“You’re not playing on a level field. At sea level, I’d favor the U.S. But it’s hard, an awesome challenge. The elevation, the sightlines are difficult. It’s 20 yards from the touchlines to the dugouts. The massive field looks like it’s out in the country. You have the heat. It all gets to your head. We tried oxygen at halftime. We tried a lot of things.”
— Former U.S. national team coach Bruce Arena on the Mexico-USA World Cup qualifier. Arena teams lost to Mexico three times at Azteca — 1-0 in overtime in the semifinals of the 1999 Confederations Cup, 1-0 in World Cup qualifying in 2001 and 2-1 in qualifying four years later.
(New York Daily News)