Published by the government of Zimbabwe
Robson Sharuko
26 June 2009
Johannesburg — THE United States was yesterday basking in the glory of an iconic triumph -- which brought memories of their famous victory over England at the World Cup in Brazil in 1950 -- following their sensational 2-0 win over European champions Spain at the Free State Stadium in Bloemfontein on Wednesday night.
The Americans, rank outsiders coming into their Confederations Cup semi-final showdown against a Spanish side that had won a record 15 matches on the spin and unbeaten in 35 games, shocked the football world with a deserved triumph that swept them into the final.
It was a stunning result, one of the greatest moments in the history of America's romantic association with football, and it was immediately ranked alongside the country's shock 1-0 win over England at the World Cup finals in Brazil exactly 59 years ago.
Such was the shock surrounding that result in 1950 that English radio stations, receiving the final score via telegram that day, decided not to broadcast it as they believed that there was something wrong with it and a "1" had erroneously been omitted from their team's result.
The English radio stations believed that their team had actually won 10-1 and, in the telegram report, a "1" had been omitted from the scoreline and it had reached their shores giving the wrong impression that the Americans had won 1-0.
The US -- where baseball, basketball and their own version of brand of football (which is virtually a different version of rugby) is more popular than the game that they call soccer -- has struggled to make a big impression in a game that is virtually worshipped around other parts of the globe.
Basketball is so big in the US that more than 100 000 turned up in Los Angeles to celebrate the success of their home team, the LA Lakers, who won the NBA Championship this season.
Although their national football team has done reasonably well of late, as it reaps the benefits of an organised Major League Soccer structure that has even wooed the likes of David Beckham into its ranks, it has yet to scale the sort of heights where it can enjoy the regular company of the likes of Brazil.
The movement of its best players -- like goalkeeper Tim Howard and forward Clint Dempsey -- to play in the tougher and more competitive European leagues has also helped to turn the national team into a tougher side.
And, crucially, they now have players who have the mental strength to bounce back - during times of turmoil -- and find a way to hold their own against some of the best teams in the world.
Goalkeeper Howard arrived here having been oven-baked by a tough English Premiership campaign, where he enjoyed regular game time at Everton, and helped the Merseyside club to reach the FA Cup final, which they lost 1-2 to Chelsea.
Dempsey -- scorer of two goals in their last two games at this Confederations Cup -- arrived here after having gone through a tough marathon in the English Premiership in the colours of a Fulham side that was one of the most improved teams in the league.
Teenage striker Jozy Altidore, who scored the historic goal against Spain that put the Americans on the way to their victory, had a stint in Spain this season while inspirational forward Landon Donavan had stints with Bayern Munich in the Bundesliga.
Giant defender Oguchi Onyewu, who was the outstanding performer in defence in the victory over Spain as he shut out both Fernando Torres and David Villa, arrived here after helping Standard Liege to the Belgian championship.
And such has been his commanding show here that he is reported to be on his way to Turkey.
What makes the United States' achievement special is the fact that they appeared to be down and out -- after just two group games -- following heavy defeats at the hands of world champions Italy and former world champions Brazil.
The Americans led 1-0 at the interval against Italy, thanks to a Donavan penalty, but -- as widely expected -- they lost their way after the break and were soundly beaten 1-3 in that match.
They were also beaten easily, slumping to a 0-3 defeat, by Brazil and, at that stage, it appeared that their campaign was over.
But they bounced back admirably, with an impressive 3-0 win over African champions Egypt, and since then they have been a different team with balance in defence and attack and sublime creativity in midfield.
Now they have become the first team to beat Spain since November 2006, the first team to beat the Spaniards in 36 games, the first team to stop the European champions from winning in the last 16 games and the first team to score against this Spanish side at this tournament.
No wonder the whole football family is toasting the grand achievement of this American team.
"It's huge because it's the first time we have been in the final of a major competition -- and especially because we were down and out in the group and then no one expected us to win this game either," said Dempsey.
"After we lost to Brazil in our second group game we knew it was a long shot to advance in the cup, but we worked hard and then results went our way.
"We were excited about that and it carried over into this game and this win.
"All the fans back home will be excited but while we're also extremely happy, we realise there is another hard game to play."
But how have these Americans suddenly become such a potent force?
Coach Bob Bradley probably sums it up best:
"Our success is a product of many things," he said.
"The MLS is important in terms of growth, we've had players who have chosen to go overseas and their experience has been important.
"We've also had success as a national team against big teams.
"That's the way it grows. There is no way you can skip steps and we're proud to be moving forward.
"When you play Spain, you certainly have to work very hard as a group to defend. We made a special point to close down Xavi as best as we could to prevent his penetrative passes.
"We felt strongly that when we got the ball we needed to be aggressive and have the confidence that we could keep the ball and move it.
"We did a very good job of sealing down the middle of the field. Our backline did very well.
"It was a team effort to just try and make sure our defending was good and look for moments to score."
Villareal striker Altidore, who is only 19, said he believed his team would win.
"The fact I play my football in Spain at Villarreal was a big help.
"I have played against a lot of these guys and know them and gave the coach some information.
"I sent some of them texts before the game telling them we were going to win.
"I was right. But everything went for us tonight, it was our night."
Donavan has been brilliant in this tournament as the creative force behind this group of American heroes.
Howard was brilliant between the posts and his composure appeared to filter through his teammates in defence and drain life out of the Spaniards.
"We all know about the USA beating England back in the World Cup in 1950, but this result, in the semi-finals of a major Fifa competition watched by millions around the world, has to rank right up there among the greatest upsets of all time," he told reporters after the match.
"On Sunday we thought we were going home, now we are heading into the final. No one gave us a chance on Sunday, no one thought we could turn it around, but you have to believe."
The win by the Americans against the world's top-ranked team is now being considered as one of the greatest upsets in the history of world football.
It ranked along the DPRK's astonishing 1-0 victory over Italy at the 1966 World Cup finals in England, the Indomitable Lions of Cameroon's 1-0 win over world champions Argentina at the 1990 World Cup finals in Italy and Senegal's win over holders France in the opening game of the 2002 World Cup finals in Korea/Japan.
If the United States go on and win the tournament, then they would rank alongside Denmark who, having failed to qualify for Euro '92, they were asked to replace Yugoslavia because of the unrest in that country at that time.
The Danish side, with virtually all their players on holiday at beaches around the world, came and shocked everyone by winning that tournament.
Greece's win at Euro 2004 was also a shock of major proportions.
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