EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — The year was 1999. But the challenge facing the U.S. men’s national team 20 years ago wasn’t much different than the one it has today. The USMNT was recovering from the deep global embarrassment of a World Cup disaster. At home, meanwhile, it was facing unflattering comparisons to a U.S. women’s team that had just energized the nation with a rousing World Cup triumph.
And even though it was 20 years ago, it's easy to remember what happened in ’99 that helped the USMNT rebound that year. First came a convincing 3-0 friendly win against Germany, and yes, it was just a friendly, but it was something to latch onto.