About: MEXICO 5 - USA 0

This blog is a testament to the 2009 CONCACAF Gold Cup Final. The match was played between Mexico and USA at Giants Stadium on July 26, 2009 in front of 79,000+ fans. Mexico demolished USA by a score of five-nil (cinco a cero).

The rivalry could be felt as I approached the stadium from I-95. The tailgate party was in full swing upon my arrival to the parking lot, and I was more than ready to join the festivities with some Tequila Don Julio Añejo and some cold Modelo Especial.

As I got in line to enter the stadium the intensity increased. Fans from both sides were cheering for their teams, each side drowning out the other.

Once inside, the stadium was rocking. I had seats in section 112, which is just left of midfield. I sat next to several USA fans that had traveled from Ohio and kept insisting that we would witness another repeat performce of Columbus.

"Not today, Gringo".

I will let the final score speak for itself.


Here are the five goals:

(56') Gerardo Torrado: MEX 1 - USA 0

(62') Giovani Dos Santos: MEX 2 - USA 0

(67') Carlos Vela: MEX 3 - USA 0

(79') José Antonio Castro: MEX 4 - USA 0

(90') Guillermo Franco MEX 5 - USA 0

Gerardo Torrado (56') MEX 1 - USA 0

Mexico's attack started to solidify after the break when Carlos Vela replaced Alberto Medina. The combination of Dos Santos, Vela, and Sabah on the attack created several opportunities.

Vela fed Dos Santos a nice pass in the box but got tripped up by US defender Jay Heap. The Jamaican referee correctly pointed to the spot.

Gerardo Torrado confidently converted the penalty with a powerful shot down the middle. This was only a hint of things to come.

MEX 1 - USA 0

Giovani Dos Santos (62') MEX 2 - USA 0

By now, Mexico's offense was in full gear but the finishing was not there. I remember there were at least three missed opportunities in front of the goal. For a second I thought that the ghosts of the Tri were back to haunt them.

As I said earlier, "Not today".

Torrado made a great pass to Vela down the left flank, who had acres of space and took it into the box. Vela was unable to shoot but dished it to Sabah instead, however Sabah could only produce a weak shot that was easily blocked.

Luckily for Sabah, Giovani Dos Santos picked up the rebound in front of goal and put it away with his left foot.

This was a great tournament for Dos Santos and he was appropriately named the tournament MVP. In this particular game, his contributions were outstanding and he took his game to a new level. I expect that we'll be seeing more goals from Gio with El Tri.

MEX 2 - USA 0

Carlos Vela (67') MEX 3 - USA 0

Dos Santos once again found space in midfield and, once again, ran straight at the US defense. He slotted a perfect pass to Vela in the box. Vela finished with a beautiful and precise chip into the right post. He left the US goalie and two defenders lying there on the pitch.

Vela's smile during the celebration with Dos Santos is priceless. It reminds me when these two were crowned FIFA U-17 Champions in 2005.

This is Vela's trademark chip shot, he has made several goals like this with Arsenal. This gets my vote for the goal of the tournament.

MEX 3 - USA 0

José Antonio Castro (79') MEX 4 - USA 0

Once again Vela found space in the middle and took it straight to the US defense. Castro timed his run perfectly to beat the offside trap. Castro was running left but expertly shot a slow-roller to the right, leaving the US goalkeeper no chance.

The goal celebration shows how much fun Mexico was having at this point. By now Giants Stadium was bursting at the seams and turned into a reventon for the fans of El Tri.

This was also the point where most US fans started heading for the parking lot, to the chants of Steam's "Na Na Na Na / Hey Hey, Good Bye".

MEX 4 - USA 0

Guillermo Franco (90') MEX 5 - USA 0

After the fourth goal was scored, a chant for CINCO! began through the crowd. While some of my American friends think that Mexico was "running up the score", I saw it as another clear indicator that Mexico was determined to win this game.

Mexico could have easily held the ball after the second or third goal, but instead they decided to continue to attack. You can't blame a team for that. Bob Bradley should have recognized this lesson after Brazil scored three (four, really) goals in 45 minutes in the Confederations Cup final.

Besides, if the tables were turned I seriously doubt that the US team would've held back scoring goals against Mexico.

Mexico took advantage of the wide open flank on the left all day long. This time Fausto Pinto received the pass and fed it to Guillermo Franco. With three US defenders nearby, Franco momentarily held the ball outside of the area. Not a second later he unleashed a powerful shot into the left corner of the net.

This goal really sums up the poor performance of the US defense that day. I can just imagine them praying for that final whistle to blow.

MEX 5 - USA 0