Contrived or not, Columbus crowd rocked

Notes, quotes, thoughts and observations from a hot, historic night at Crew Stadium:

The great legacy of the game might not be that the 2-0 scoreline sent the United States to soccer’s 2014 World Cup and sent Mexico into a further tailspin. It might be who watched it.

The 24,584 at soldout Crew Stadium was not the largest crowd to see the U.S. national team. It was the loudest, though, and the most partisan and most patriotic (and maybe most inebriated, too).

At its core, much of what happened Tuesday was contrived, more scripted than spontaneous, more nurture than nature.

U.S. Soccer allocated more than one-third of the stadium to official supporters clubs, and it limited access to the general public (read: anybody in green) through carefully orchestrated presales and offers to Columbus Crew season-ticket holders. And it artificially capped supply amid enormous demand by playing in a bare-bones MLS stadium while sacrificing a good $3 million in potential gate when it probably could have filled the modern 104,000-seat Ohio Stadium a couple exits down the Interstate.

As fans walked in, they were handed red “Land of the free” scarves and duly instructed to hold them aloft during the national anthem – something European fans do without prompting.

And all those chants you heard on TV emanating from the supporters section behind the north goal? A badly out-of-key “capo” was telling folks over a loudspeaker what to sing and when, while others with their backs to the game demonstrated the proper claps and arm movements. (This is where members of “The Show,” San Diego State’s irreverent and impulsive student section, cringe.)

That said, the atmosphere was electric and relentless and impactful, unlike anything an opposing team has experienced on these shores and something many U.S. fans never thought they’d live to see or hear.

“I think it really got into Mexico’s heads,” defender Omar Gonzalez said.

“That’s what we face when we go away,” Landon Donovan said, “and it’s nice that other teams have to face it when they come here.”

What next?

The United States and Costa Rica clinched World Cup spots Tuesday night. That leaves Honduras (11 points), Mexico (eight) and Panama (eight) fighting for the lone remaining automatic ticket to Brazil or a spot in a last-chance playoff against Oceania champion New Zealand.

Two games remain, Oct. 11 and 15. Someone’s not gonna make it.

The most dramatic moment of Tuesday’s qualifiers was a 90th-minute equalizer by Panama to salvage a 2-2 tie at Honduras, an outcome Mexico can view two ways. One: It kept Honduras and the third automatic spot within striking distance, although El Tri would probably have to win its final two qualifiers (home against Panama, away to Costa Rica) and get help from others. Two: It allowed Panama to pull even with El Tri in fourth place, and Panama currently owns the tiebreaker.

The plan was for Mexican federation brass to convene with interim coach Luis Fernando Tena on Wednesday and chart a way forward, with or without him. In his post-game comments, Tena didn’t sound like a man who’ll be around much longer after another lackluster performance that looked suspiciously similar to what we saw under his former boss, Jose Manuel de la Torre.

“We can and must do more if we want to reach the World Cup,” Tena conceded.

But jettisoning him requires confidence that you can land a competent replacement.

The next qualifiers are a mere month away, leaving little time for a coach outside Mexico (Argentina’s Marcelo Bielsa?) to evaluate players and implement his style. And why would someone leave a Liga MX contender in midseason (Club America’s Miguel Herrera?) with no guarantee he’ll have a job past November if Mexico fails to qualify for Brazil?

Or maybe it will be none of the above. Late Wednesday night, Mexican media was reporting that Victor Manuel Vucetich, recently fired by Monterrey, would be Tena’s replacement. An announcement is expected Thursday.

On the bench

Sweetwater High alum Joe Corona was an emergency call-up to the U.S. team, catching a flight early Sunday morning to Columbus following the Tijuana Xolos’ home game the previous night. But he adopted an increasingly familiar posture Tuesday, sitting on the bench for 90 minutes.

Corona is suddenly out of favor with new Xolos coach Jorge Almiron, appearing in just four of their eight games in the Liga MX’s Apertura season and not at all in the last three. This, after being a fixture in midfield for predecessor Antonio Mohamed during the team’s championship season and its run through the Copa Libertadores.

It’s a troubling development with the World Cup nine months away. U.S. Coach Jurgen Klinsmann has made it clear that players must get regular minutes at their clubs, and Corona is considered a bubble prospect for the 23-man World Cup roster.

“After being a starter (at Tijuana) and coming off a good Gold Cup, I wanted to play,” Corona said. “It’s a little disappointing.”

Might the face of the club’s bi-national philosophy request a transfer during the Liga MX winter break?

“Right now, I’m staying patient,” Corona said. “But if I see the situation staying the same, I’ll probably look into that. I want my starting spot back and hopefully keep getting called up to the national team.”

Basketball 101

The play that led to the first U.S. goal that broke Mexico’s spirit, an Eddie Johnson header off Donovan’s corner kick in the 49th minute, was something dreamed up the day before.

“That’s just us getting together after practice,” said Gonzalez, who set a basketball screen on Johnson’s defender at the top of the penalty area. “We wanted to have something ready. We didn’t want people just making their own runs (on corners).”

They tried it on a first-half corner. Didn’t work. But moments into the second half, Mexico’s Diego Reyes was forced to take a circuitous path around the 6-foot-5 Gonzalez and was a step late tracking Johnson, which was he all he needed to make it 1-0.