by Rod Hughes

More bad news from the world of international soccer tourneys–The Under-23-year-old soccer All Stars lost yesterday to Panama in their bid for the third-place berth that would have taken them to the Olympics in Beijing next year.

Earlier they dumped Panama 1-0 in Panama but yesterday in Ricardo Saprissa Stadium they showed themselves clueless, while coach Hernan Medford stalked the sidelines in a fury and all but rent his clothing and poured ashes on his head. Even the expulsion of Roland Algandona that left the Ticos facing only 10 men did not help. After trying to control a deft Gabriel Torres, the apathetic Tico defense let Armando Quintero through for a goal that won the game and forced the penalty kick shootout that Panama won.

As the sportwriter for the newspaper Al Dia wrote in a headline, “We’re in a Nosedive.”

The loss caps a litany of miserable performances of Tico soccer teams this year, right on the heels of Saprissa’s loss to Motagua in the Uncaf battle of clubs in the istmus. Not far behind Alajuela’s loss to Municipalidad of Guatemala and their loss of a third-place finish due to a tiny gang of hooligan fans.

The last really good news was last February when the pro-All Stars won the UNCAF championship again 3-1 over Panama on penalty kicks. All very wonderful, but not long afterward the Under-20-year olds were booted out of the first round of the tourney in Canada for that class. Then it was the under-17-year-old team’s turn, doing well in the Korean World Cup for that age group before getting rudely dumped 2-0 by Argentina. We could go on, but you get the point.