Gulp of Mexico
MEXICO CITY — Rinus Michels was always known as a no-nonsense coach, one who expected--indeed, demanded--nothing but perfection from his players.
It was this quality that allowed the Dutchman to keep control of such personalities as Johan Cruyff and Ruud Gullitt, and why he was able to lead the Netherlands to the runner-up spot in the 1974 World Cup and to victory in the 1988 European Championship.
For a while in the late ‘70s and early ‘80s, Michels made his home in Southern California, brought here by Alan Rothenberg to coach the Los Angeles Aztecs of the old North American Soccer League.
He expected no less commitment from his NASL players than he did from the Dutch national team.
The taskmaster drove them mercilessly, so much so that one youngster used to grimly bite his lip and say nothing during training, but once it was over he would go out to his car in the Rose Bowl parking lot, roll up the windows and scream and rant, beating his fists on the steering wheel and shedding tears of frustration and anger.
But the hard work paid off, and that same player went on to play for Mexico in the 1986 World Cup and later to become a respected coach himself.
And Sunday, in his debut as Mexico’s national coach, he will lead the Tricolor against the U.S. at Azteca Stadium in a World Cup qualifying game that the home team absolutely must win.
Javier “Vasco†Aguirre’s job is to make sure that it does.
It’s a long climb from Aztec to Azteca, but as he tries to rebuild the ruins of what once was Mexico’s proud national team, Aguirre no doubt will make use of the lessons taught to him by Michels more than two decades ago.
But it’s not going to be easy. Mexico is in a tailspin, having lost six games in a row, including its two most recent World Cup qualifiers, after which Enrique Meza, the former coach, quit.
Aguirre, 42, has five games left in which to qualify the team for Korea/Japan 2002, or else the unthinkable will occur and Mexico will miss the World Cup. The last time it failed to qualify was 1982.
The contrast between Sunday’s teams could not be more clear. The U.S., with 13 points already in hand, probably needs to win only one of its remaining five games to reach the World Cup. Mexico, with only four points, probably needs to win four of five.
As matters stand, Mexico leads only hapless Trinidad and Tobago. It trails the U.S., Costa Rica, Honduras and Jamaica in the six-nation group, from which only three teams advance to the World Cup.
“I am not a magician,†Aguirre said the other day. “I am not an illusionist.â€
What he is, however, is determined, and his first act was to revamp the roster.
Meza, in his increasingly desperate attempts to cure what ailed the team, used no fewer than 31 starters this year alone, as Mexico slumped to a 2-9-2 record overall and 1-3-1 in qualifying.
In his first act as coach last week, Aguirre ditched 19 of the team’s 31 players and brought in 10 newcomers.
Two of the new players were Galaxy striker Luis Hernandez and former Galaxy goalkeeper Jorge Campos.
And, like Michels, Aguirre was blunt about what he expected from his players when he called them together for his first training session as national coach.
“Those who aren’t willing to give everything can walk out the door right now,†he said. “As soon as I close it, nobody will come in or walk out.
“If we don’t want to stay home and watch the World Cup on TV, we have to face U.S. with courage and enthusiasm . . . For us, there is no tomorrow. We have no choice, we have to win.â€
The same sentiment was voiced by hard-as-nails midfielder Alberto Garcia Aspe, a veteran of the 1994 and 1998 World Cup tournaments. Garcia Aspe, 34, retired from the national team after Mexico won the FIFA Confederations Cup in 1999, but he answered Aguirre’s bugle call.
“I am not the savior of the national team,†he said, “even if some people see me like that. We need to win, even if it’s only 1-0. It doesn’t matter if we do it screaming and fighting, we have to win at any cost.â€
U.S. Coach Bruce Arena is aware of the difference Garcia Aspe can make.
“He’s a good player, he’s a good passer and a good finisher,†he said. “I think the attack is going to involve their outside backs. I think they’re going to be playing a lot of balls into the box, and they’re also going to look to Garcia Aspe to be a field general for them in the midfield.â€
Aguirre, whose “Vasco†nickname comes from his family’s Basque origins in Spain, can use someone of Garcia Aspe’s experience on the field. He has been a head coach for only three years, but in that time he led unfashionable Pachuca to the Mexican league title in 1999 and to the runner-up spot this season.
But until now his national team experience has been limited to a stint as an assistant under Miguel Mejia Baron at the 1994 World Cup in the U.S.
At Pachuca, Aguirre’s teams did not play the most attractive soccer and were known more for being difficult to play against and for not being afraid to get physical, sometimes overly so.
Sunday’s game could turn out to be that kind of encounter and South Korean referee Kim Young Joo is going to have to be sharp to keep tempers in line.
Arena knows it could get ugly.
“I think any time they play at home at Azteca, they’re charged up,†he said. “Certainly, with some fresh blood in the lineup trying to prove themselves and a new coach, they’re going to have a lot of energy early in the game. There’s no question about that.
“I think they’re going to come out throwing everything they can at us.â€
Mexico is an amazing 44-1-5 all time in World Cup qualifying play at home. It had been unbeaten until Costa Rica shattered the streak with a 2-1 victory at Azteca Stadium on June 16.
The Galaxy’s Hernandez played in that game and has his own opinion on what has gone wrong with Mexico.
“We have fallen into a hole,†he said, “not just the national team but Mexican soccer as a whole. We have lost confidence in ourselves.â€
There is more to it than simply a lack of confidence, however. The problems run much deeper.
For one thing, Mexico is no longer producing a steady stream of talent from its youth ranks.
Club teams, fueled by television dollars, have gone for the quick fix and would rather import high-priced talent from overseas than nurture it themselves.
For another, the wages in the Mexican league make it possible for Mexico to keep its players at home, and the national team has been hurt by its players’ lack of exposure to different styles and challenges faced in, say, Europe or South America.
Only two members of the national team pool play abroad--Hernandez with the Galaxy and defender Rafael Marquez with AS Monaco in France.
Former Dallas Burn coach Dave Dir sometimes acts as a scout for Arena and saw Trinidad and Tobago tie Mexico, 1-1, in Port of Spain, Trinidad.
“They were playing without much heart, which for Mexico is unusual,†Dir said. “With a change of players and change of coach, it’s going to be very unpredictable [on Sunday], but they’re going to come in with a lot more emotion.â€
The U.S. has an 8-27-9 all-time record against Mexico, but the Americans have won the last three games, including a 2-0 World Cup qualifying victory at Columbus, Ohio, on Feb. 28.
However, the Tricolor is like a wounded animal right now, and is fighting for its World Cup life. That, plus Aguirre’s whip-cracking, could make it a very dangerous opponent Sunday.
“I don’t think you can ever count Mexico out,†U.S. defender Jeff Agoos said. “They have a long history behind them. I think it’s too early to think that they’ve sort of fallen by the wayside. I think they’ll surprise you.â€
(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)
WORLD CUP 2002
Who: United States at Mexico
What: Qualifying match
When: 10 a.m. PDT Sunday
TV: Telemundo (live),
ESPN (delayed, 1 p.m. PDT)
United States vs. Mexico
* What: 2002 World Cup qualifying game.
* Where: Azteca Stadium, Mexico City.
* When: Sunday, 10 a.m. PDT.
* TV: Live on Telemundo (Spanish); tape-delayed on ESPN at 1 p.m. PDT.
* Records: United States 4-0-1, Mexico 1-3-1.
* Other CONCACAF Games: Jamaica vs. Trinidad and Tobago (today); Honduras vs. Costa Rica (Sunday).
* At Stake: The U.S. leads the six-nation group and needs to win one of its remaining five games to virtually assure itself a berth in the Korea/Japan 2002 World Cup. Mexico is in fifth place and needs to win four of its last five games to have a realistic chance of qualifying.
MEXICO’S 2001 DECLINE
*--*
Date Site Result Jan. 24 Morelia, Mexico Lost to Bulgaria, 2-0 Jan. 31 Los Angeles Lost to Colombia, 3-2 Feb. 28 Columbus, Ohio Lost to the United States, 2-0 * March 7 Guadalajara, Mexico Tied Brazil, 3-3 March 25 Mexico City Defeated Jamaica, 4-0 * April 11 Monterrey, Mexico Defeated Chile, 1-0 April 25 Port of Spain, Trinidad Tied Trinidad and Tobago, 1-1 * May 25 Derby, England Lost to England, 4-0 May 30 Suwon, South Korea Lost to Australia, 2-0 ** June 1 Ulsan, South Korea Lost to South Korea, 2-1 ** June 3 Ulsan, South Korea Lost to France, 4-0 ** June 16 Mexico City Lost to Costa Rica, 2-1 * June 20 Tegucigalpa, Honduras Lost to Honduras, 3-1 *
*--*
2001 record--Played 13, Won 2, Lost 9, Tied 2; Goals for--14, Goals against--28.
* World Cup qualifying
** FIFA Confederations Cup
