No Warm Welcome for U.S. Team in Costa Rica

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/05/sports/soccer/no-warm-welcome-for-us-team-in-costa-rica.html

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SAN JOSE, Costa Rica — The shattered glass said everything.

After every match on American soil, the United States Soccer Federation develops a few photographs from the game, puts them inside a picture frame and presents them as a souvenir to visiting opponents.

But when the traveling contingent from Costa Rica departed Commerce City, Colo., in March after a contentious World Cup qualifying game, the parting gift was left behind and later broken to pieces as it sat alongside the other trash at the stadium.

Mementos, it turned out, were unnecessary. The United States earned a 1-0 win that night amid an unforgettable snowfall at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park, and Costa Rica appealed the result to FIFA, arguing the game should not have been played in such conditions. That protest was denied, and it has been clear this week here — where the two teams will meet again Friday night — that the anger and resentment have simmered over the last five months.

“That was not our fault,” United States Coach Jurgen Klinsmann said Wednesday. “I didn’t call God to give us some snow.”

It was a rhetorical shrug, one unlikely to assuage the Costa Rica federation, which has tried to make life difficult for its American counterpart the past few weeks. Blatant gamesmanship is nothing new within international soccer, but the relationship between the two teams has frayed. There has been nothing major — little logistical obstructions, unusual frostiness, a sudden unwillingness to help — but the small things have combined to form a headache for the United States.

At qualifying games for previous World Cups, for instance, Costa Rica would direct the United States contingent through a private terminal at the San Jose airport and speed its process through customs. On Tuesday afternoon, the team navigated a public gantlet through the airport, where fans and even some workers chanted, “No fair play, U.S.A.!” Eggs were thrown at the team’s bus, and when it arrived at the hotel, a few hundred jeering Costa Rican fans greeted the team outside.

“It was a good welcome,” goalkeeper Tim Howard said, smiling. “It was kind of fun. We don’t always have that reception. It’s cool.”

The welcome continued Wednesday. After multiple facilities recommended by the Costa Rican federation declined to host the American practices this week, the team held its training session on a field at a local dairy factory — though a finely maintained one. The Costa Ricans declined to provide game balls for the sessions, a normal courtesy, so the Americans brought their own.

Such gamesmanship has been discussed and inflamed within print, radio and social media here. Among local fans, the near-farcical conditions last March remained a hot topic, stoking anticipation and raising the stakes for Friday’s game.

“No one thinks the last game, with the snow, was fair,” said William Varquero, 45, a San Jose taxi driver, who identified Landon Donovan as the most dangerous United States player. “That game, the U.S.A. was not very strong. We need to win to feel better.”

The American players claimed to be shielded from the hassles, and when not, were amused.

“We know it’s just going to be 90 minutes on the field,” defender Michael Parkhurst said. “Everything else is just a little funny, and you just expect it these days.”

The United States enters the match with 13 points, leading the Concacaf qualifying group. Depending on results from other games Friday night, the United States could clinch a World Cup spot. The team is on a 12-game winning streak, but it has never won a qualifier in Costa Rica, compiling an 0-7-1 record.

The Americans may experience some comforts Friday night. Previous matches here meant a trip to Estadio Ricardo Saprissa, where a blemished artificial surface and steep, towering stands produced a hostile atmosphere. This game will be played at the National Stadium, which features well-maintained grass and a running track between the field and the crowd. At least 500 national police officers will be deployed around the grounds to help keep order.

“We’re all happy not to play there,” midfielder Michael Bradley said about Saprissa. “The turf there is terrible — there’s no two ways to put that.”

Bradley noted, though, that hostile environments can be invigorating. If so, he should be sufficiently energized. The gamesmanship from Costa Rica has provided a colorful backdrop to an already heated rivalry.

It might have been predicted. The resentment has been clear since March, when the memento, and then cordiality, were tossed aside.