This article won’t go into Jamaica’s upset over the US or the CONCACAF fraud controversy surrounding Panama and Mexico.
However both games could have been much better if the quality of the field was anything up to the standards an international competition should be held too. The ball would constantly bounce across the carpet for no reason. Often the ball would get caught on a players foot or the weight of a pass would either be too fast or too slow as a result of the pitch.
Why? Because it was grass laid OVER either turf or cement itself. This doesn’t allow the grass to properly set itself and doesn’t allow the individual layers of sod to connect, causing uneven surface across the board. The United States dominated possession over Jamaica but still continually had issues with the proper weighting of passes and dribbling. You would see players start to hit the ball with more weight when dribbling to overcompensate for the slow grass. Jamaica would take advantage of this as they were for the most part a faster and more athletic side. Additionally, the field was the equivalent size of a post card as it is for all other uses, an American football stadium. This will always benefit a team of lesser technical ability as it allows for easy counterattacks. Jamaica likely wouldn’t have been able to throw-in a ball to become a goal on a properly sized field.
As much of a travesty as it is that two semifinals were played on turf, they were also played in a dome. It is understandable why Atlanta would be a likely destination. It was used in 2013 and the MLS is trying to solidify support for US Soccer with a new Atlanta team entering the MLS in 2017. Yet because it was a dome, the ball would often get lost in the lights, leaving on more than one occasion players searching, covering their eyes and losing balls on crosses, deflections and 50/50 balls. It would be humorous if it wasn’t so sad.
There were 13 venues chosen for the Gold Cup this year. 6 of the stadiums have grass overlaid over turf. And most bewilderingly, ALL of the playoffs games will be played on this surface.
The only reason for this is greed. Greed that you can fill more seats at these stadiums or the money offered was more than anyone else could. If its not the money it’s worse, it is pathetic or simply apathetic mismanagement. There were other potential venues in the US that had just as much capacity but played on Natural Grass fields. Levi’s Stadium where the 49ers play in San Francisco. Sun Life Stadium where the Dolphins play in Miami. The Rose Bowl in Carson, CA. Actual MLS Stadiums. The Philadelphia Union have their own stadium right outside Philadelphia yet the final will be played where the NFL Phiadelphia Eagles play. And it will be an ugly game because of substandard fields. Which is a shame because CONCACAF has teams that have succeeded on the World stage and or have great quality. It’s just hard to see as the ball bobbles and meanders over such poor fields. Shame on CONCACAF for poor refereeing, poor management and now, poor fields.
