Published 2/6/2007 7:57:11 PM by Staff from Fifa.com

The clash on Wednesday in Phoenix, Arizona will be the 52nd time the Americans have met their southerly neighbours, and it seems the rivalry grows exponentially with every meeting.

"I don't like their talking... I don't like the way they treat us, the way they don't respect us," was Landon Donovan's view back in 2005, stoking the embers of an epic battle that reaches back to a first-ever meeting in Rome in 1934, which the USA won. All-time goal king Jared Borgetti, while speaking to FIFA.com that same year, best summed up the Mexican point of view: "This goes way beyond football. The USA has a lot of power in the world and it's almost like they're asking for a good kicking."

Animus, a history of geographical disputes dating back to 1848, current socio-political realities and concerns over immigration are predictably relevant themes swirling around the USA-Mexico rivalry. However, in recent years it has also become a barometer against which to judge the US's rapid improvement in world football. As much as it may pain certain Mexican players and fans to admit, the Americans - who won only one of their first 20 matches against El Tri from 1934 on through to the 1970s - have come on in leaps and bounds in the past decade or so.

In their last ten meetings, the US have come out on top on eight occasions including a memorable win in the Round of 16 at the finals in Korea/Japan in 2002. Furthermore, to keep things in perspective, both of the States' losses came at the seething cauldron of Mexico City's much-feared Azteca stadium, where El Tri have only ever lost once in their long and illustrious history.

When playing at home against Mexico, the USA have not lost since 1999, a run of seven matches in which they have not conceded a single goal (in 663 consecutive minutes) and outscored their rivals by an impressive 11-0.

The last time the two met, in September 2006 in Columbus, Ohio, the Americans booked automatic passage to the finals in Germany with a simple 2-0 win, followed by some raucous celebrations. Though the Mexicans still boss the overall record with 29 wins, 12 losses and 10 draws, vast improvement up north cannot be denied.

The last 11 times the USA have taken on Mexico, Bruce Arena was at the helm. On this occasion, Bob Bradley - interim coach until Spring - will be desperate to prove himself as worthy a candidate as some of the more high-profile men on US Soccer's wishlist and make his temporary appointment a more permanent arrangement.

The Bradley era begins
After coming from behind to earn a 3-1 victory in his first game last month against Denmark, the meeting with a highly motivated Mexico outfit led on the pitch by 34-year-old talisman Cuauhtemoc Blanco and under the new stewardship of one Hugo Sanchez, will truly be Bradley's baptism of fire. In an attempt to put his best foot forward, the American boss has called in some of his European talent to join up with the domestic stars who did so well against an admittedly under-strength Danish side in Los Angeles.
Fulham duo Clint Dempsey and Carlos Bocanegra, Reading's Bobby Convey and Tim Howard of Everton will join up with local boys Landon Donovan, Eddie Johnson and Justin Mapp in a strong-looking US squad, which is nevertheless without recent Newcastle United loan signing and USA Player of the Year Oguchi Onyewu as well as DaMarcus Beasley and Steve Cherundolo.

In the absence high-flying striker Brian McBride and former captain Claudio Reyna - both of whom retired from international duty after the USA's disappointing performance in Germany - it will be a time for new leaders to emerge.

"After weeks of getting to know this new group and trying to develop an understanding of how we want to work together every day, everyone is looking forward to the chance to finally play in one of the great rivalries in our sport," said Bradley.

Only eight of the players in the American side have experience in taking on Mexico, with Donovan leading the way with seven appearances and two goals against El Tri.

The coach, for his part, is happy to experiment with new names and faces such as Jonathan Bornstein, who scored in the recent win over the Danes, Bobby Boswell, Justin Mapp and Taylor Twellman, the New England Revolution striker who was controversially left out of the squad for the finals in Germany last summer.

"We all know results are important; at the same time this is the beginning of a four-year cycle and we need to take a look at some new faces and see if they will be able to help us down the road," added Bradley, who knows he will face a hostile crowd given Phoenix's proximity to the border. "The only way to accomplish that is to expose them to difficult competition and difficult environments to see how they perform. That's what these games are all about."

One thing is certain: "these games" are about a whole lot more than just football - as Bradley and Sanchez will surely find out on Wednesday.

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