As in the 1994 World Cup, Brazil beat the U.S. 1-0. This time, though, the game was played in both halves.
Tab Ramos and his family left Uruguay for New Jersey 18 years ago, when he was 10. He returned for the first time on July 4, when the U.S. team bus crossed the Rio Uruguay into Paysandu.
“I can’t even describe what it felt like,” said Ramos.
His homesickness upon arriving in the United States was alleviated only when he found boys to play soccer with. Now soccer has taken him back.
In Paysandu, Ramos was still more than 200 miles from Montevideo.
“Two girls drove up from Montevideo to say hello to me,” Ramos said in Paysandu. “They said they were in my class … We don’t have any close relatives left in Uruguay, but I want to see where I grew up.”
As a child, he dreamed of playing in Centenario Stadium, which lies near the house his grandmother lived in. In the lobby of the team’s Paysandu hotel, Ramos inspected a map of Montevideo and spotted the long Avenida Ramon Anador, where both his and his grandmother’s homes were.
When the U.S. players left Paysandu on July 18, they had beaten Chile and Argentina to win their group, and had topped Mexico on penalties to reach the semifinals. They had also won some friends.
Hundreds of people bid them farewell. Children waved American flags and girls cried. Two followed the bus for three miles on mopeds.
Maldonado is best known as the more affordable neighboring town of Punta del Este, the coastal playground for rich Argentines and Brazilians. To Ramos and his teammates, the town was a stop on the way to Centenario Stadium — they hoped.
But the game was against Brazil, the world champion.
The teams last met on the Fourth of July a year ago, in the World Cup round of 16. Brazil won 1-0. Ramos provided the only U.S. offense. It wasn’t much, and there was none in the second half. Shortly before halftime, Ramos grabbed Leonardo’s shirt in a battle for the ball and Leonardo threw a elbow that knocked Ramos out. He suffered the worst injury of the World Cup, had headaches for months, and sat out half a year.
In Maldonado, Ramos lasted the whole 90 minutes. He served passes from the midfield, and led a second-half comeback attempt. But a 13th-minute goal from Aldair held up. The U.S. lost 1-0.
The Americans had to stay in Maldonado to play for third place. Ramos canceled a return to his childhood neighborhood. The surprising U.S. run had ended.
“Right now, in the locker room, people are sad,” Ramos said minutes after the loss. “We had a good chance to go to the final. We know we lost against the world champion, but that doesn’t make it feel any better right now. We realize we did a good job, played well. But it was a loss and we wish we would have done better.”
A year ago, the U.S. played almost the entire second half with an extra man after Leonardo was ejected. But it didn’t throw players forward. Maldonado was different than Stanford, Calif.
After spending most of the first half on the wrong side of a keepaway game, the U.S. attacked in the second half. Tom Dooley, a defensive midfielder, spent much of the time on the frontline, even though he was in charge of marking playmaker Juninho. Alexi Lalas came out of the back. Eric Wynalda and Joe-Max Moore fought diligently on the frontline.
However, the U.S. didn’t create solid chances; it didn’t force any saves from Brazilian keeper Claudio Taffarel. And even when it was pressing late in the game, Brazilian counterattacks proved more threatening.
The U.S. didn’t crack the Brazilian defense, but at least it required that the Brazilians defend.
“For the first time ever,” U.S. coach Steve Sampson said, “Brazil was defending and playing conservatively against the United States, for the last 30 minutes of the game. They were playing for the 1-0 result.
“We were playing at the very least for a 1-1 tie. We were continuing to create chances and continuing to put players in forward positions. The important thing is we didn’t play to defend or play conservatively.”
Obvious as it is that a losing team must attack, U.S. teams of the past have looked scared of conceding more goals rather than intent on erasing the deficit.
“We were very angry after the game,” Harkes said, “instead of walking away happy and saying it was only one-nil. We’re not like that any more. We’ve come past that stage.”
No ‘Leonardo’ reunion
Leonardo, whom Ramos has officially forgiven, did not play against the U.S., preventing a “reunion” the Brazilian press had anticipated. He played only 149 minutes in this tournament.
“Before the game, I did think a little bit [about getting hurt],” Ramos said. “Then I thought, if I did get hurt again it would just be an incredible coincidence. So I just went out and played as hard as I could. I didn’t shy from any tackles.”
It was Ramos’ first start and first full game of the tournament. He entered it after recovering from a knee injury, suffered with his Mexican club Tigres, and a pulled muscle he incurred during U.S. Cup.
Like his teammates, Ramos started slow, hitting a couple of bad passes and spending much time chasing Brazilians. John Harkes kept an eye on Dunga, while Dooley watched the dynamic Juninho.
In the defense, Lalas and Burns marked Edmundo and Savio, while Caligiuri swept.
When the U.S. had the ball, it usually put it back to Caligiuri. He would eventually find open midfielders, but U.S. attacks broke down early.
“It’s very hard to get the ball from Brazil,” Ramos said. “When we recovered it, we were usually out of position to attack right away. Our style is to steal balls and get to the other goal as soon as possible.
“But against Brazil we almost never stole it in the midfield. Their attacks usually ended up in shots. It’s hard to counter when an attack ends in a shot.”
That wide midfielders Cobi Jones and Ernie Stewart weren’t crossing the ball well took away an important U.S. weapon.
Wynalda did hit a good cross after beating Jorginho in the 31st minute, but the Lalas header didn’t reach the goal. And Harkes’ searing cross in the 38th minute was fumbled out for a corner kick by Taffarel, who has been known to knock balls into his own goal.
But by then, Brazil was leading 1-0. Roberto Carlos had fallen after Jones met him near the end line, just outside the penalty area.
Juninho hit the free kick inside the goal area. Aldair, a central defender, flew in to head home. He had been trailed by Harkes, who let up as Aldair entered the goal area, and Friedel arrived late.
“The key was not to let a goal in the first half,” Harkes said, “because it’s hard for us to come back.”
Caligiuri’s long-range shot at the end of first half flew just wide of the goal, and the U.S. started strongly in the second half.
Its best chance came in the 54th minute when Lalas headed wide right on one of seven U.S. corner kicks. The U.S. won four corners in the second half, while Brazil had three in the entire game.
Friedel saved shots from Savio and his replacement Tulio on counterattacks. The crowded Brazilian defense prevented goalmouth action on the other end, though Moore was unlucky when he faked out a defender only to have Beto block his 16-yard shot.
Brazil played lackadaisically with its narrow lead.
“It could be because we were pressuring,” Jones said.
Accused of playing poorly, Brazilian coach Mario Zagalo said, “The U.S. is not a weak team. Brazil didn’t play badly. The U.S. is a team that is displaying quality. It beat Argentina 3-0. My team played well against a strong opponent.”
Harkes said, “We had them on their heels. I think they were lucky in the second half.”
Lucky mainly that the U.S., though winning duels and keeping possession, didn’t test Taffarel.
Going into the match, the Brazilians had conceded only two goals, both against Argentina in the quarterfinal, and both had made Taffarel look bad.
The U.S. players felt there was little comparison to the way they played Brazil a year ago, even though eight players took the field during both games.
“We’re a year older,” Lalas said. “A year more experienced. We’re much more united. We have a better atmosphere. Add all those feelings together and we’re a better team.”
by Soccer America Senior Editor Mike Woitalla