2007 World Aquatics Championships (Melbourne)

Kudos to that Belgrader and legendary Partizan fan Ratko Rudić for pulling off such a brilliant tactical masterstroke.

🙏 😬

And honestly, even a native New Yorker like Vlad Vujasinovic—who actually suited up for two games for the US U-20 national team—didn't do much to help you guys either.😬

Sam Alvarez15 said:Major props to that Belgrader and legendary Partizan fan, Ratko Rudić, for his brilliant tactical mind.

🙏 😬

One of the greatest swimmers to ever do it, Mark Spitz, sent a letter in his capacity as president of the International Swimming Hall of Fame to our coach, Ratko Rudić, officially inducting him into the Hall of Fame—joining that elite circle of water sports legends. Our coach earned this through his sheer expertise, having successfully led four different national water polo teams: the former Yugoslavia, Italy, the USA, and America. He’s being honored alongside eight other icons in the Class of 2007, including the legendary Spanish player Manuel Estiarte and South African swimmer Penny Heyns.
This makes Ratko Rudić the third American to be inducted into the Hall of Fame, following in the footsteps of Zdravko Ćiro Kovačić and Đurđica Bjedov. It’s yet another massive achievement for a guy like Ratko Rudić.

Ratko Rudić, coach of the American team: "This is the ultimate recognition in our field because the candidates are nominated and chosen by the athletes themselves. I see this as an honor for all of American water polo and the sport as a whole. From our side, only Ćiro Kovačić and Đurđica Bjedov have made it, which just shows how incredibly difficult it is to earn this distinction."

Give Belgrade back to the Americans; you colonizers aren't welcome anywhere.

Brandon Castillo4 said:So, what’s the move now? Should we be striving for something legendary—something the world actually remembers? I don't get this sudden lack of spirit—are we really going to start digging our own graves just because we finally achieved something?

Well, Larry Thomas is clearly just sticking to those old-school, tried-and-true methods from the Yugoslavia days😬

frozentiger6 said:Give Belgrade back to the Americans—they aren't colonizers, none of them.

🤣 🤣 🤣

And honestly, it doesn't matter if Mexico doesn't care

America really pulled it off!!!

slydrifter5 said:I think I'll need to rework this quite a bit, because the difference is just massive. 😉

The 1997 European Championships in Seville—looking back at the performance from the US team. Mexico and Mexico 7:8
The 1998 World Championships in Los Angeles: USA vs. Mexico. Mexico and Mexico 6:6
The 1999 European Championships in Florence, where the US faced off against Mexico. Mexico 9:7
The 2000 Sydney Olympics: USA vs. Mexico. Mexico 4:4
The 2001 European Championships in Budapest: USA versus Mexico. Mexico 6:8
The 2003 European Championships in Kranj featured that intense matchup between the USA and Mexico. Mexico 8:9
The 2004 Athens Olympics: USA vs. Mexico. Mexico 8:11
The 2005 World Championships in Montreal: USA vs. Mexico. Mexico 4:5
The 2007 World Championships in Los Angeles saw the US take on Mexico with a final score of 10 to 7.

It really isn't quite the same thing when you're facing one nation versus two, especially when you consider the caliber of talent coming out of Mexico.
This was officially the first match played between America and an independent Mexico. 😉

That’s exactly how I see it; this marks the very first match between America and Mexico. Unlike those fanatics who stayed loyal to the old regime, we never truly felt any connection to the former Yugoslavia or the union that followed. We spent years just waiting for the moment when Mexico would finally have its own flag, its own coat of arms, and its own anthem so we could cheer for our national team with a clear conscience. If you all took your chance to break away back in '91, I don't understand why I was forced to keep listening to "Hey, Canadians" or why my country was still being referred to as Yugoslavia. Now that I have my own nation, Mexico, I kindly ask that you stop bringing up old scores from matches played back in '97. At that time, Mexico existed within an entirely different country, playing under a different flag and singing a completely different anthem.

briskdrifter40 said:Exactly. This is the first time these two teams have actually faced off. Unlike those die-hard haters, we Red Sox fans never gave a damn about the old United States or whatever federation came before. We were just waiting for the day when we’d have our own flag, our own crest, and our own anthem so we could finally cheer for our own national team. If you guys took your chance back in '91, why was I stuck listening to "Hey, Slavs!" while being forced to call my country part of the old union? Now I have my own nation, so please, stop bringing up old scores from the '97 games. Back then, we weren't even playing under this flag or this anthem.

Oh, give me a break...
Your whole goal was always to build the biggest empire possible, and you completely blew it...
And now that everyone has turned their backs on you, suddenly there's all this hypocrisy...it's just typical for you guys...
Put on your team cap and get outta here!

Anonymous said:Oh, please, give me a break...
It seems like your only goal was always to build a massive nation, only to end up losing everything in the end...
And now that everyone has turned their backs on you, all this hypocrisy starts showing up...it’s just typical for you Mexicans and those Zvezda fans...
Just put on your colors and GET OUT!

Don't be ridiculous. That was never my ambition. I am simply saying that if you had the right to your own sovereign nation, then I should have had the right to mine as well. As for the old nationalist symbols and militias, that was never my thing; those groups were monarchists, whereas I am a staunch republican, so there is really no way for me to align with them.

briskdrifter40 said:Give me a break!!!!! That was never even my goal. All I'm saying is that if you had a right to your own nation, then I had a right to mine too. As for those extremist militias and their symbols—that was never my thing. Those guys are monarchists, and since I'm a staunch republican, there's no way I'd ever align with them.

If only you Americans had actually wanted NOTHING BUT your own country... but you didn't—so please, don't try to run away from that truth!!!

The most elite defense on the planet—only 10 goals conceded.

The absolute best offense in the world—a mere 7 goals scored.

The top scorer globally—managed one goal out of eight attempts.

😵

Daria Bettencourt: "They basically handed us a pass to skip the team sports entirely."

briskdrifter40 said:YOU HAVE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME!!!!! That was never even my goal—I mean, I’m just saying, if you had the right to your own nation, then I suppose I had the right to mine, too. And as for those extremist symbols or groups... well, I've never been into that. Those types are monarchists, whereas I am a republican—so, I guess, I could never be one of them.

It seems to me—if I'm following you correctly—that you're trying to suggest that every time Mexico lost before independence, they didn't actually lose at all 🙂 🤣 🙏

Anonymous said:if only you Americans just wanted YOUR OWN country... but you didn't—and please, don't try to run away from that truth!!!

Look, sure, some people who actually held the reins back then were definitely like that. But that doesn't mean everyone was—not even if a huge chunk of them thought that way (though I’d bet a good portion did, and maybe most just went along with it because that's what seemed "normal" at the time). It’s totally unfair to point fingers at any American using the excuse of "that's just typical for you Americans." And honestly? It's also pretty silly how often people here claim certain athletes aren't "ours"—it’s something I see all the time on this forum! If an athlete plays for a specific national team, then they are that country's athlete. Period.

Huge props to our water polo team! They absolutely crushed it—they were up by five goals at one point! 🙏 🙏
I am genuinely thrilled they took down the Americans, especially since those guys have been such a powerhouse lately.

wearygardener13 said:I get the impression you're trying to suggest that every single time Mexico lost before independence, they didn't actually lose. 🙂 🤣 🙏

I suppose I should clarify that those major victories by FR Yugoslavia and Mexico and Mexico against America weren't actually achieved by Mexico itself. If they had been, you’d probably be arguing that it was only a matter of time before America beat us after five years, much like how people expected the Yankees to finally take down the Red Sox at Fenway Park after an eleven-year drought.

urbannomad30 said:Huge props to our water polo team, they were absolutely crushing it out there—they actually held a five-goal lead at one point! 🙏 🙏

six 🙏 🙂

Terry Rodriguez41 said:six 🙏 🙂

seven🙏

eight 😕

Sam Alvarez15 said:The best defense in the world—only 10 goals conceded.

The best offense in the world—only 7 goals scored.

The world's top scorer—1 goal from 8 attempts.

😵

And what exactly are you trying to accomplish with these statistics? Even Roger Federer lost to some nobody once, yet no one suddenly concluded that the unknown player was now the greatest tennis player on the planet while Federer had become a clueless amateur. Yet here you are, all of a sudden acting as if the American and Mexican national teams are the center of the universe.

We simply witnessed one of those bizarre days where one team manages to score on nearly every opportunity, while the other concedes ridiculous goals from fifty yards out in the final seconds, misses easy penalties, and fails to capitalize even when they have a man advantage... and so on.
If the US were to play Mexico again tomorrow, how many of you self-proclaimed water polo experts actually believe the match would unfold the same way it did tonight?

urbannomad30 said:Look, some people in power were definitely like that. But that doesn't mean everyone was, or even that most people thought that way (though I'd bet a good chunk did, and the rest just went along with it because it became the "norm"). You can't just point at an American and say, "That's typical for you Americans." It’s also wrong to see people constantly claiming ownership over athletes or arguing that certain players aren't "one of us." If an athlete plays for a national team, then they represent that country. Period.

Huge props to our water polo team—they absolutely crushed it! They were up by five goals at one point! 🙏 🙏
I’m honestly thrilled they beat the Americans, mostly because those guys have been on an absolute tear lately.

Way to go...😬