Big tournament soccer arrived in the United States this week and one aspect is causing concern – much like the European Championship in Germany, although for very different reasons.
Colombian singer superstar Fide performed at the Copa America opening ceremony in Atlanta on Thursday, but what happened next was definitely not ‘pitch-perfect’.
Following Argentina’s 2–0 win over Canada at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium, the players and Argentina head coach Lionel Scaloni were heavily critical of the playing surface.
Then after Chile and Peru’s goalless draw the next day, both managers added their notes of caution about the field at AT&T Stadium in Dallas, Texas, where the United States men’s national team opens its campaign against Bolivia on Sunday. Will start.
Peru manager Jorge Fossati identified this as a possible reason why their captain Luis Advíncula had to withdraw due to sore Achilles tendon.
“It came out of nowhere,” Fossati said after the match against Peru. “I realized today it is a grassland but it is not a normal grass. It is not grass that is born, and grows (naturally). This is grass that they bring from somewhere else.
“That might be a slightly harder surface and it might affect you in the same spot (Achilles). I am not a doctor but I have been involved in football for a few years. Achilles injuries can also be a reason for this.
Of the 14 host stadiums in use during the tournament – all approved by world governing body FIFA – eight have pre-existing grass fields or are retractable and can be taken out.
The final will be played at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami, home of the NFL’s Miami Dolphins, with a Bermuda grass surface. The Hard Rock hosts two group matches – Uruguay against Panama on June 23 and Argentina versus Peru on June 29 – and then is in the feed city on July 6 before the final eight days later.
The U.S. plays its second group game against Panama in Atlanta next week, which on the surface did not suit Argentina and USMNT midfielder Weston McKennie expressed his concerns.
“It’s disappointing, especially as a player,” he said. “You’re playing on a football field where the grass is scattered and breaks with every step you take. It’s disturbing.”
The playing surface at AT&T Stadium should be better than the turf that suffered such indignities in Atlanta.
The Mercedes-Benz is a 73,000-capacity arena, shared by Major League Soccer’s Atlanta United and the NFL’s Atlanta Falcons. It is an artificial turf surface that is sometimes replaced with a grass field on top.
Atlanta United played a home game on turf on Saturday, June 15, and a grass pitch was laid the next day, five days before the Thursday match.
However, in Dallas, work to convert the field from its normal turf surface to grass began on May 21.
AT&T Stadium’s standard playing surface was removed before topsoil was laid over the concrete. Then on June 10 – 11 days before hosting Peru and Chile – sod panels consisting of Kentucky bluegrass from a farm in Colorado were laid down.
That bluegrass was transported from Colorado to Dallas in refrigerated trailers before the Cowboys grounds crew began work on it.
If you passed by the Death Star and noticed a strange pink glow emanating from inside – that’s the UV grow lights at AT&T Stadium working hard. #copaamerica2024 Grass establishment. Full irrigation system, 10″+ topsoil and Kentucky bluegrass. pic.twitter.com/z64LlD6zEv
– peter (@pet2) 13 June 2024
Cowboys officials know the eyes of the soccer world are on their home stadium, and they hope there will be no major issues during the USMNT opener.
Even behind the scenes at AT&T Stadium there is a recognition that they are on a learning curve. In March, it hosted the CONCACAF Nations League final, in which the USMNT defeated Mexico 2–0. In coverage before the game, CBS Sports host Susannah Fuller called the pitch “poor” and “less than ideal”.
Determined to improve, and with the added incentive of host duties for the World Cup in two years, the Cowboys have gone to new lengths to get it right. An irrigation system was placed beneath the top 10 inches of soil to water the grass, while large artificial lights were installed that could be lowered and raised to provide illumination for rapid growth and health. .
USMNT head coach Greg Berhalter said Saturday: “We were in the Nations League in March and the field seems a lot better. It seems to have a sand base, making it very soft, but the grass actually looked great and we were pleasantly surprised by the playing surface.
Defender Chris Richards was also pleased with the surface at Arlington. “I thought the pitch looked good,” he said. “It looked like proper grass, there didn’t really seem to be any holes on it. So I’m very excited to play on it.
However, Chile boss Ricardo Gareca reported that his players felt the surface was dry on Friday night, despite being heavily watered before kick-off and at half-time.
“They told me the pitch was very dry,” he said. “It was a ground that was small in size, a very small ground. Well then, we have to keep adapting.
Both managers criticized the surface for Peru’s 0-0 draw with Chile (Carlos Sipan/Eurasia Sport Images/Getty Images)
“It is something that we will analyze on everything because logically with a smaller ground, with a drier ground, sometimes it accommodates one team better than the other.”
The unavoidable issue may be that grass laid over concrete, or even the more extensive process done in Dallas, is not the same as permanent top-level pitches in Europe and South America.
John Mallinson is the founder of a British firm that has built pitches for Wembley Stadium, Manchester United and Manchester City, among many others, during his 40-year career. The Lancashire-based expert says quality surfaces depend on excellent drainage and correct calibration of subsurfaces.
“Being hired a few days early isn’t necessarily a problem in itself,” he said. “If the material beneath it is not capable enough of taking water, you will have problems.
“It will also depend on finer details such as the particle size of the sand used under the root zone (a mixture of clay and sand is common in many Premier League grounds). You need a root zone tough enough to hold a stud or blade without dislodging it.
Mallinson feels that inadequate drainage of heavily watered pitches can lead to the “trampoline” effect described by Argentinian goalkeeper Emiliano Martínez, who labeled Atalanta’s surface a “disaster” which “seemed to bounce as you ran”. She used to jump on you.”
Lionel Messi is challenged during Argentina’s 2-0 win in Atlanta (Hector Vivas/Getty Images)
“If the drainage system on a recently turfed pitch is not right then you get some areas of the pitch that are wetter than others and you get a variable bounce,” he said. “Water flows down the cut lines.”
The dilemma for temporary pitches, he said, is that they need to be watered aggressively in order to develop adequately.
These issues come as no surprise to former Manchester City defender Nedum Onuoha, who spent two seasons in MLS with Real Salt Lake between 2018 and 2020.
He said, “The issue is that the biggest stadiums in America are not football stadiums, they are American football stadiums.” “The MLS stadiums are much better. They are also more consistent and better during the summer, which is extreme in much of the US.
“The grounds they build for games like the Copa can be really inconsistent with the movement of the ball and it can be hard to change direction. It cuts out a lot because it’s not really there.
“Add 30C (86F) heat and an area that’s really soft in some parts and patchy in others and you don’t even know how it’s going to bounce.”
Onuoha also isn’t surprised by how vocal players have been.
“The highest level doesn’t give you a chance to play on fields that force you to play in a way you know you don’t normally play,” he said. “So physical damage due to both weather and surface is high. There are 20 stadiums that have perfectly good fields but they are not that big so they do.
The reality is that this tournament is the world’s biggest tournament drought in just two years. It’s about laying the foundation and getting things right in every sense of the word.
But the early reviews are a warning shot – managers and players won’t hesitate to leave him out.
(Top photo: David J. Griffin/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
