In many ways, February 28, 2001, was a pivotal point in time for soccer in North America – most specifically Columbus and its MAPFRE Stadium. With a now-symbolic score line spawning a 15-year run of form at the venue against U.S. Soccer’s most bitter regional rivals, that 29-degree night was even more defining for a 24-year-old forward as he substituted into the match in the 15th minute.
Current Columbus Crew SC Assistant Coach Josh Wolff — who entered that frigid World Cup Qualifier — concluded his playing career with 80 career MLS regular-season goals and 49 assists in 267 appearances over 14 years with three different clubs. He earned 52 caps for the United States Men’s National Team, scoring nine times and assisting five others; but it was his individual performance in Columbus that forever ties his name to every meeting between USA and Mexico.
“It was an iconic moment for U.S. Soccer,” Wolff says. “Looking back, it was an important moment in my individual career, but it was an iconic moment for soccer in this country. Now, what it’s become — looking back over 15 years of Dos A Cero — we can all really be proud of 2001’s game at MAPFRE Stadium. My career went on with lots of great moments and some poor moments, but that’s certainly one of the more relevant and impactful moments. That’s what soccer is — individuals creating a collective moment. That gave U.S. Soccer a real belief for where soccer was going in this country.”
With the fifth consecutive USA-Mexico World Cup Qualifier to be held in Columbus this Friday, Wolff will be watching — from a different vantage point at MAPFRE Stadium — with one eye on the scoreboard in hopes of seeing that familiar result.
“Its unexplainable,” Wolff says. “No way to explain it. Dos A Cero is real. The way these results have gone as they have at MAPFRE Stadium – it’s ironic, mysterious, but its real. It’s given a great backdrop to this game. On Friday, it’d be great to see it happen again. It is an unusual reality, but it is a reality and it’s something special for U.S. Soccer.”
In 2001, Wolff entered for then-Crew SC beloved forward Brian McBride early in the first half, keeping his jacket on until the second he sprinted onto the field against Mexico — who the USMNT held a 5-27-9 record against between 1934-2000. No matter where the sides played, until coming to Columbus, every match presented a pro-Mexican environment.
“To give it perspective, we had just played Mexico in Oakland in front of 70,000 people prior to that and we beat them,” Wolff says. “Mexico fans let it be known how upset they were that we won. They were throwing bottles, metal bars and things onto the field. For me, that game was when I knew exactly what Mexico and USA was all about.
“So now when you come into MAPFRE Stadium on a cold night with [World Cup] Qualification on the line, it carries more weight and significance. Very quickly, you see Brian McBride take the hard knock and I learned I was going in. No time for nerves. It was time to do a job, to fill the role I was going in to fulfill and to focus on what I needed to as a player. You’re a soccer player — you try to go in and to contribute to your team as best you can.”
His breakthrough contribution came a little more than 30 minutes later, just minutes into the second half when he scored against former Chicago Fire teammate Jorge Campos. Another 40 minutes later, he assisted on the USMNT’s second goal, cementing the Dos A Cero score line and its majesty into American soccer and Columbus history.
“Right before that match in 2001, I was a part of the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games where I had done well too,” Wolff says. “It was a little bit of a jump into having the soccer community know about me and what I’d helped accomplish. It carried some notoriety, that game versus Mexico. And we went right into games against Brazil and two more big qualifying wins – so we had built up some great momentum through qualifying. It was powerful and a big statement for us to take out some of the bigger names in our region with new faces.”
For Wolff, Dos A Cero 2001 was a game. It was one match against one opponent. His career continued successfully, scoring 54 of his career MLS goals after 2001. Across MLS pitches throughout the 2000’s, Wolff faced his Mexican counterparts regularly. Rafael Marquez — named to the current Mexican roster to face the USMNT on Friday — and Luis Hernandez lined up opposite Wolff for both club and country. It had become a rivalry transcendent of just Dos A Cero.
“You’re always a little more aware of Mexico’s players when you’d meet with your clubs,” Wolff says. “Luis Hernandez was a player with LA, and he was nasty. Nasty to play against, unapologetic to what he’d do to you on the field. Rafa Marquez was similar. Very intense and an exceptional player. Both had some nasty in them — and that showed in the game here in 2001. That’s what USA-Mexico is though; it’s heavy and intense.”
It was the combination of experiences on the field for his club teams and the USMNT that developed Wolff into a key member of fellow Dos A Cero-veteran and Crew SC Sporting Director and Head Coach Gregg Berhalter. Wolff served as assistant coach with D.C. United — where he retired as a player in 2012 — before joining Berhalter and Crew SC. It’s those hinge-point moments — like the night in February 2001 — that give Wolff the ability to lead today.
“Anytime you’re a leader or staff member, it’s about educating and preparing the players on what this next game means,” Wolff says.” What could it provide. You can’t always be totally prepared — I wasn’t prepared for a guy to be injured 10 minutes into the game and having to go in. You want guys to think about the game and what their role is in the game. From a coaching standpoint, that’s how you manage it — and it’s how I learned to manage it from that game as a player.”
