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| In Snowstorm, U.S. Finds Remedy For a Cold Spell | In Snowstorm, U.S. Finds Remedy For a Cold Spell |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| They continued the soccer match during a snowstorm Friday night near Denver for a very good reason. | They continued the soccer match during a snowstorm Friday night near Denver for a very good reason. |
| They had to. The players for the United States and Costa Rica, assembled from all over the soccer diaspora, were not likely to be in the same part of this country anytime soon. Play two games around Sept. 6 when the United States travels to Costa Rica for the return match? Buena suerte. Good luck. Not with the blend of missiles and insults that fly when the Yanks go on the road in the Americas. | |
| Besides, that is why Friday’s match, an absolutely crucial 1-0 victory for the United States, was placed in Commerce City, Colo. — to give the Americans an edge. That is the same reason Honduras scheduled its previous match with the United States in the afternoon sunshine when the temperature was over 100 (and the United States wilted). | Besides, that is why Friday’s match, an absolutely crucial 1-0 victory for the United States, was placed in Commerce City, Colo. — to give the Americans an edge. That is the same reason Honduras scheduled its previous match with the United States in the afternoon sunshine when the temperature was over 100 (and the United States wilted). |
| Such is the gamesmanship of the final qualifying round for the 2014 World Cup, the endurance test known as the Hexagonal, the dreaded Hex. The Americans did not call in the snowstorm. Coach Jurgen Klinsmann is not a snow-maker. However, Klinsi was, despite the criticism collecting around him, a genius for the night, installing the ancient DaMarcus Beasley at left back, not his position. Beasley responded with a gallant and versatile game that tilted the advantage far more than the elements did. | Such is the gamesmanship of the final qualifying round for the 2014 World Cup, the endurance test known as the Hexagonal, the dreaded Hex. The Americans did not call in the snowstorm. Coach Jurgen Klinsmann is not a snow-maker. However, Klinsi was, despite the criticism collecting around him, a genius for the night, installing the ancient DaMarcus Beasley at left back, not his position. Beasley responded with a gallant and versatile game that tilted the advantage far more than the elements did. |
| The snow made it difficult to play normal soccer, whatever that is. The grounds crew kept the most vital lines cleared, the players adjusted, and nobody was hurt. If there had been lightning, the officials would have called it off, but the snow was only going to collect over the foreseeable hours. Play on. | The snow made it difficult to play normal soccer, whatever that is. The grounds crew kept the most vital lines cleared, the players adjusted, and nobody was hurt. If there had been lightning, the officials would have called it off, but the snow was only going to collect over the foreseeable hours. Play on. |
| The referee and other officials showed good sense in calling in the shovels now and then but not sending the players to the lockers. The players competed like the pragmatic athletes they are. They shortened their steps, dug in a little, tried not to make mistakes. Clint Dempsey showed up for a loose-ball goal in the 16th minute and the fans, all 19,374 of them, a sellout, cheered. A friend of mine who was there, lucky guy, e-mailed me, calling the match epic. It was epic on the tube, too. | The referee and other officials showed good sense in calling in the shovels now and then but not sending the players to the lockers. The players competed like the pragmatic athletes they are. They shortened their steps, dug in a little, tried not to make mistakes. Clint Dempsey showed up for a loose-ball goal in the 16th minute and the fans, all 19,374 of them, a sellout, cheered. A friend of mine who was there, lucky guy, e-mailed me, calling the match epic. It was epic on the tube, too. |
| The Americans get to stay in altitude in the friendly confines of Estadio Azteca in Mexico City on Tuesday. Then the players go back to their clubs all over the Americas and Europe. Hasta la vista, Sept. 6, somewhere in Costa Rica. It won’t be snowing, but one can never be sure what else might be flying. | The Americans get to stay in altitude in the friendly confines of Estadio Azteca in Mexico City on Tuesday. Then the players go back to their clubs all over the Americas and Europe. Hasta la vista, Sept. 6, somewhere in Costa Rica. It won’t be snowing, but one can never be sure what else might be flying. |
| The setting, snow aside, was part of the American federation’s game plan never to play a qualifying match where Costa Ricans or Mexicans or Hondurans can find tickets. They are great fans who love their teams and their sport, and can tilt the advantage. The United States learned that lesson in 1985 when a couple of thousand Costa Rican fans showed up for a qualifier down the coast from Los Angeles, and the United States was eliminated. | The setting, snow aside, was part of the American federation’s game plan never to play a qualifying match where Costa Ricans or Mexicans or Hondurans can find tickets. They are great fans who love their teams and their sport, and can tilt the advantage. The United States learned that lesson in 1985 when a couple of thousand Costa Rican fans showed up for a qualifier down the coast from Los Angeles, and the United States was eliminated. |
| This is why the Yanks play mostly in Columbus, Ohio, and outside Denver and Kansas City, Mo., and Salt Lake City, and try to control the sale of tickets. The smart and passionate Latin fans show up anyway, one of the charms of the Hex. The falling snow blended the outfits of the supporters Friday. | This is why the Yanks play mostly in Columbus, Ohio, and outside Denver and Kansas City, Mo., and Salt Lake City, and try to control the sale of tickets. The smart and passionate Latin fans show up anyway, one of the charms of the Hex. The falling snow blended the outfits of the supporters Friday. |
| By any measure, the United States was home, trailed by recent comments in The Sporting News that Klinsmann had been erratic in tactics and personnel decisions. Whatever one thinks of anonymous quotations, I suspect that some players, being players, feel that way. It is also true that the United States has sustained injuries in a talent pool that is not getting any bigger or better a decade past the golden age of the 2002 World Cup. | By any measure, the United States was home, trailed by recent comments in The Sporting News that Klinsmann had been erratic in tactics and personnel decisions. Whatever one thinks of anonymous quotations, I suspect that some players, being players, feel that way. It is also true that the United States has sustained injuries in a talent pool that is not getting any bigger or better a decade past the golden age of the 2002 World Cup. |
| Klinsmann can silence much of the current criticism by qualifying. That’s how it works. He had a terrific night Friday when he mobilized Beasley, who has been playing for the national team every year since 2001 but whose form has been up and down in recent years, and who was part of that team that stunned Mexico and nearly beat Germany in the 2002 World Cup. (Beasley always opens the field; he came on in the 80th minute in one of Bob Bradley’s great moves just before the Americans’ goal against Algeria in the 91st minute in the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.) | Klinsmann can silence much of the current criticism by qualifying. That’s how it works. He had a terrific night Friday when he mobilized Beasley, who has been playing for the national team every year since 2001 but whose form has been up and down in recent years, and who was part of that team that stunned Mexico and nearly beat Germany in the 2002 World Cup. (Beasley always opens the field; he came on in the 80th minute in one of Bob Bradley’s great moves just before the Americans’ goal against Algeria in the 91st minute in the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.) |
| Beasley now plays for Puebla in the Mexican league. With his left foot, he is a natural as a midfielder, but he has always played the entire field — a footballer, the highest compliment in this sport. | Beasley now plays for Puebla in the Mexican league. With his left foot, he is a natural as a midfielder, but he has always played the entire field — a footballer, the highest compliment in this sport. |
| He will toss his 5-foot-8, 145-pound body into any situation. He was knocked down, and maybe even out, in a jaw-rattling collision with a teammate Friday, but he bounced back to keep Costa Rica honest by materializing downfield and by getting back on defense. He made the entire back line legitimate with his skill and nerve. Afterward, he was named the man of the match, a quaint little soccer custom, almost always worth ignoring, but in this case thoroughly reflective of the match. The night will be remembered for the snow, but it belonged to Beasley — and the coach who put him out there. | He will toss his 5-foot-8, 145-pound body into any situation. He was knocked down, and maybe even out, in a jaw-rattling collision with a teammate Friday, but he bounced back to keep Costa Rica honest by materializing downfield and by getting back on defense. He made the entire back line legitimate with his skill and nerve. Afterward, he was named the man of the match, a quaint little soccer custom, almost always worth ignoring, but in this case thoroughly reflective of the match. The night will be remembered for the snow, but it belonged to Beasley — and the coach who put him out there. |
E- mail: geovec@nytimes.com | E- mail: geovec@nytimes.com |