By Ivan Orozco

EAST RUTHERFORD, New Jersey - U.S. coach Bob Bradley stopped to greet the top two Mexican federation officials as he made his way to his seat on a plane.

Bradley didn't hesitate to say hello and shake the hands of Mexican federation president Justino Compean and director of national teams Nestor De La Torre.

Those were the only acknowledgement between arch rivals on the charter plane that flew the Mexican and the United States national teams from Chicago to New York.

Mexico boarded the plane first. The Americans followed. They walked to their seats in the back of the plane without incident.

United States defender Jimmy Conrad perhaps was glad there were no confrontations.

Conrad mildly stirred some trash talking on his Twitter account Friday morning prior to the flight that carried the two sides to the Gold Cup final on Sunday.

"Apparently, we're sharing a plane with the Mexican National Team," it said. "I hope the Mexico coach doesn't kick me when I walk past him in the aisle."

The post was a sarcastic reference to Mexico coach Javier Aguirre, who kicked Panama's Ricardo Phillips during a first-round game and set off a 10-minute shoving match between both teams.

Aguirre didn't kick anyone. He took an aisle seat.

The post was no longer on the social networking site Friday afternoon.

But the message had been sent.

The Mexican media made sure to let everyone in Mexico know about the message by saying the Americans didn't like flying with their rivals.

United States forward Brian Ching cleared things up Saturday.

"That's a situation that we're unused to," Ching said. "I think both teams were kind of surprised because of the fact that you're going to be playing against these guys in a big game soon. There was nothing wrong about the plane ride. It's an issue that probably got blown out of proportion because of the rivalry of this game."

Ching is familiar with Tweeting. He has fined $500 by Major League soccer for calling a referee a "cheat" earlier this month.
Conrad's post could be considered as another example that the rivalry between the CONCACAF giants is alive. It survives even when both squads carry mostly youngsters on their rosters, most which have never played against each other.

There isn't a Cuauhtemoc Blanco nor a Landon Donavan. Alexi Lalas and Luis Hernandez have both retired.

You won't see Rafa Marquez throwing an elbow at U.S. midfielder Cobi Jones.

"It's the game we all wanted to see in the final," Mexico midfielder and team captain Gerardo Torrado said.

Sunday's final at Giants stadium in suburban New York will mark the 56th meeting between both teams. It is also a rematch of the 2007 final won by the United States 2-1 with a spectacular goal by Benny Feilhaber.

Mexico leads the all-time series 29-11-15 since 1934. But the Americans have dominated the series lately.

The United States has not lost to Mexico in 11 matches, winning nine and has outscored El Tri 19-3 the last 10 years on American soil.

Both teams have met in four Gold Cup finals and have won two each.

Bradley's squad is looking for its third straight Gold Cup championship.

Mexico has not won the tournament since 2003.

"I've said it all along this tournament, our goal is to bring the Gold Cup back to Mexico," Aguirre said. "It's been gone for too long."

The year 2002 might seem a long time ago, but not for Aguirre.

It was during his first stint as Mexico coach that the United States faced El Tri in the World Cup for the first time.

The Americans went on to beat Mexico 2-0 and advanced to the quarterfinals. It was in that match that Marquez elbowed Jones in the second half.

Jones said in an online chat with fans last year that Marquez had yet to apologize for the blow.

Mexican players and fans will probably never forget that defeat. Neither will Aguirre.

"I never forget it," he said. "I don't forget other things in my career either. It's difficult to forget important things in your career. But I do remember it. I don't lose any sleep over it. But it has nothing to do with Sunday's game. It's not the same cast of players or the same tournament."

But the intensity probably will be the same.

Losing to the United States in the World Cup helped fuel the rivalry. The Americans had beaten a team that had haunted them prior to the last decade. It was the beginning of a change in CONCACAF.

Aguirre tried to downplay the hype in the media about the match and about the teams sharing a flight into town.

"The press for the entire month has been talking about the possibility of facing the United States," Aguirre said. "We're not going into Sunday planning to play them any differently (than) if we were to face a different team. It doesn't matter who we were going to face in the final."

That might not be the case. The history of the rivalry says otherwise.

The last time these two teams met was in February in Columbus, Ohio where the Americans beat Mexico 2-0 in a World Cup qualifier but not without some controversy.

Marquez was ejected from the match for driving his foot, cleats up into U.S. goalkeeper Tim Howard in the second half.

But what made most headlines was what happened after the match near the team locker rooms.

Mexico assistant coach Francisco Ramirez slapped U.S. defender Frankie Hedjuk as he celebrated the win into the locker room. Security restrained Ramirez to help cool off the situation.

Hedjuk later said the altercation had nothing to do with himself, but it was caused by post-game emotions.

"He gave me a little love tap," Hedjuk told reporters. "I have no idea who did it. It wasn't even a hit. I have all the respect for the Mexican players. I meant no disrespect. I am an emotional player."

When asked if memories of the "love tap" will carry into Sunday's match, Bradley was polite.

"I think (a U.S.-Mexico game) will always bring out emotion," Bradley said Saturday after a training session. "I think it will be a hard game."

It won't matter what players are on the field. The Gold Cup is at stake. More importantly, pride and bragging rights are at risk.

It is the prelude before both teams meet in a highly anticipated World Cup qualifier in Mexico City next month.

That's the match soccer fans are waiting for.

"After Sunday, we can finally begin talking about the August 12 match," Bradley said with a laugh.

Don't expect laughing or any handshakes on the field or on a plane.