Compare and contrast the origins of football in Brazil with Uruguay. How do Brazil and Uruguay are similar according to the texts? How do these t

Full Terms & Conditions of access and use can be found at https://www.tandfonline.com/action/journalInformation?journalCode=fsas20

Soccer & Society

ISSN: 1466-0970 (Print) 1743-9590 (Online) Journal homepage: https://www.tandfonline.com/loi/fsas20

USA vs. Mexico: history, geopolitics and economics of one of the world’s oldest rivalries in soccer

Steven Apostolov

To cite this article: Steven Apostolov (2018) USA vs. Mexico: history, geopolitics and economics of one of the world’s oldest rivalries in soccer, Soccer & Society, 19:5-6, 783-797, DOI: 10.1080/14660970.2017.1399616

To link to this article: https://doi.org/10.1080/14660970.2017.1399616

Published online: 27 Nov 2017.

Submit your article to this journal

Article views: 152

View related articles

View Crossmark data

USA vs. Mexico: history, geopolitics and economics of one of the world’s oldest rivalries in soccer

Steven Apostolov*

Mercy College, School of Business, Dobbs Ferry, NY, USA

This essay tracks one of the oldest and most intense rivalries in soccer. First, it focuses on the early historical aspect of the soccer rivalry between the United States and Mexico. Second, the essay focuses on the geopolitics and evolution of CONCACAF. It concludes with an economic analysis of the derby and its impact on the development of professional soccer in the United States.

Introduction

If you ask any soccer aficionado to name the world’s most intense rivalries, the list would be quite substantial. Soccer fans, depending on their nationality and geo- graphic location, would all provide different answers. In 1872, the city of Glasgow hosted the very first official international game between Scotland and England.1

Soon after, the rivalry between the cradle of soccer and its northern neighbour was born and fiercely disputed. The post-Second World War matches of England vs. Germany and Germany vs. Holland continue to have a deep impact on and off the pitch. Competitions between France and Italy have been played with a lot of passion and marked by dramatic events. On the other side of the world in Asia, even friendly games involving Japan, South Korea and China are intense and followed by an enormous number of spectators. Furthermore, the North African derby between Algeria and Egypt has become known over the last couple of decades as the ‘hate match’. In South America, soccer fans would most likely agree that Argentina vs. Uruguay and Brazil vs. Argentina are among the oldest and most fiercely disputed soccer matches on their continent. There are even some intercontinental soccer rival- ries such as Argentina vs. England: the ‘hand of God’ of Maradona and the kick of David Beckham have both impacted the relationship between the two countries.

Obviously, this list of rivalries is not exhaustive. A good number of them will continue to exist, and certainly new ones will be created – it is the nature of soccer. Most fans outside the CONCACAF zone2 would probably not place the United States vs. Mexico in a short list of famous global derbies. Yet, it is one of the world’s oldest rivalries, having begun in 1934. Thereafter, even friendly matches involving the US and Mexico have been played with utmost intensity. Since it is a rivalry that predates many other famous rivalries, its historical context deserves to be analysed carefully. The contemporary part of the historical aspect of the rivalry has fascinated many sports writers, and it is well-known to fans on both sides: American fans constantly remind the supporters of El Tri about their defeats in

*E-mail: [email protected]

© 2017 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group

Soccer & Society, 2018 Vol. 19, Nos. 5–6, 783–797, https://doi.org/10.1080/14660970.2017.1399616

Columbus, Ohio and the elimination of Mexico from the World Cup in 2002 – they were nicknamed dos a cero. Therefore, this essay will focus on the early history of the rivalry which has been less analysed and described by sports writers and schol- ars. It is also useful to examine the impact of the derby in terms of geopolitical and economic aspects: CONCACAF, which stands for Confederation of North and Cen- tral American and Caribbean Football, was one of the most obscure confederations in FIFA for decades. It is currently one of the most important members in terms of elections and sport governance; it has more members, and therefore more votes, than some confederations with very strong teams and much older tournaments. That includes the South American Football Confederation CONMEBOL (the governing body of soccer on the continent). About a decade ago, long-time enemies on the pitch ─ the United States and Mexico ─ became business partners. Both national teams are managed by SUM (Soccer United Marketing), an American firm, which is the marketing arm of MLS (Major League Soccer). This strategic partnership is unique in the world of soccer and has a deep impact on the development of profes- sional soccer in the United States.

Literature on the US–Mexico rivalry is not abundant. Most documents on the topic are written by journalists and self-educated historians.3 Even though those writers were not academically trained, they conducted solid research and developed fascinating narratives about the United States national team and the early develop- ment of CONCACAF and its predecessors. Very few scholars have dealt with those topics.4 Investigative reporters provided a couple of thought-provoking pieces after FIFA and CONCACAF became involved in a series of corruption scandals.5 Those writings shed some important light on the role of Jack Warner and Chuck Blazer in the scandals. It is a well-known fact that there are serious allegations of corruption and misappropriation of funds against the duo. It would be futile to write about that since it has already been documented and analysed in documentaries, substantial articles, and books written by investigative journalists. Therefore, this essay will focus on the role of Warner and Blazer for the transformation of CONCACAF from above and below, and how that affected the revival of the rivalry between the US and Mexico. The formation of tournaments such as the Gold Cup and the foundation of SUM are well-illustrated in a couple of reviews dedicated to sport marketing and administration.

Historical aspects of one of the world’s oldest soccer rivalries

In 1930, Team USA became one of the original teams to join the competition for the Jules Rimet World Cup Trophy (see Figure 1). After a good performance during the 1924 Olympics and participation in the 1928 Olympics, the Americans achieved one of their biggest international successes ever during the first World Cup in Uru- guay. Struck by the Great Depression, most countries could not afford the expenses of sending teams to the tournament, and since soccer was still a semi-professional or amateur sport in many countries around the world, very few players could afford to leave their jobs to play for their countries. In order to encourage participation, the South American hosts generously offered to cover all expenses. The United States Football Association (USFA) received a payment of $5,873.47 from its Uruguayan counterpart.6 Mexico was invited too. All participating teams benefited from first- class travel accommodations. On 13 June 1930, Americans and Mexicans sailed on the same ship – the USMC Munargo.

784 S. Apostolov

On June 26, 1930, as is revealed by the official dinner program and menu printed in Spanish and English by the Munson Steamship Lines, both teams attended the same farewell gala dinner. Players and officials from both countries together enjoyed gourmet food and fine wines. They were entertained by the Munargo Orchestra with Strauss’s ‘The Blue Danube’. It was followed by the tango, fox trot and other genres of music.7 Mexicans and Americans also engaged in different tour- naments and field-day events. Several American players, among them George Moor- house, James Brown and Alexander Wood, acted as committee members in charge of events. Tournaments included bridge, checkers, deck tennis and deck golf; field- day events consisted of a spar fight, an egg-and-spoon race, a cigarette-and-ties con- test, an ice-cream-eating contest and a 1/8-mile race. One of the more interesting events was the Court of Neptune Ceremony, during which players from both coun- tries celebrated the crossing of the equator. Upon arrival to Montevideo, the Ameri- can and Mexican teams enjoyed a very warm welcome. ‘Notwithstanding the rain, a very large crowd cheered our arrival from the docks and packed our lane of auto tra- vel along the streets to the Florida hotel, a battery of cameramen, cartoonists and sports writers dogging each and every individual of our party seeking first-hand information as to our football status and abilities’, observed Wilfred R. Cummings, Manager of the USFA, in his official report.8

The draw took place on 13 July 1930 with the schedule finding France and Mexico pitted against each other at Penarol Field, and Belgium taking on the US at

Figure 1. Team USA 1930. Source: Robert Millar Papers, Courtesy National Soccer Hall of Fame.

Soccer & Society 785

Central Park, the home of Nacional FC. To the complete surprise of everybody, the US defeated Belgium 3-0. Since Belgium was a former Olympic champion, their defeat was rather unexpected, and international newspaper articles that preceded the game had largely favoured the Europeans.9 After the first US win and to commemo- rate an official Uruguayan holiday, Constitution Day, the hosts invited the Ameri- cans to a full-dress midnight military ball with the elite of Uruguayan government and society in attendance. ‘Dainty foods were served and champagne flowed like water far into the next day’, documented Wilfred R. Cummings.10

In their group, the Americans had to face another solid opponent – Paraguay. ‘Our team appeared to be the crowd’s favourite even though opposed by South Americans: Paraguay were considered the dark horses for the championship as they had eliminated Uruguay in the South American Championship the previous year’, observed the manager of the Americans again. A strong US team defeated Paraguay 3-0 and qualified for the semi-finals (see Figure 1). The game became a famous ref- erence in most World Cup history books as Bertrand Patenaude became the first per- son to score a hat trick in the tournament. The Americans became the preferred guests of the Uruguayan elite: The Archbishop of Montevideo hosted an extraordi- nary reception long remembered by the overwhelmed guests. The President of Uru- guay, Juan Compisteguy, hosted a lavish barbeque at his country home in Los Predras for athletes and officials: Lamb and pork were paired with domestic fine wines, and the meal concluded with a tasting of French pastries and champagne.11

Reaching the semi-finals was impressive and would remain the biggest achieve- ment of the American team for decades to come. Mexico’s stint at the tournament, on the other hand, was far from impressive. The team was credited with conceding the first goal of the tournament and lost all of its group-stage games, finishing at the bottom of the table in the group. After the fraternal relations of the American and Mexican teams during the sea voyage, the teams would not interact with each other for another four years. In 1934, they crossed paths again during the World Cup in Italy.

Thirty-two teams competed for the World Cup in Italy. As a result, the hosts organized a different format from that of the Uruguayans four years earlier. Instead of dividing all teams into groups of four and three as it was in 1930, the Italians organized the first pre-tournament qualification. Oddly, some of the qualifying matches were disputed on Italian soil. After the qualification, the 16 winning teams participated in the final tournament. The United States had to play its qualifying game against Mexico. The match took place in Rome on 24 May 1934. The US humiliated its Mexican neighbours 4-2. It was a rough game; the referee had to eject a Mexican player for trying to brutally stop Aldo Donelli, the American who scored all four goals.12 After the trashing of Mexico, the United States faced Italy. The US was crushed 7-1 by the hosts, who would go on to win the World Cup a few weeks later.

From 1934 until the 1990s, the balance of power shifted, and Mexico dominated its northern neighbour on the pitch, regardless of where the matches were played. Professional Mexican teams visited the Unites States as early as the 1940s. An All- Star team of the Southern New England Soccer Association (SNESA) played a match against Atlante FC, the Mexican champion of 1940. ‘Soccer Champions of Mexico Play at Tiverton’, announced the Fall River Herald.13 The All Stars of the SNESA were mainly made up of players of the amateur club Ponta Delgada FC. In a photograph found in the Louie Souza papers, veteran John Souza recognized

786 S. Apostolov

himself. Kicked viciously in the jaw, Souza ended up in the hospital (see Figure 2). ‘The Mexicans were brutal, but they also played better than us; we only played after work and on weekends, whereas they were true professionals and you could sense that immediately on the field’, remembered the former US international.14 Atlante FC was loaded with elegant athletes such as former FC Barcelona player Benjamin Alonso. Many talented soccer players fled Francoist oppression after the Spanish Civil War. Most of them moved to South America and Mexico, and that certainly affected the performance of the clubs there.

The shift of balance of domination towards Mexico was largely due to the fact that professional soccer in the United States struggled. Professional soccer in the US enjoyed several moments of popularity throughout the twentieth century. It was a popular game at the turn of the century; it was almost permanently established as a professional sport during the golden years of the American Soccer League (ASL) in the 1920s. That explains why the United States performed so well during the first World Cup in 1930. After a decline in the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s, soccer came back to America’s sports arenas in the 1970s. But even Pele and other famous inter- national players could not save the North American Soccer League (NASL), which collapsed in 1984. Professional soccer leagues have not only been in the shadow of baseball, American football, basketball and most recently ice hockey, but with the exception of Major League Soccer (MSL), a newcomer on the mainstream sporting scene, all of them have folded within a couple of decades. The ups and downs of professional soccer obviously affected the United States national team in a negative way. From 1934 until 1994, the United States only participated twice in the World Cup: In 1950, a mixed team of amateurs and semi-professionals managed to defeat

Figure 2. All Stars SNSA and Atlante FC, 1940. Source: Louie Souza Papers, Courtesy, National Soccer Hall of Fame.

Soccer & Society 787

England – one of the biggest upsets of the history of the tournament. In 1990, a team made up of mostly college players could not reach the knock out stage, losing all of its group stage matches. On the other hand, soccer in Mexico prospered. Dur- ing the same time period, the country hosted two World Cups and one Summer Olympics. As compared to its northern neighbour, with the exceptions of 1938, 1982 and 1990, Mexico has been omnipresent in the World Cup and has generally performed quite well. After having followed the origins of one of the oldest soccer rivalries in the world, it is interesting to now shift to and focus on the evolution and geopolitics of CONCACAF, the confederation from which both rivals evolve.

Geopolitics and evolution of CONCACAF

CONCACAF was founded in 1961. Prior to its formation, soccer tournaments in North America were organized and supervised by several organizations, notably the North American Football Confederation (NAFC), the Central American and Carib- bean Football Confederation (CACFC), and a couple of smaller organizing bodies. Most of them ceased to exist before the foundation of CONCACAF. Founded in 1947 with only four members – the United States, Canada, Mexico and Cuba – the NAFC was more active than the other predecessors of CONCACAF. It organized four tournaments.15

The first tournament took place during the inaugural year of the NAFC. The USFA sent a semi-professional team to represent the country at the North American Championship. It was Ponta Delgada FC, a predominantly Portuguese soccer team from Fall River, Massachusetts. According to John Souza, a member of the US national team that defeated England during the World Cup in 1950, at least seven players for Ponta Delgada FC were Portuguese-Americans.16 The USFA selected the entire team to represent the country because during the same year, Ponta Delgada FC became a double champion, winning the National Amateur Championship and the US Challenge Cup. However, exhausted by the tropical climate in Cuba, where the tournament was held, Ponta Delgada FC/Team USA lost all of its games. In 1949, the North American Championship was used as a World Cup qualifier, too. This time, a mixed team of the North-east and the Midwest qualified the United States for the Word Cup in 1950.

Originally, CONCACAF was run by Ramon Coll Jaumet of Costa Rica. He was replaced by Mexican Joaquin Soria Terrazas, who remained at the helm of the orga- nization until 1990, when Jack Warner was elected president of CONCACAF. Between 1963 and 1989, the championship of the confederation was dominated by Mexico and Costa Rica. It is interesting to note that between 1973 and 1989, the championship was used as a World Cup qualifier, just as it was in 1949.

Until the late 1980s, CONCACAF was an obscure organization with only $140,000 for an operating budget, no television deal and only a handful of employ- ees. Its 26 members came from three different zones or regional subgroups affiliated with CONCACAF: First, the North American Zone (or the North American Football Union); second, the Central American Zone (the Central American Football Union); and third, the Caribbean Zone (the Caribbean Football Union). The North American Zone counted only three members – Canada, the United States and Mexico – whereas the Central American Zone had seven members in its ranks: Belize, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua and Panama. The largest subdi- vision was the Caribbean Football Union, with 16 affiliated members. The number

788 S. Apostolov

of affiliated members of the Caribbean Zone is currently 29 – having almost doubled since the late 1980s and brought the number of CONCACAF-affiliated members to 41. Most of the newly admitted football associations became members during the leadership of Jack Warner, who simply replicated what FIFA president Joao Have- lange had done to win elections and stay in power for so long.

Between 1974 and 1998, Havelange turned FIFA from a mediocre organization into a global empire with $4 billion in its bank account and more members than the United Nations.17 While running for the FIFA presidency, Havelange understood the political changes that affected the African continent and took advantage of them. During the 1960s and 1970s, many African countries won their independence from former colonial powers. Their football associations became full members of FIFA. By 1974, FIFA membership had grown to 140, with Europe and South America making up less than a third of the total membership. The other 90 or so members came from Africa and Asia. Most of the new members came from Africa – in less than a decade, more than 30 African nations joined FIFA.18 The growing number of African countries joining FIFA did not affect the allocation of spots for participation in the World Cup. In fact, for the World Cup in 1966, only one spot was allocated to the confederations of Africa, Asia and Oceania combined. Presidents of African football associations were frustrated. As a result of both this frustration and the active leadership of Nkrumah’s Ghana, many decided to boycott the qualifiers for the tournament.19 Havelange understood that frustration. Before the elections, endorsed by his countryman and soccer legend Pele, he travelled and courted many leaders of African football associations. He promised more money for the develop- ment of African soccer and more spots at the World Cup for African teams. His efforts paid off. On 11 June 11 1974, he won 68 votes against Sir Stanley Rous’s 52 and became the first non-European President of FIFA.

Havelange must have been a role model to Warner. A former history teacher and part-time sociology faculty member at The University of the West Indies, Warner became the secretary of the Trinidad and Tobago Football Association in 1973. In 1983, he became CONCACAF vice-president and also joined the powerful FIFA executive committee ─ members of which designate the host of the World Cup. In 1990, he was elected president of CONCACAF and shortly afterwards became FIFA’s vice-president. After the election of Warner, the Caribbean Zone of CONCA- CAF almost doubled in size. Small islands such as Saint Kitts and Nevis, Dominica, Montserrat, the British Virgin Islands, the Cayman Islands, Turks and Caicos, to cite just a few, were admitted as members of CONCACAF, and therefore, were eligible to vote during elections at FIFA. Warner was very successful at changing the bal- ance of power in sports governance. During his time at the helm of CONCACAF, he wielded disproportionate power presiding over football associations that had a fifth of all votes. In other words, CONCACAF was not as powerful as UEFA (Union of European Football Associations) or CAF (Confederation of African Football) with their 50-plus members each; it was almost as powerful as the AFC (Asian Foot- ball Confederation) and its 47 members, and it was definitely more powerful than CONMEBOL and the OFC (Oceania Football Confederation) with their combined 24 members. This change in the balance of power was achieved by admitting new members ─ mostly Caribbean islands regardless of their size. The Turks and Caicos Islands, with a population of just 50,000 people, has one vote during the FIFA con- gress, as does Germany with a population of 80 million and solid traditions in soc- cer. Tiny Montserrat, with a population of only 5,000 people, has one vote as well,

Soccer & Society 789

just like mighty Brazil and its 200 million people and five World Cup titles. If sport governance and the politics of FIFA and CONCACAF reflected American political life, each state regardless of its population would have an equal number of seats in the US congress (e.g. Texas and Rhode Island having one congressman each; in fact, based on the 2010 US Census, the Ocean State has only two representatives in the US Congress, whereas the Lone Star State has 36). In a similar fashion, in the Euro- pean Parliament, a small country such as Estonia (with a population of 6 million) would have the same number of members as France (72 million): In reality, France has 72 members in the European Parliament, whereas Estonia has only six.

CONCACAF is a unique confederation in several ways. For political reasons, UEFA has members from geographic locations beyond the borders of Europe, nota- bly in the Middle East and Asia Minor. So does CONCACAF, which counts in its ranks two countries in South America – Guyana and Suriname – as well as French Guyana, an overseas territory of France. As compared to UEFA, which includes a few affiliated members of rather small sizes, such as Lichtenstein, the Faroe Islands and San Marino, CONCACAF counts in its ranks mostly small countries. And that is the origin of the joke that ‘Every time a tiny atoll pierced the warm blue-green waters of the Caribbean, Jack Warner would give it a football federation [and make it a part of his “empire”]’.20 Another feature of CONCACAF’s uniqueness is that France technically could be drawn to play against one of its overseas territories such as Martinique, Guadeloupe, or French Guyana. Jocelyn Angloma’s Guadeloupe lost to Mexico in the semifinal of the Gold Cup in 2007. However, had Guadeloupe won the Gold Cup (and that was within the realm of possibility) and had France captured the Euro in 2008, the mother country and its Caribbean overseas department could very well have played against each other during the Confederations Cup in 2009. A similar scenario could have opposed either Suriname or Guyana against its former colonial power – the Netherlands or England. Although that is highly unlikely to happen, the structure and regulations of CONCACAF make it a possibility. The fol- lowing part of the essay will analyse how the transformation of CONCACAF affected the revival of the rivalry between the US and Mexico. It will also analyse how the perpetual enemies on the pitch became business partners and how that affected professional soccer in the United States.

Economics of the rivalry between US and Mexico: from obscurity to prominence

There is no doubt that Jack Warner transformed CONCACAF from above by almost doubling the number of associations in the Caribbean Zone, and therefore, increas- ing CONCACAF’s geopolitical influence in sports governance. It was Chuck Blazer, however, who transformed the confederation from below and turned it into a suc- cessful business enterprise. He assisted Warner in being elected as president of CONCACAF and was appointed by him immediately as a general secretary. Blazer transformed the confederation not only by creating new tournaments, such as the successful Gold Cup, but also by organizing more tournaments on American soil and by obtaining essential television deals from which CONCACAF benefitted tremendously. All this was crucial for the revival and the shift of balance of the riv- alry between Mexico and the United States. But before getting into that story, it is important to know who was Blazer, and how did he become involved in soccer?

790 S. Apostolov

Very few top-level soccer administrators, perhaps with the exception of Michel Platini, were ever actively involved in professional soccer as players. Chuck Blazer was not any different than most of his counterparts. He has never played any soccer and would have probably never been involved in the game had he not coached his son’s junior team. Charles Gordon Blazer was born in 1945 in a middle-class Jewish family in the New York City borough of Queens. He assisted his father at an early age running a small family business. After his secondary studies, he became an accountant, obtaining a degree from the New York University. He then enrolled in an MBA program at the same institution but never fulfilled the requirements to com- plete the degree. In the 1970s, he succes

Collepals.com Plagiarism Free Papers

Are you looking for custom essay writing service or even dissertation writing services? Just request for our write my paper service, and we'll match you with the best essay writer in your subject! With an exceptional team of professional academic experts in a wide range of subjects, we can guarantee you an unrivaled quality of custom-written papers.

Get ZERO PLAGIARISM, HUMAN WRITTEN ESSAYS

Why Hire Collepals.com writers to do your paper?

Quality- We are experienced and have access to ample research materials.

We write plagiarism Free Content

Confidential- We never share or sell your personal information to third parties.

Support-Chat with us today! We are always waiting to answer all your questions.