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Davis: Top 10 U.S.-Mexico Rivalry Quotes
Goal.com's Noah Davis offers up 10 of his favorite quotes surrounding the United States-Mexico rivalry.
Jan 30, 2009 5:53:30 PM
By Noah Davis
In less than two weeks, the United States and Mexico will meet in Columbus, Ohio for yet another epic match in international soccer's best rivalry. (More on this in a column next week.) Throughout the years, the level of intensity on the field has been matched only by the wonderful sound bites of it.
These are two squads that dislike each other, and -- lucky us -- the war of words often spilled over into the press. Goal.com has scoured the Internet to bring you 10 of our favorite quotes from players involved in the rivalry. We had to limit ourselves to one quote per person, otherwise Eric "[In Azteca] I once saw Cobi Jones cough up something that looked like a brownie" Wynalda and Landon " I clearly, absolutely, desperately want to beat them" Donovan would fill up the entire article. Now on with the words, because, of course, with great rivalries come great quotes.
"Mexico is different,.. of all our games, this is the one where you most want to be on the field... You fight to even be on the bench."
-- Claudio Reyna
"No matter how many time you beat them it's always 'whose the best team in CONCACAF'. Why don't you look at the results? It's pretty clear. That's why they're talking and say what they do, because they can't do it on the field. That bothers them. That being said, all it takes is one result and they're going to run their mouths until the cows come home."
-- Landon Donovan
"The first thing I was thinking of when the ball was coming in the air was that I'd had a couple of shots in the El Salvador game that were the same as that one. I was just looking to get good contact on the ball and send it toward the goal. I knew as soon as I hit it that it was going in. It felt great."
-- Benny Feilhaber, after scoring on a brilliant, tournament-winning volley in the United States' 2-1 2007 Goal Cup victory.
"When you look at us and Mexico, I have no problem at all with saying I hate them. I hate and love to play them. Mexico's always been our biggest rival... Once I step on the field, I hate 'em. Nowhere is it written that I have to say I like them. That's just the way it is."
-- Eric Wynalda (He later claimed he was misquoted and actually said, "My comment was 'I hate to lose against Mexico and love to beat them.'"
"The moment I'll remember most is when Rafael Márquez took out his aggression on me [In the 88th minute, with the game out of reach, the Mexican captain plowed into Jones with a deliberate high kick and a head-butt]. He knew what the outcome was going to be and he decided to take it out on anybody who was around him. We were the better team that day and he knew it.
-- Cobi Jones, talking about the U.S.'s 2-0 victory over Mexico in the 2002 World Cup
"They were a little opportunistic and stayed in their own end for the majority of the match, but they did beat us. Considering the tactics that they utilized, I think that is the credit I would give them considering the fact that on the field, they were not superior to us."
-- Rafael Marquez, after the 2002 World Cup match
"Going into that stadium and getting a tie was phenomenal... That was the best we have played as a team being a man down. We knew we were doing a good job when we started knocking the ball around and the Mexican crowd was cheering 'Ole, Ole!!' That day, we left with the attitude that we were back in it again."
-- Marcelo Balboa, remembering the 0-0 tie in Azteca
"I know most of you don't appreciate it, but Mexico City is a lopsided advantage for the Mexicans because of the altitude. It makes it a completely different game. We know that when we play them anywhere else, we can beat them. We proved that tonight."
-- Bruce Arena, after qualifying for the 2006 World Cup with a victory over Mexico
"We can beat the U.S. playing exactly like we did today. If we play like we did today, we will win a number of games. Tonight we had a number of opportunities that we couldn't convert and their goalkeeper was lucky on a number of occasions in which the ball landed right into his hands."
-- Oswaldo Sanchez, after the 2-0 loss that let the U.S. qualify
"We have a lot of respect for them and what they can do. When we watch Barcelona and see Gio, we understand he is a talented player. But I think they appreciate we have some talented young guys as well, although perhaps they don't say it that much."
-- Bob Bradley
Noah Davis covers the United States National Team for Goal.com.
In less than two weeks, the United States and Mexico will meet in Columbus, Ohio for yet another epic match in international soccer's best rivalry. (More on this in a column next week.) Throughout the years, the level of intensity on the field has been matched only by the wonderful sound bites of it.
These are two squads that dislike each other, and -- lucky us -- the war of words often spilled over into the press. Goal.com has scoured the Internet to bring you 10 of our favorite quotes from players involved in the rivalry. We had to limit ourselves to one quote per person, otherwise Eric "[In Azteca] I once saw Cobi Jones cough up something that looked like a brownie" Wynalda and Landon " I clearly, absolutely, desperately want to beat them" Donovan would fill up the entire article. Now on with the words, because, of course, with great rivalries come great quotes.
"Mexico is different,.. of all our games, this is the one where you most want to be on the field... You fight to even be on the bench."
-- Claudio Reyna
"No matter how many time you beat them it's always 'whose the best team in CONCACAF'. Why don't you look at the results? It's pretty clear. That's why they're talking and say what they do, because they can't do it on the field. That bothers them. That being said, all it takes is one result and they're going to run their mouths until the cows come home."
-- Landon Donovan
"The first thing I was thinking of when the ball was coming in the air was that I'd had a couple of shots in the El Salvador game that were the same as that one. I was just looking to get good contact on the ball and send it toward the goal. I knew as soon as I hit it that it was going in. It felt great."
-- Benny Feilhaber, after scoring on a brilliant, tournament-winning volley in the United States' 2-1 2007 Goal Cup victory.
"When you look at us and Mexico, I have no problem at all with saying I hate them. I hate and love to play them. Mexico's always been our biggest rival... Once I step on the field, I hate 'em. Nowhere is it written that I have to say I like them. That's just the way it is."
-- Eric Wynalda (He later claimed he was misquoted and actually said, "My comment was 'I hate to lose against Mexico and love to beat them.'"
"The moment I'll remember most is when Rafael Márquez took out his aggression on me [In the 88th minute, with the game out of reach, the Mexican captain plowed into Jones with a deliberate high kick and a head-butt]. He knew what the outcome was going to be and he decided to take it out on anybody who was around him. We were the better team that day and he knew it.
-- Cobi Jones, talking about the U.S.'s 2-0 victory over Mexico in the 2002 World Cup
"They were a little opportunistic and stayed in their own end for the majority of the match, but they did beat us. Considering the tactics that they utilized, I think that is the credit I would give them considering the fact that on the field, they were not superior to us."
-- Rafael Marquez, after the 2002 World Cup match
"Going into that stadium and getting a tie was phenomenal... That was the best we have played as a team being a man down. We knew we were doing a good job when we started knocking the ball around and the Mexican crowd was cheering 'Ole, Ole!!' That day, we left with the attitude that we were back in it again."
-- Marcelo Balboa, remembering the 0-0 tie in Azteca
"I know most of you don't appreciate it, but Mexico City is a lopsided advantage for the Mexicans because of the altitude. It makes it a completely different game. We know that when we play them anywhere else, we can beat them. We proved that tonight."
-- Bruce Arena, after qualifying for the 2006 World Cup with a victory over Mexico
"We can beat the U.S. playing exactly like we did today. If we play like we did today, we will win a number of games. Tonight we had a number of opportunities that we couldn't convert and their goalkeeper was lucky on a number of occasions in which the ball landed right into his hands."
-- Oswaldo Sanchez, after the 2-0 loss that let the U.S. qualify
"We have a lot of respect for them and what they can do. When we watch Barcelona and see Gio, we understand he is a talented player. But I think they appreciate we have some talented young guys as well, although perhaps they don't say it that much."
-- Bob Bradley
Noah Davis covers the United States National Team for Goal.com.
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