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'Gamesmanship' Tranquil Guatemalan town prepares for U.S., spotlight
MAZATENANGO, Guatemala (AP) -- From the steamy, sugar cane-littered streets of this quiet little town, it looks like Christmas in July. World Cup qualifying is coming to town. With the United States coming to face Guatemala in the opening CONCACAF semifinal round match for both sides on Sunday, this sugar-producing hamlet of 80,000 is receiving unprecedented worldwide attention. Officially, the venue selection is to "generate support and excitement for soccer in Guatemala's rural interior regions." But placing the match in a city that is a three-hour bus ride west of Guatemala City instead of the capital has been diplomatically called "gamesmanship" by U.S. coach Bruce Arena. Many see it as the Guatemalan federation's attempt to create the most hostile atmosphere as possible for the Americans. Mazatenango's brutally hot climate -- an average daily high of 38 degrees Celsius (100 Fahrenheit) forces many here to head to work before 4 a.m. in an attempt to hang on to the predawn cool. Arena sees the decision to hold the game here as "an attempt to intimidate us." Although the United States have a 6-2-4 record against Guatemala, it has never beaten the Central Americans away from home. Still, Guatemala is a long-shot to qualify for World Cup play, and has to finish in the top two of a group that also includes Costa Rica and Barbados to advance to the final round of qualifiying. The Americans have been training all week in the heat and humidity of Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Ten on the 18-man roster play in Major League Soccer, which unlike most leagues around the world, plays a summer season. "A lot of the guys are from Southern California and played there in the summer, so we think they will be will prepared," U.S. team press officer Rich Schneider said. "It can get awful hot playing in places like Dallas in the U.S., too." The game, and the resulting controversy, only became realities after the 11,000-seat Carlos Salazar Stadium, with its heavy cinderblocks walls, flaking light blue paint and worn wooden bleachers, passed inspection. In fact, when Mayor Carlos Orellana heard his town was in the running to host the game with the Americans, he dispatched a special task force to the stadium for "obstructed-seat watch." And since FIFA and COCACAF approved the venue, 160 kilometers (100 miles) from Guatemala City, everyone here seems more than happy to bask in the glow of their 90 minutes of fame. "It's like a giant party," CONCACAF vice president Rafael Salguero of Guatemala said. "This is the most important thing that's happened to Mazatenango, probably ever." Orellana said besides the instant international attention World Cup qualifying and the U.S. team will bring to his city, the game is expected to generate more than 1 million quetzales (US$130,000) in profit for local vendors and merchants. "I can't ignore the fact that this is the biggest economic opportunity we've ever had," he said. Others also are rushing in to take advantage of the game. Upon learning that Mazatenango would host the game, Pepsi commissioned a contingent of painters to freshen its two dozen blue-and-red billboards throughout the stadium. The company also is paying to fix the stadium's shabby electronic scoreboard, which had been malfunctioning. In exchange for its trouble, the world's second-largest soft drink producer gets the right to paint over the scoreboard's old advertisement -- which had belonged to Coca-Cola. "When you've got the United States coming, you know it will be on TV for the whole world," said Jose Luis Pamirez, 21, who is one of the 15 painters Pepsi hired. "I suppose I need to be careful not to miss a spot." And do folks here think the heat is their town's secret weapon? "It is very tropical here," Orellana said. "Let's wait until they feel it and see what happens."
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