'It's a process' - Rafa Marquez renews USMNT rivalry from the touchline as Mexico fans dare to believe again

The energy around his hiring was clear Tuesday night, a short train ride from the center of New York. Sombreros lined the streets. So did bucket hats, knockoff jerseys, and cheap churros. This is the wonderful thing about the walk from the PATH Stattion to Sports Illustrated Stadium. It feels like a traditional soccer stroll - narrow, one-way, cramped. The gaggle of bodies brings about a tasteful sort of tension. Anticipation builds with every step, and, on days like Tuesday, is only compounded by the expectation and optimism that comes with a new era.

It has, indeed, been rather bleak for a while.

"Pre-COVID, it was kind of slow. I was looking forward to games, but I wasn't looking forward to wins," one fan told GOAL.

But there's more excitement about this team now. Yes, Marquez is part of that.

"It's the aura. It's his personality of knowing more about the game. He's come from the ground [of the national team] all the way up," a fan said.

His resume reflects much of the same. Marquez was an assistant for two years under Aguirre, and held positions in youth football before - namely for Barca's B team. He has seen what the best of youth talent looks like - and has learned a thing or two about letting it blossom in full.

“I think there is a very good foundation. There are young players and experienced players who I believe will be important during this transition period,” Marquez said after his appointment was confirmed. “Now is not the time to start from scratch, but to accelerate.

It's the kind of messaging fans want to hear, too.

"We do expect wins, but it's a process. It's a process. Sometimes it's 'this system worked. This individual worked. This one didn't.' You've got to trust the process," Richard 'Coronel' Guel, head of the Pancho Villa's Army (PVA) fan group, told GOAL.

Part of the appeal here is the willingness to let the kids play. Gilberto Mora is the current hope of Mexican soccer. These guys tend to crop up a lot - a new wonderkid ready to prove himself and turn the program around. But Mora, who started for Xolos as a 15-year-old and scored a wonderful goal against Colombia last week, might yet be the real deal.

"He's going to be great. He's going for it all. He's playing with his heart, and that shows. And he's got great technique, as well. It's just a win-win for us," Eliza, an Atlanta-based PVA member, told GOAL.

Others are a little more cautious.

"There's always one shining bright star that is going to be our Ronaldo or our Pele. There's a lot of Mexican young stars that come through, and they have a flash of brilliance, and right away we hang our hat on that, like 'yes, we're gonna win. This is the guy!' And then they don't produce. But I think that there's a lot more entailed with that because obviously football is a team sport. There's 11 players," Guel said.

Yet Mora's quality cannot be doubted. Neither can the promise around him. Obed Vargas, 21, and now of Atletico Madrid, looks like a classic defensive midfielder who could let the teenager get forward.

Marquez called six teenagers into his first Mexico squad. A further 11 are under 25. He handed debuts to three players Tuesday night, and gave two others their first start in a Mexico shirt. Not a single player retained a place in the side from a 1-1 draw with Colombia a few days before.

Yet, perhaps more promisingly, there was a clear playing style developing. Isaias Violante looks like a livewire on the right - and torched the Peruvian defense on a number of occasions. This isn't Barca B-lite. Marquez's team might threaten more in transition than dominate the ball for 90 minutes. That's not necessarily a bad thing, though.

Yet for all of the good vibes following the World Cup, there is still a divide between the more optimistic and the openly vitriolic Mexican fans. An agreeable 1-1 draw with Colombia - a World Cup dark horse just a few months ago - was met with anger from some corners of social media.

"We follow all the blogs and we follow all the reports and all the sports tabloids and all that stuff. And then you know, just like everyone else, like I know Argentina does, Spain does. They all sit there on their panel and they argue, and that's kind of part of their job," Guel said.

Guel, whose PVA Membership extends to over 30 states and tens of thousands of members, thinks that American fans tend to be a little bit kinder in their view of the team.

"For a Mexican fan that goes to see them here in the States, this is as good as it gets for us. We want to be back home. We miss Mexico so much, and when the team comes here it's a big deal because we get a chance to celebrate our culture. We get a chance to wear our colors, our flags. Even though we still do it throughout the year, it's something different," Guel said.

Others at the game reflected his sentiment.

"Of course, it's different, but it's basically the same thing. You're not only going with your neighbors, but you're also going with other people from other countries that want to root for Mexico, so they become our family, our neighbors. Even though they're from far away. They're our family," one fan said.

Another argued that the U.S. is simply a better place to watch the Mexican National team.

"Here, I guess we're more acceptable. It doesn't really matter who your Mexican team is, or if you go for a European team or whatever. When you say you're Mexican, you're Mexican," they said.

And that was perhaps the resounding message from Tuesday night.

El Tri's much-changed lineup was rendered relatively ineffective by Peru. There were some interesting attacking ideas, without much impact. Peru were good value for their goal, scored just before half-time. Mexico were better value for theirs, which came just after the break. Mora was wrapped in cotton wool. Julian Quinones, the breakout star of the World Cup, was left out of the squad due to injury. Marquez is beta-testing, and this was a fixture that showed him that there's plenty to work with - but this might be a long process.

After full time, he reiterated as much.

"I wanted to see players in these types of games and situations. It's part of the process," Marquez said in his post-match news conference. "I want to see young players to see their potential, see what they need to keep developing. There obviously are things to improve with only a bit of time to have improved, but I'm happy and satisfied, but we have to keep working."

On paper, Mexico should win these games. Had this been competitive, had it really counted for something, a 1-1 draw against the 50th-best team in the world would not be accepted. But here, in New Jersey, far, far removed from the clamor and the catastrophizing of Mexico, it was progress. The drums thumped and thudded all game. The wave started in the third minute and lasted until the 90th. Even as the game ground to a halt late on, every single fan stayed in their seat.

This wasn't perfect. It wasn't even all that good. But it was hope. Now comes the U.S., and a rivalry that tends to leave rather less room for patience, even in a friendly. Marquez knows that better than most. He spent years giving the Americans a reason to dread facing him. Beating them in his first rivalry match as manager would give these fans an early reason to believe that the process is working.