Honduran manager Luis Fernando Suarez evidently had enough of the bad vibes, whether the journalists grilling him following his side’s narrow 1-0 win over Cuba last night were finished their questions or not. According to reports, he “exploded” halfway through the presser, walking out unexpectedly after feeding some choice quotes to the scribes present and also to fans around the country.
Feelings appear a little sensitive in Honduras right now. For all that Canada fans feel their team is staring down the wrong end of the barrel on yet another pre-Hex World Cup qualifying flame-out, the old demons are stirring in Honduras too. That's why it's worth a look at the mood in the country whom Canada will likely face in a one-game-take-all Roulette spin, a berth in the Hex at stake.
[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]Self-loathing is a bitch. Just ask any long-time supporter of Canada's mens' soccer team, especially on the heels of another demoralizing defeat, this time in Panama City. It's even worse that it follows a decent home performance three days prior. Asi es el futbol though. You could ask a Honduran supporter the same question these days and receive a similar answer.
The headline in La Prensa said it all: Honduras falls short and suffers in defeating Cuba. Honduras has its own history of soul-deadening results to haunt it. How about October 7, 2001 when Honduras lost 1-0 to last-place Trinidad in the same stadium they'll play Canada on Oct 16 - San Pedro Sula's Estadio Olimpico. After a great campaign in the Hex they ended up finishing three points out of the third and final World Cup qualifying spot.
It all could have been so different for both Canada and Honduras fans on Tuesday night. Check out this page for an embedded video of the almost-goal-that-wasn't in injury time. Cuba was a line clearance away from equalizing and completely changing the group's dynamics. According to La Prensa, the game revived memories of the ugly and tragic side of football.
Honduras reportedly controlled the match, but struggled to create scoring chances. Hmm, does that sound familiar? And the ones they did create they wiffed. La Prensa says the attack has always been Suarez’ Achilles heel, and last night was no different.
Back to the press conference, in which Suarez said (roughly, it’s a translation after all): Let's withdraw from qualifying and not do anything more. If we're only thinking we're not going to have the capacity to beat Panama or Canada, Then we won't bother. Before walking out he extended -- with what may have been a sideways glance -- an invitation to Honduran fans to support their national team and be a touch more optimistic.
Perhaps they took his message to heart. An online poll taken by Deiz.hn (roughly 900 responses) showed a slim majority of 52% believe Canada would be the team missing out on the Hex, with 38% saying Honduras and ten optimistic percent saying Panama would somehow fail to progress. So before wallowing too deeply in your frustration take consolation in knowing that, in Concacaf at least, you have plenty of company. And then continue wallowing.
Photo courtesy of Mickael T. via Flickr.