Jurgen Klinsmann’s USMNT squad has lost its last two games, including one very important defeat against Mexico in which the lost the chance to play in the Russia 2017 Confederations Cup.
What a man wears says a lot about him, or so they say. If that's true, we can learn a lot by examining Mexico World Cup kits from the past 50 years.
In a World Cup match with so many elements involved, many look to their national team's jersey for inspiration.
Christian "Chucho" Benitez left us too soon. On July 13, 2013 he entered a hospital in Doha, Qatar with abdominal pains. He never left.
We will probably never know what happened in that hospital, and his cause of death has been disputed.
What is not in dispute is that Chucho Benitez was a great player. He played the game with a joy that is rarely seen, exuding an infectious energy all around the pitch.
Great teams raise their games when the stakes are highest. So do great fanbases. So do great fighters. So do members of great fanbases who are also great fighters, or at least willing fighters.
This is what happened Saturday in the Rose Bowl during the USA vs. Mexico match. The game itself was one of the most exciting clashes in recent memory. It was made even more exciting for the select few fans who got to be near/participate in this brawl.
Soccer fans are a passionate bunch, but, as with every group, there are those who rise above the rest. These fans take their passions to completely unheard-of levels.
Take this man, for instance. We do not know where he found the time and developed the skills to make that costume, but it is incredible. That costume probably cost more money (if labor is included) than a ticket to the game he wore it to.
Donald Trump is in the media a lot, and a lot of those times he's in the media because of something he said about Mexico/Mexican people/immigration that lots of people found offensive.
Because of this, Mexican TV station TV Azteca made a commercial with Donald Trump to pump up fans for the CONCACAF Cup final last Saturday.
After the goal he scored Saturday, Paul Aguilar can celebrate however he wants. He scored the biggest goal in one of the biggest games of the year for his country, and that gives him a significant amount of leeway in terms of whether or not we make fun of his goal celebration.
And, it appears to us, Aguilar was so deliriously happy after the goal that he lost all sense of reason/safety/self-preservation.
The US-Mexico rivalry has seen some pretty memorable moments, but Paul Aguilar's Goal vs the US to clinch El Tri a spot in the confederations cup may be the most memorable to date. Prior to this match the US fan base was calling for Jurgen Klinsmann's head should the stars and stripes not earn a victory, and that is exactly what has happened since the loss. Frustration has now surrounded Klinsmann's program after a poor performance in the Gold Cup and the lack luster result this past Saturday.
Mexico won one of the most exciting USMNT vs. El Tri clashes in recent memory on Saturday, and they were understandably excited with the result.
The game didn't just send Mexico to the 2017 Confederations Cup in Russia, it reestablished Mexico as the dominant team in CONCACAF, as Mexico noted with some smack-talk on Twitter after the game.
You know what happened by now, even if you didn't see the game. Paul Aguilar scored in the 119th minute to lift Mexico over the United States for the right to go to the Confederations Cup, the warm-up to the 2018 World Cup in Russia.
Considering the circumstances leading up to the game, the hype, the stakes, the atmosphere, this coule very well be the most important goal scored in USA vs. Mexico history.