
T&T aren’t in the World Cup yet. They have to play Bahrain twice, and I have no clue what’ll happen. But this was a World Cup night. Some are saying Mexico weren’t fully focused, and they’re right. And some are pointing to the offside goal, and they’re right too. But put this down in your football diary, so 50 years from now there’ll be absolutely no doubt: Trinidad & Tobago deserved this victory. They were the better team. And when the better team wins, justice is done.
Wrap-up, Honors, and Stats
I’m exhausted. How about you? The Hexagonal, like most qualifying systems, is a marathon, but what makes it especially draining is that the teams are closely matched. No minnows here, no San Marinos or Andorras. Even Panama, who picked up only two points in ten games, played a lot of teams very tough. They could easily have beaten both Costa Rica and Guatemala, and they drew with Mexico on the merits. You just can’t take a break in the Hexagonal, not as a player or a fan.
Admittedly, as we suspected, the USA and Mexico had an easy time of it. Four years ago the tournament was much more competitive. But also as we suspected, elsewhere the battle was sensational. At the end Costa Rica finished a comfortable third, but they needed miracle wins against Panama and Guatemala in the first half of the competition to stay close. And the Guatemala-T&T battle for fourth, like their crucial showdown itself, went to the wire.
Let’s spend some time on Guatemala. T&T, after Beenhakker arrived anyway, was a solid team that went out, played their best, either won or lost, and had their feet on the ground. But Guatemala was a bunch of guys caught in a high wind. From game to game, even minute to minute, you had no clue what they’d do, and you had the feeling they didn’t either. They fell behind at Costa Rica, staged a marvelous rally, then lost on a last-second goal. They fell behind home to Panama, staged a marvelous rally, then won on a last-second goal. They had T&T beaten, and collapsed. They showed tremendous courage against Mexico in the first half, then got torn apart. In the finale with Costa Rica, they were both sublime and ridiculous. It was like a prime-time soap opera, only less believable.
Their obvious weakness was the defense, which imploded early and never recovered. But remember that starting striker Dwight Pezzarossi got injured early too, and missed virtually all of the last seven games. They never found a replacement. Even so, they had the inside track until those ten nightmare minutes in Port-of-Spain. Just as important as the two late T&T goals was the yellow card handed out to Carlos Ruiz. It meant he missed the following game, home to the USA. They got only a draw against the Yanks’ third string; if he had played, they might very well have won, and finished fourth.
As for Ramón Maradiaga, I feel for the guy. He’s a good man, and he did a great job bringing the team through the Group of Death in the semis. But you look at how he failed with Honduras four years ago, and you wonder. That team had more talent, but the same profile: unpredictable, disorganized on defense. Maybe it’s the way he coaches--and that’s not the way you qualify for the World Cup. He was fired after the final game, and you can’t say it was the wrong decision.
And now we come to a subject which I’d just as soon avoid. But if you cover CONCACAF football, you have to face it sometime: the Jack Warner factor. Jack Warner is a vice president of FIFA, and the president of CONCACAF. He’s also a very rich businessman who spends a lot of money supporting Trinidad & Tobago football. Whenever something good happens to T&T, people always wonder if Warner fixed it. And people are wondering now about the T&T-Mexico result. You can read the comments on any online forum in the region. Wire service stories had Mexican players denying they threw the game. The leading Guatemalan online newspaper ran an editorial with the headline “Warner Can’t Be Trusted.” One report said a Guatemalan journalist sent an abusive e-mail to Warner himself. On GolTV, a Latin American cable soccer network, commentators very clearly implied Warner had bought the refs, and maybe Mexico too.
Do I trust Warner? Of course not. I don’t trust anyone in FIFA. Would you? On the other hand, I don’t for a second believe that Mexico sold the game. That’s just not their way. Like any other team in that situation, they were worried about injuries and cards, and didn’t go the extra mile. That’s all.
The refs? Here’s the evidence:
1) A linesman allowed an offside goal.
2) According to the Spanish-language live telecast, the other linesman got his flag up late on Stern John’s second-half offside goal. The whistle did seem to come later than usual in such situations.
3) With ten minutes left, and T&T ahead, a Marvin Andrews tackle sent the ball out for what seemed like a clear corner kick. A goal kick was awarded instead. According to the Spanish-language live telecast, the linesman signaled the corner, but was overruled by referee José Pineda, who was at least 40 yards away. The replay confirmed it should have been a corner kick.
4) Pineda signaled for two minutes of extra time at the end of the game. T&T had possession deep in the Mexico end for the first minute and a half. As soon as Mexico got possession, he blew the whistle, 30 seconds early.
Decide for yourself. It doesn’t seem like much to me. I don’t think the fix was in, although number 3) was pretty bizarre. But refs can be influenced, and in CONCACAF it doesn’t take much to get people wondering.
And that’s the point. T&T fans naturally don’t like it when someone points the finger at Warner. And as I’ve said before, there’s absolutely no doubt T&T deserved to win this game. But--and let me state this very clearly--the man to blame for all the speculation is Warner himself. He’s president of CONCACAF, and an open financial supporter of the T&T team. Any way you slice it, that’s a conflict of interest. It’s great for T&T, and great for CONCACAF, that there’s a guy out there willing to pour so much money into football. But no man who actively supports a team should head the confederation. It’s that simple.
Warner doesn’t help his cause by the way he runs the show. The Hexagonal draw was a perfect example. It was held behind closed doors, and when the schedule came out, lo and behold, T&T had the perfect final game. The best time to get Mexico at home was in the last round, where they almost certainly would have nothing to play for. Was it fixed? I don’t know. But if the draw had been conducted openly--if CONCACAF’s procedures were even in the slightest transparent--we wouldn’t have to wonder. There’s only one way to show you’re honest, and that’s to act honestly.
Like I said, I don’t think the fix was in for T&T-Mexico. I don’t know about the Hexagonal draw. But one thing about which there’s no doubt: T&T deserved to make the playoffs. They were more consistent than Guatemala, at least after Beenhakker came in, and they beat Guatemala in the crucial game in September. As for the draw advantage: T&T may have had Mexico last, but Guatemala had their shot too, at home to a weakened USA. If they’d won instead of drawn, they’d be in the playoffs right now. The Warriors unquestionably earned it on the field, and, as CONCACAF boosters, we hope they kick the living daylights out of Bahrain. And we hope they do it in a manner that leaves no room for suspicion.
And now some Hexagonal honors:
Best Goal:
Luis Tejada’s bicycle kick against Mexico. Trap on the chest, bounce on the thigh, bounce on the foot, and boom. Has there ever been another one like it?
Honorable mentions (and very honorable they were):
Carlos Hernandez’ long-range volley vs. the USA
Carlos Ruiz’ bicycle kick vs. Costa Rica
Dennis Lawrence’s gallop vs. Panama
Fredy Garcia’s pirouette vs. Costa Rica
Russell Latapy’s solo twisty run vs. Guatemala
Jaime Lozano’s chip vs. T&T
DaMarcus Beasley’s set-piece finish vs. Mexico
Best Game:
Guatemala 2:1 Panama, with a breathtaking second half decided by Gonzalo Romero’s last-second goal.
Worst Game:
Panama 0:0 Guatemala, an opening round megasnooze.
Best XI:
I’ve picked 4 defenders, 4 midfielders, and 2 strikers, but they don’t fit into a true 4-4-2. There was no outstanding fullback or true defensive midfielder in the competition. So I just picked the best performers.
Keeper:
Kasey Keller (USA). Rolled back the years with some memorable performances, including a classic against Costa Rica.
Defenders:
Rafael Márquez (Mexico). Showed his class in both defense and midfield. Still the best defender in the region.
Carlos Salcido (Mexico). The revelation of the Hexagonal, a young defender with strength, skill, and intelligence.
Luís Marín (Costa Rica). The old man was as good as ever, providing leadership and fine all-around play.
Gilberto Martínez (Costa Rica). Started slow, but by the end was living up to his Italian reputation. Quick, tough, and technical.
Midfielders:
Julio Medina (Panama). His team didn’t score much, but the left-footed number 10 showed he was a natural playmaker.
Dwight Yorke (Trinidad & Tobago). The flamboyant one surprised by doing effective grunt work day in and day out.
Landon Donovan (USA). On and off, as usual, but when in form showed he was the best attacking midfielder in the region.
Jaime Lozano (Mexico). A quiet player who did almost everything right. A rare natural scorer from the wingback position. Didn’t play every game, but that was LaVolpe’s fault, not his.
Strikers:
Jared Borgetti (Mexico). Had been looking old in league play, but kept his reputation as the region’s classic centerforward.
Carlos Ruiz (Guatemala). Scorer, creator, inspiration, the most irreplaceable man in the tournament.
And, of course, some Hexagonal stats!
In 30 matches there were only two penalty kick goals, and both occurred in the same game, Costa Rica-Panama.
The teams scored 83 goals combined, compared to 73 in 2002 and 76 in 1998.
There were only 4 draws in 30 matches, compared to 6 in 2002 and an amazing 13 in 1998.
Panama scored only 4 goals and allowed 21, both Hexagonal records.
The USA allowed only 6 goals, a Hexagonal record.
Stern John (!) and Kikín Fonseca topped the scoring table with 6 goals each.
Trinidad & Tobago had the most unbalanced scoring: Stern John scored 60 percent of his team’s goals.
Costa Rica had the most balanced scoring, with 6 players with two or more goals: Paulo Wanchope, Roy Myrie, Álvaro Saborio, Carlos Hernández, Rónald Gómez, Walter Centeno.
Mexico, USA, and Guatemala all had 9 different players who scored at least one goal.
Guatemala, who finished fifth, had as many goals as the USA, who finished first.
