2011 CONCACAF Gold Cup

Lore & Background

The set of thirteen venues – the same number as the 2009 Gold Cup – was announced on December 16, 2010. Each stadium hosted a doubleheader, except the Rose Bowl which hosted the final. A total of 12 teams qualified for the tournament. Three berths were allocated to North America, five to Central America, and four to the Caribbean. The 12 national teams were required to register a squad of 23 players. On June 9, 2011, five Mexican players (Christian Bermúdez, Édgar Dueñas, Guillermo Ochoa, Francisco Javier Rodríguez, and Sinha) tested positive for clenbuterol prior to the start of the 2011 Gold Cup. They were withdrawn from the squad after their June 5 match against El Salvador. Mexican officials believed the positive tests were caused by eating tainted meat. CONCACAF General Secretary Chuck Blazer said a meeting was to be convened on June 10 to consider the situation, but it was postponed. The Mexican Football Federation said on June 14 that the 'B' samples were negative. On June 19, Mexico was allowed to replace the suspended players with Luis Ernesto Michel, Héctor Reynoso, Paul Aguilar, Marco Fabián, and Hiram Mier. All players were later acquitted, with results blamed on meat contamination. WADA appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport but withdrew the request on October 12, 2011. On September 20, 2013, the Salvadoran Football Federation banned 14 Salvadoran players for life due to match fixing, including eight players from El Salvador's 5–0 loss to Mexico on June 5, 2011.

In Their Own Story

The floodlights at RFK hummed to life on a warm June evening. The air smelled of cut grass and the faint sweetness of the cherry trees lining the stadium's perimeter. In the Mexican dressing room, Rafael Márquez ran a hand over the crest on his jersey, the seventh star still just a possibility. Giovani dos Santos laced his boots with the quiet focus of a nineteen-year-old who had already scored in two World Cups. The tunnel was a roar of green and white. When the final whistle blew and the score read 4–2, the celebration spilled onto the pitch like a tide—Hernández hoisted onto shoulders, Tena embracing every player, and somewhere in the crowd a fan in a faded 1986 jersey wept openly, the seventh star now real, now his, now Mexico's.

Reader's Guide

The competition started on June 5, 2011, and ended with the final on June 25, 2011. The final was held at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California. Mexico defeated the United States 4–2. There were 80 goals scored in 25 matches, for an average of 3.2 goals per match. Awards given at the conclusion included the Golden Boot, Golden Ball, and Golden Glove.

Did You Know?

• The 2011 Gold Cup was the fifth tournament without guests from other confederations.
• Mexico won their sixth Gold Cup and ninth CONCACAF Championship overall.
• The final was the third consecutive Gold Cup final and second consecutive win for Mexico.
• Five Mexican players were suspended for clenbuterol but later acquitted due to meat contamination.