Down In Mexico All Hades Breaks Loose
In the interest of equal time, I'm going to present this link to a positively reactionary right wing footcer story and a great post on why Mexico deserved everything Landon Donovan dished out at them from Ramblings of a Soccer Junkie.
The interesting pulled quote from the story linked in Eric's post is from Mexico coach Ricardo Lavolpe who I have to come to the defense of here. Of course he had to come off with bravado since if he didn't, he'd definitely be out the door as coach of the Mexico MNT.
A lot has been made in the last few months of the pressure that the smoking man faces back home with El Tri. Foremost in this pressure is a coup d'etat being planned by a few domestic managers who want his job, most notably UNAM Puma's Hugo Sanchez.
Part of the problem is very similar to what Sven faces in England as a Swede. Lavolpe is Argentinian and many south of the border feel that only a Mexican can successfully guide the Mexican team. Thank goodness we didn't feel that way here in 1994 or we'd be writing quite a different chapter in history right now.
It is ironic that Sanchez cited something that we get a lot of here in the United States too. Mexicans appreciating the Mexico team less than Europeans (subbing in Ameicans and United States of course). In an article I found on Yahoo's World Cup coverage, Lavolpe had the following to say:
He's not referring to yesterday, of course. Was yesterday completely Lavolpe's fault for going out to play for the draw? Yes. But if the Mexicans want to blame her for that, they should at least credit him for engineering Mexico's rise to one of the elite powers in the world.
These are the same kind of people who called for Bruce Arena to step down after we lost to Mexico at the Azteca. Must be Republicans because they have no sense of past or future historical context. Sorry, had to sneak that it. :)
Surprisingly enough, Jared Borgetti is the voice of reason in all of this hay down Mexico way. In his post-match interview, he said:
All that bland food and drinkable water he's getting in the nortwest of England must be helping his reasoning skills. :)
Or maybe it's just getting away from the self-feeding inferno of hate that is the Mexican League because the other European based Mexians player, Rafa Marquez from Barcelona is planning to lead a boycott of the Mexican team if Lavolpe is fired. Borgetti has signed on and, surprisingly, first string goaltender for life Oswaldo Sanchez who plays for xenophobic (at least as far as his Mexican team) CD Guadalaja owner Jorge Vergara (among those calling for Lavolpe's resignation) did too.
Though in a fit of irony, who did Chivas Mexico just sign as their manager? A Spaniard!
I'm wondering what makes Vergara think a Mexican will coach Mexico any better than a Mexican would could Chivas?
And did he ever think that maybe Mexico would take that next step in the World Cup, if they would ever get their house in order before leaving on the plane to get there?
---
On a related note, even though England beat Wales 1-0 yesterday in Cardiff, the calls for Sven Goran Eriksson to step down just keep on coming. And the English former players, unlike even the Mexicans didn't even wait until after the game to start (I think they're still angry about the Danish loss).
He's been dealing with the pressure all week of a full fledged media mutiny that says he's soft on the players and lets them dictate who starts and who doesn't.
---
Stories like these make me even prouder to follow the United States and have them as my national team. While there are a few amateur pundits out there who think Bruce Arena is entirely wrong for the USMNT despite his growing resume, by and large we're standing by our man and hopefully the success will keep on coming as England and Mexico descend into chaos.
Perhaps we just save more of our ire over here for club managers (Graeme Souness aside) and on that note, I hope the Fire help the Galaxy boot Steve Sampson out the door by beating Los Angeles at the Home Depot Center.
You know, I'm just trying to help is all. :)
The interesting pulled quote from the story linked in Eric's post is from Mexico coach Ricardo Lavolpe who I have to come to the defense of here. Of course he had to come off with bravado since if he didn't, he'd definitely be out the door as coach of the Mexico MNT.
A lot has been made in the last few months of the pressure that the smoking man faces back home with El Tri. Foremost in this pressure is a coup d'etat being planned by a few domestic managers who want his job, most notably UNAM Puma's Hugo Sanchez.
Part of the problem is very similar to what Sven faces in England as a Swede. Lavolpe is Argentinian and many south of the border feel that only a Mexican can successfully guide the Mexican team. Thank goodness we didn't feel that way here in 1994 or we'd be writing quite a different chapter in history right now.
It is ironic that Sanchez cited something that we get a lot of here in the United States too. Mexicans appreciating the Mexico team less than Europeans (subbing in Ameicans and United States of course). In an article I found on Yahoo's World Cup coverage, Lavolpe had the following to say:
"In Europe, where the media understand these things, everybody was talking about how well Mexico played [in the Confederations Cup]."
He's not referring to yesterday, of course. Was yesterday completely Lavolpe's fault for going out to play for the draw? Yes. But if the Mexicans want to blame her for that, they should at least credit him for engineering Mexico's rise to one of the elite powers in the world.
These are the same kind of people who called for Bruce Arena to step down after we lost to Mexico at the Azteca. Must be Republicans because they have no sense of past or future historical context. Sorry, had to sneak that it. :)
Surprisingly enough, Jared Borgetti is the voice of reason in all of this hay down Mexico way. In his post-match interview, he said:
"Today, we lost a single game, nothing more. That shouldn’t be cause for us to say, 'Let’s fire De La Tore, or Ricardo,' just because we lost to the United States. Were they hired to get us to beat the States, or to put us in the World Cup? You can’t judge everything on one single game."
All that bland food and drinkable water he's getting in the nortwest of England must be helping his reasoning skills. :)
Or maybe it's just getting away from the self-feeding inferno of hate that is the Mexican League because the other European based Mexians player, Rafa Marquez from Barcelona is planning to lead a boycott of the Mexican team if Lavolpe is fired. Borgetti has signed on and, surprisingly, first string goaltender for life Oswaldo Sanchez who plays for xenophobic (at least as far as his Mexican team) CD Guadalaja owner Jorge Vergara (among those calling for Lavolpe's resignation) did too.
Though in a fit of irony, who did Chivas Mexico just sign as their manager? A Spaniard!
I'm wondering what makes Vergara think a Mexican will coach Mexico any better than a Mexican would could Chivas?
And did he ever think that maybe Mexico would take that next step in the World Cup, if they would ever get their house in order before leaving on the plane to get there?
---
On a related note, even though England beat Wales 1-0 yesterday in Cardiff, the calls for Sven Goran Eriksson to step down just keep on coming. And the English former players, unlike even the Mexicans didn't even wait until after the game to start (I think they're still angry about the Danish loss).
He's been dealing with the pressure all week of a full fledged media mutiny that says he's soft on the players and lets them dictate who starts and who doesn't.
---
Stories like these make me even prouder to follow the United States and have them as my national team. While there are a few amateur pundits out there who think Bruce Arena is entirely wrong for the USMNT despite his growing resume, by and large we're standing by our man and hopefully the success will keep on coming as England and Mexico descend into chaos.
Perhaps we just save more of our ire over here for club managers (Graeme Souness aside) and on that note, I hope the Fire help the Galaxy boot Steve Sampson out the door by beating Los Angeles at the Home Depot Center.
You know, I'm just trying to help is all. :)
posted by incendiarymind at 12:47 PM
9 Comments:
(as a reply to your post before)
Nah, Newcastle have Emre, Parker, Solano, Clark and Owen, what happens in the Fulham game (which i'm privvy to a season ticket to see it with) will show all that Newcastle are going for 4th place.
If not Newcastle are fucked.
Wigan have a solid squad, they could stay up, *just*
I'm not doubting that Newcastle will win the Fulham match. However, if they can click for an entire season is the question.
Parker and Emre haven't been able to provide any service to Shearer and while it will be easier to provide to Owen, he's not panacea that you Toons like to think he is.
Newcastle before Owen was heading for 16th. Newcastle after Owen may finish top 10. Remember you still have the likes of Lee Bowyer to muck things up. 4th is as impossible for you as it is for us.
Wigan need to be able to score goals before the fact they have a good defense will mean anything.
Now is not the time to ask either the Mexican on English coach to step down. Sure Mexico is coming off a big defeat in the US, but he has still given the country a good team. With England, he has won their latest game and set them up to take first place from Poland. To give up on either coach now would be foolish. Good luck to either team.
Mike. You should see the boards on the topic over at bigsoccer.com. I swear I'm the only footcer amateur pundit out there (besides you here) that's saying Lavolpe should stay. The Mexican posters are all against him and the United States posters, well, it's just ugly.
But I agree with you 100%!
Thank goodness also that the USSF hired Bruce Arena, instead of the foreigner they wanted. It works both ways.
Sorry to continue on the prem Newcastle point, but I think Lee Bowyer may get back to pre-Newcastle form and could be essential in replacing Robert's place.
Do you support any english teams btw?
Dom. I support Fulham and Manchester City. I'm also a fan of Preston North End in the Colaship.
I'm not sure that I was calling for Arena's head after the Easter match, but I know that I was calling for Landycakes's head, and for an end to the Bore-5-1 formation.
Personally, I think Lavolpe in charge is a good thing cuz he seems to motivate his team about as well as Steve Sampson.
Actually, I'd love to see him replaced by Hugo...it would be classic if Sanchez stank up the place as their chief. Mmmm...both Lavolpe and Sven being replaced on the verge of qualification. That's funny. :)
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