Jurgen Klinsmann will not be on the sidelines for the U.S. after CONCACAF handed down a suspension for his conduct in their semifinal game. He reacted poorly to a questionable call and threw a ball, for which the referee ejected him. A CONCACAF committee decided late Friday night that Klinsmann would not be allowed to coach the USMNT in the final. Assistant Martin Vasquez will take his place.
Venue: Soldier Field, Chicago, Ill.
Though the CONCACAF headliners–Mexico and the United States–entered this Gold Cup with experimental lineups and b-teams, the USMNT got here on cruise control against the third world because its veteran stalwarts picked up where Juan Ponce de León left off and found the fountain of youth. Landon Donovan, DeMarcus Beasley, and Eddie Johnson have also overcome boilerplate athlete duress (bargaining chip politics between soccer clubs, injury, divorce, hair dye); their leadership and chemistry is so apparent that I didn’t bat an eyelash when Klinsmann was suspended on Saturday from coaching this final because of his on-field temper tantrum in Wednesday’s semi-final.
Speaking of Wednesday, Panama overcame the best homefield advantage Cowboys Stadium has ever hosted—a sea of jeering paisanos with flags, drums, and sombreros. You know the old cliché of taking the home crowd out of the game? The Panama-Mexico semi-final was Panama fearlessly prodding a lion, getting it more and more riled up through the fruitless stoppage time. It took patience and focus–this is the best team non-Mexican or American Gold Cup contender we’ve ever seen.
