More than 30 years before #DosACero there was Dos a Uno.
As the United States men’s national team prepares to face archrival Mexico in the CONCACAF Cup at the sold-out Rose Bowl in Pasadena, Calif., on Saturday night – with the winner earning a berth in the 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup in Russia – most fans are unaware of a seminal match between the two regional powers on Nov. 20, 1980, at Lockhart Stadium in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. In the stands, 2,126 curious souls looked on.
The American team, composed mostly of players from the NASL, had already squandered its chance to qualify for the 1982 World Cup in Spain with a one-sided loss at Mexico and a loss at Canada. Mexico was headed to the final round of regional qualification, but it too ended up watching the World Cup from home after Honduras and El Salvador each went to the final tournament for the first time.
For the cobbled-together U.S. squad, there was little to play for. For Mexico, it was expected to be another easy 90-minute walkthrough against an undermanned, ill-prepared team after a 5-1 shellacking at Azteca Stadium in Mexico City.
“It was like the Dark Ages for U.S. Soccer,” said defender Boris Bandov, one of five Cosmos players (Steve Moyers would later join that club from the California Surf) in the starting lineup that day. “It was like get us together and let’s play a game.”
And play a game the American team did.
Sparked by two goals from Moyers, the U.S. defeated Mexico, 2-1. It was the first time the Americans had beaten Mexico since a qualifying match for the 1934 World Cup in Italy, which was the first time the two North American nations faced off on the soccer field. According to the Mexican soccer historian Carlos Calderón Cardoso , that game “created a rivalry that lasted forever,” albeit one that was one-sided for nearly 50 years, but lately has been more even, and even more heated.
“Every country in the region was out to beat us because we dominated every sport, except soccer,” said Perry Van Der Beck, then as now, a member of the Tampa Bay Rowdies organization, who sustained a broken bone in his foot early in what evolved into a nasty, physical match. “We were already out of qualification, but in the end, we came away with the victory. Even though we didn’t qualify, to come away with the win over Mexico for me was a great achievement.”
For many American soccer fans, it is difficult to remember the sport’s long, fallow years. Before qualifying for the 1990 World Cup in Italy, the U.S. had not played in the tournament since 1950 in Brazil (when there was a pretty significant victory to speak of against a pretty big team). That all seems like ancient history (which, in fact, it was) because since 2000 the U.S. holds a 13-5-5 advantage against El Tri, which includes perhaps the most notable being the “original” Dos a Cero win in the Round of 16 of the 2002 World Cup in South Korea and Japan.
In the game in 1980, the U.S. took a 1-0 lead in the 31st minute when Moyers rose to meet with his head a free kick from defender Larry Hulcer, yet another St. Louis native (like Moyers and Van Der Beck) on the field that day. Hugo Sánchez, who was only weeks from transferring to Spanish club Atlético Madrid, tied the match five minutes before halftime when he struck the rebound from his own free kick past U.S. goalkeeper Arnie Mausser.
“There were a lot of nasty things going on in that game,” Moyers said. “We didn’t like each other, personally and culturally. It’s probably still that way today.
“In the game there was kicking the Achilles, spitting, elbows, just rough play when the ref wasn’t looking. It was very intense for obvious reasons. Actually in some ways my aggression as a player probably helped me a great deal. I probably wasn’t as skilled as a lot of players and my game was built to be around the goal, to be in the right place at the right time. I had to work hard to do that, my skill didn’t come easy.”
After the interval, and in a downpour, Moyers gave the U.S. the lead for good when he scored in the 65th minute. Minutes later a player from each team – Mexico’s Mario Trejo and Njego Pesa of the U.S. – were ejected by referee Marco Antonio García of Guatemala. The U.S. endured relentless pressure from Mexico the rest of the way, finally walking off the field with a historic victory that has somehow been buried in the annals of U.S. Soccer history.
“I was sitting around with some of my former teammates recently, Rodney Marsh, Steve Wegerle and some other guys, and we all agreed that if we could change one thing it would be to have played in a different era, like now,” Van Der Beck said. “Look at where the game is now, it’s exploded. Back then you had to wait two days for the result of an international game to show up in the paper. We were good American players with a passion for the game and we put our hearts into it.”
How badly did the loss to the American team damage the psyche of the Mexican players, a group that included NASL players Sánchez and Leonardo Cuéllar?
The directors of the 2012 film “Gringos at the Gate” interviewed Cuellar, who was expansive in chatting about the rivalry, all except for one game.
“I asked him about the match in 1980, and he basically ignored the question,” said the director, Roberto Donati, speaking to SBNation. “I asked him again, and again he ignored. Clearly, he had no intention of talking about that game. Thirty years later, he’s still mad about the defeat.”
As the American players celebrated the victory, Moyers said he saw a distraught bunch of Mexican players slowly leave the playing field.
“Even though it didn’t mean anything in terms of moving on, it was a milestone for us,” Moyers said. “It may have been a consolation of sorts, but it was like winning a playoff game. It was a big deal and we’re very proud of that moment. It might have been a steppingstone for U.S. Soccer, though so many people don’t know anything about the game.”
Part of the reason for that is because the tape of the game, which was not carried in the U.S. in those pre-cable, pre-Internet streaming days, has long been the subject of a treasure hunt. The game was shown in Mexico on Televisa, but it is now thought that the Mexican federation has the tape somewhere under lock and key, out of sheer embarrassment.
“I often get calls from people asking about that tape,” said Moyers, who in the early 1980s was perhaps the most lethal striker, an out-and-out goalscorer on the U.S. team, and later the Cosmos. “From what I’ve heard, Mexico is so embarrassed by that game that they sealed it, hid it, and will not release it. I think it’s kind of funny.”
From his current home in Neenah, Wis., Moyers had this suggestion for U.S. Soccer officials: “I thought it would be really cool if they could bring back some of the players for an introduction before Saturday’s game or some future game. Just recognize those guys because the U.S. team has come a long way since then, and I believe in a way, that game in 1980 got things started. It would be nice for the guys who are still around. That game was a milestone for guys like me. We were not expected to do anything.”
But they did.
They beat Mexico.
Dos a Uno.
The lineups for the match:
23.11.1980: Fort Lauderdale, Florida USA; Lockhart Stadium (A: 2126)
USA - MEXICO 2:1 (1:1)
Steve MOYERS 31', 65' - HUGO SANCHEZ 40'
USA: Arnie Mausser - Boris Bandov, Colin Fowles, Rick Davis, Larry Hulcer, Perry van der Beck (22: Louie Nanchoff), Ringo Cantillo, Angelo di Bernardo, Mark Liveric, Njego Pesa, Steve Moyers. Booked: Davis, Sent offs: Pesa 68'
MEX: Ignacio Rodríguez - Mario Trejo, Alfredo Tena, Vázquez Ayala, José Luis López, Gustavo Vargas (73: Ricardo Castro), Guillermo Mendizábal, José Luis González (67: Leonardo Cuéllar), Cristóbal Ortega, Adrián Camacho, Hugo Sánchez. Booked: Garduno, Sent offs: Trejo 68'
R: Garcia REGALADO (GUA)