U.S. World Cup foe Costa Rica could turn tough
The road to the 2010 World Cup in South Africa has just turned a little bit more tricky for the United States.
Not because it plays away to Honduras in its next-to-last qualifying game.
Not because the goals have not been flowing as freely as desired.
Not because its final qualifying match is against Costa Rica in Washington.
But because Costa Rica on Tuesday fired Rodrigo Kenton as coach. The dismissal was almost inevitable. Under Kenton, who once had the team in first place, Costa Rica had lost its last three games in a row, all by shutouts. He had to go.
The reason his departure could be a problem for the U.S. is because of who his successor might be. Four names are being talked about, each of them a far more experienced coach than Kenton. They are, in no particular order, Leo Beenhakker, Jose Pekerman, Enrique Meza and Hans Westerhof.
Beenhakker, recently fired after failing to qualify Poland for the World Cup, has credentials that include coaching the Dutch national team, not to mention Ajax Amsterdam and Real Madrid. He qualified Trinidad and Tobago for the 2006 World Cup and the Soca Warriors are Costa Rica's next opponent.
Pekerman coached Argentina to the quarterfinals of the 2006 World Cup. Previously, he had won three Under-20 World Cups with Argentina as well as a gold medal at the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens.
Meza, a former Mexico national team coach, has won four Mexican league titles, including three with Toluca and one with Pachuca, as well as two CONCACAF Champions Cups and one Copa Sudamericana.
Westerhof has coached the Dutch Under-21 national team and such clubs as PSV Eindhoven, Ajax Amsterdam and Chivas de Guadalajara. He was coach of Chivas USA for a while before being replaced by Bob Bradley, now the U.S. coach.
In other words, each of the four men is perfectly capable of getting Costa Rica past Trinidad and Tobago and, assuming a U.S. loss at Honduras, putting enormous stress on the Americans in Washington in a game that could decide who goes directly to South Africa and who goes into a playoff with a potentially tough South American opponent.
Costa Rica, under Kenton, defeated the U.S., 3-1, in San Jose, Costa Rica on June 3.
In short, the U.S. road to the World Cup is taking an uphill turn.
-- Grahame L. Jones
Point well taken Graham but there are several things you're not considering:
1.) Kenton wasn't the problem in Costa Rica. It has a lot more to do with the players and the poor structure of their professional league. Kenton had to be scapegoated after the bad results but the truth is that he was lionized after they finished the first half of the tournament in first place.
2.) Costa Rican players are notorious for their disobedience, lack of discipline, and unwillingness to work with coaches that don't have a deep understanding of their culture and language, and even though all four of the potential coaches you mentioned have great credentials the fact is that Costa Rica's boat has taken on so much water that no amount of last minute bailing will do enough. If it were earlier in the tournament and if there was more time to prepare maybe.
3.) Honduras is in just a tight a spot. They play well in their field but historically have been beaten there and the US is due for a really good road showing. If the US manages at least a draw Honduras will have to face El Salvador on the road in their final game -a team that has yet to lose at home-and though they have nothing to play for they are young, playing cohesively, and really listen to their coach (as shown by their very gritty showing in the 1-0 defeat of Costa Rica when they could have just rolled over). Add to that the historical rivalry between El Salvador and Honduras (dating back to the infamous soccer war of 1966) and you can bet that El Salvador would love nothing more than to be the spoiler. (Keeping Honduras from going to the cup is almost as good as going to the cup as far as El Salvador is concerned)
If I had to bet I would say that both US and Honduras will make it (Mexico has the easiest time of all from here on out) and that Costa Rica will have to sit out this next cup as their (or any Concacaf's team save Mexico) prospects are bleak against a South American team.
The US will be just fine. The ticos play as timidly on the road against the US as the US plays them at Saprissa stadium. I was there for that humilliation and my feeling is that Landon won't let that happen twice in the same qualifier.
Thank God we have at least one player with the killer instinct that's needed to have some measure of success in this sport. Landon and Altidore and that cast of no names will be enough to put Costa Rica away.
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