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Comas vs Bayern, 2001
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Ten Best: Metro vs the World
July 27, 2011
So, Emirates Cup!!! Exciting, isn't it? No? Not even a bit? Then let's go down memory lane and see Metro's greatest victories in international friendlies, a list that is at the same time impressive and pointless.
10) February 24, 2002: Rot-Weiss 0, MetroStars 7
Why is a lowly Swiss side listed among some of world's soccer giants? Because we cannot forget this trashing in 2002, Metro's biggest victory of all time. In a preseason game in Italy, Tab Ramos scored two, Petter Villegas, Rodrigo Faria, and Birahim Diop got one each, but the star was trialist Byron Alvarez. The Mexican scored twice and turned heads all preseason... before becoming known as one of the worst players in team history once games that actually counted started.
9) August 8, 2001: MetroStars 2, Italchacao 0
Metro's first venture to international play that actually meant something (not much, we grant you), was in 2001's Copa Merconorte. The first match was against Deportivo Italchacao, and it was a laugher. Metro ran circles around the Venezuelans, as Adolfo Valencia and Mike Petke provided the goals. Sadly, this was the team's only win in the now-defunct cup... if you don't count the two forfeits they got over Mexico's Chivas. Fine, let's count those.
8) May 23, 2010: New York 3, Juventus 1
No one thought this one would be so easy, but it sure looked that way. Metro reserves, including such luminaries as Irving Garcia, ran wild through the supposed Italian powerhouse. Jeremy Hall, Conor Chinn, and Juan Pablo Angel scored second-half goals, before Juventus got a consolation prize late.
7) March 19, 2003: Boca Juniors 0, MetroStars 1
Metro made a trip to Argentina during the 2003 preseason, and got a fantastic victory at La Bombonera. Eddie Pope scored midway through the second half and Tim Howard stopped a penalty kick late. It was the second time that Metro beat the Argentine giants, triumphing 3:2 in a home friendly in 2002 behind two from Faria and one from Jeff Moore.
6) February 27, 2001: Benfica 0, MetroStars 2
The MetroStars first played Benfica in a home friendly in 1998, losing 3:1. They returned the favor three years later, stepping onto the fabled grounds of the Stadium of Light and winning 2:0, behind the goals from the Colombian duo of Valencia and Alex Comas. Howard stopped a penalty kick to preserve the shutout.
5) June 7, 1997: MetroStars 1, Sampdoria 0
Up to that point, Metro's record versus international teams was abysmal. They finally got that victory in 1997, when Sampdoria made its way to Giants Stadium. Antony De Avila scored the lone goal of the match in what somehow proved to be the high point of the terrible 1997 season.
4) March 20, 2010: New York 3, Santos 1
Metro opened Red Bull Arena in a tremendous fashion, romping over the Brazilians. In the 11th minute, Joel Lindpere scored the first goal in the new stadium, converting his own rebound. Metro hero Mike Petke got the eventual game-winner, and Dane Richards scored the third. Santos pulled one late to avoid the shutout.
3) March 1, 2004: Dynamo Kyiv 2, MetroStars 3
Say what you want about the Emirates Cup, but we'll always have La Manga. During the 2004 pre-season tournament in Spain, Metro made it out of group stage after losing one and winning one, making the semifinals as the best second-place team. There, they met Champions League participants Dynamo Kyiv... And somehow won. Amado Guevara scored the first from the spot and Olivier Occean, who would be poached by a Norwegian team after the tournament, put Metro up two. The Ukrainian giants answered to even it up. Then, in the 73rd, Dynamo's Goran Sablic knocked an Occean cross into his own net, and Metro was on its way to an improbable final.
2) May 26, 2001: MetroStars 2, Bayern 0
Metro beat Bayern twice, with a 4:2 victory in 2006 also on the books. But this triumph in 2001 stood out, as the Germans were fresh off their Champions League triumph over Valencia. Clint Mathis stole the ball from a German defender and scored the first, and Comas headed in the second for what proved to be his last goal in a Metro uniform. Howard and Paul Grafer combined on the shutout.
1) March 5, 2004: Viking 0, MetroStars 1
After beating Dynamo, Metro would play Viking in the final of La Manga. The Norwegians accounted for Metro's lone defeat in the tournament at the group stage. This time around, it was Metro who came out on top, as then-little-known Jeff Parke, the very last pick of the SuperDraft, headed in a Guevara corner kick in the 27th minute. Metro became the first MLS team to win a trophy outside of North America... and now have the chance to match that in the Emirates Cup. Oh, if it only wasn't so pointless!
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