Staff Photo by Angela Lewis/Chattanooga Times Free Press
Mexico’s Mora Guzman Jorge Armando and Colombia’s Fabian Castillo battle for the ball during an exhibition game at Finley Stadium.Grant Freeman and Alex Molina came to Finley Stadium to see some of the soccer stars of the future Tuesday night.
Neither the heavy rains that drenched Chattanooga all day, but finally moved away just before kickoff, nor the cool conditions kept them away from the exhibition between the under-20 national teams from Mexico and Colombia.
And they weren’t alone. A crowd of about 1,500, most of them carrying colorful umbrellas and rooting for Mexico, showed up to see the Mexicans prevail 2-1. At the end, as the fans filed out of the stadium, many chanted in unison: “Mexico! Mexico! Mexico!”
“It’s an opportunity to see something in Chattanooga that we just don’t have come around very often,” Freeman, a University of Tennessee at Chattanooga student, said before the game. “Frankly, it’s a big deal if we can get events like this to come and maybe grow soccer in our community.”
“Had [the weather] been what it’s been for the previous two months – 65 or 70 degrees and clear – I don’t doubt that we would have gotten a packed house,” Freeman said.
Tuesday’s nasty weather eliminated any hopes of a massive turnout, but event organizer Scott Spencer said he was impressed by how many did attend.
“I thought it was fantastic,” said Spencer, who added that he would seriously consider bringing another international game to the Scenic City.
Molina, from Venezuela, said he and Freeman attend Chattanooga Football Club games and have been impressed both with the quality of play and the number of avid soccer fans in the area – something Tuesday’s turnout reinforced.
“It’s great what they’re doing here,” he said.
What CFC has done in its two seasons – which helped bring Tuesday’s friendly to Finley – is win nearly all of its games and attract a loyal following of a few thousand fans.
The ticket price for Tuesday’s game – $15 advance, $20 at the gate – might have kept some folks away, but Freeman took a longer view about what he was paying to see.
“These are the kids that in four years, some of these kids will be playing in the World Cup, and they will be playing in international matches across Europe,” Freeman said, “so this is a chance to see them for a lot cheaper than it is to go to either one of those things.”
The shivering fans, at least half of them Hispanic, didn’t have to wait long to let out a roar. Taufic Guarch put the boys in green up 1-0 with a goal in the fifth minute.
Colombia drew even in the 22nd minute when Pedro Franco managed to drive a shot past Mexico goalkeeper Jose Rodriguez.
The teams played a very physical game last Saturday in Atlanta – Mexico won on penalty kicks – and things got more and more physical Tuesday as the rematch progressed.
Colombia’s Stiven Mendoza was given a red card in the 39th minute following a hard challenge, which forced the Colombians to play with 10 men the rest of the game.
Mexico’s David Izazola scored the deciding goal midway through the second half, and soon after that two members of Colombia’s coaching staff were ejected for arguing with the referee.
Contact John Frierson at jfrierson@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6268. Follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/mocsbeatCTFP.