CONCACAF: The End of Mexican Dominance

All soccer fans knew this day would come.  Team USA, a sleeping giant who has been awakened, is now the unquestioned No. 1 team in the CONCACAF (North and Central America) region.  Mexican dominance in the region is little more than a distant memory now.

Mexico's failure to qualify for the 2008 Olympics has placed coach Hugo Sanchez on the hotseat.  Beyond that, it also highlights just how far they have fallen in relation to the rest of the region, especially Team USA.  Their fans can no longer lay claim to the top spot after recent results.  Their talent level may be as strong as ever, but the rest of the region has greatly developed over the last decade.    

The popular perception still holds that Mexico is a top-notch footballing nation and America is a step behind.  The results, however, point to a different conclusion

Mexico has failed to beat America on US soil in its last 10 tries.  The American team has won the last two Gold Cups (the North American equivalent of the European Championships) and finished ahead of Mexico in World Cup Qualifying. 

The Mexican teams insistence that they are still the cream of the CONCACAF crop has held them back.  Whenever they play America, they operate under the assumption that they are entitled to a win.  After all, they dominated their northern neighbors for years.  The same neighbors who still don't embrace soccer as their No. 1 sport (or No. 2, or 3).  They waste chance after chance in front of the net and claim that they unfairly lost.  The best team does not always win in soccer.  But if you have failed 10 times in a row, maybe you are the problem, not luck.

The downfall of the Mexican team is similar to the fall of the American Basketball team in many ways. 

Both teams thought they were invincible.  Both teams thought victories were rights, not privileges.  Both teams ignored the growing talent level of the rest of the world.  Both teams learned their lesson the hard way in the Olympics (one in 2004, the other in 2008 qualifying). 

Mexican soccer fans can rejoice in the fact that the USA basketball team turned their situation around.  They went back to basics and came to respect the talent level of other teams.  They qualified for the 2008 Olympics and are a favorite to take home gold.  Mexico has all the young talent needed to win in CONCACAF, from Nery Castillo to Andres Guardado to Gio Dos Santos.  What remains to be seen is if they have the ability to accept their diminished position in the region.