On Concacaf
Last night’s 2-0 win by the USMNT over Mexico and upcoming CONCACAF events led to a conversation with a friend over the value of CONCACAF.
CONCACAF is not as strong as other federations. Everyone knows that. However, the thought that it is a joke should be re-examined.
There are a lot of soccer snobs in this country. There are those that view Europe as the be all and end all of soccer and refuse to watch or support anything that doesn’t originate from the big leagues of Europe. I will agree that European soccer is likely the best overall, and given the financial strength of the tops leagues, the top players tend to migrate there from all over the world. But, that does not mean soccer in this hemisphere is not worth watching.
20 years ago CONCACAF was a joke. There was nothing like a true regional championship. There was little in the way of finances outside of Mexico driving any of the countries to success internationally. Mexico was trying to get into COMNEBOL, there was nothing on the radar to restart true pro soccer in the US, and the Canadian Soccer League was in its first season.
Since then, The USA has hosted a World Cup, qualified for every other one, and made the quarterfinals in 02. MLS has gone through growing pains but steadily emerged as a solid league with players coveted by the major powers. Whereas nothing was once on television, we have a nearly gluttonous supply of national, regional, and international soccer regularly to watch. Even CONCACAF club and country internationals are available on cable in the form of Champions Cup and Gold Cup matches.
The level of play has risen steadily. Mexico asked for the Gold Cup, got it, and now that’s not good enough for it either. This is a classic case of getting what you ask for when you really don’t want it, but are trying to look reasonable. Mexico will never be happy until it gets out of CONCACAF and into COMNEBOL or forces a merger. The CONCACAF Champions Cup may not be the Copa Libertadores, but given that the winner now gets the World Club Cup spot, I cannot imagine anything other than a sharp rise in play in the works.
World Cup Qualifying is brutal in this region. Where many of these countries are hardly powers, they are impressive and difficult on their home soil. I often wonder how many points from a series of qualifiers a European power would get playing in San Salvador, Tegucigalpa, Mexico City, Kingston, and San Jose. The simple truth is that although the USMNT has become a dominant team in this region, those matches will be brutal because those teams have improved.
I don’t think soccer fans should watch it just to watch it and therefore support mediocrity, but it is not the joke it once was. It would be nice for the Eurosnobs to recognize that.
Picture on this posting is from WC94 - USA 2 Colombia 1, Rose Bowl
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