Mexico’s Coach Feeds a Nation’s Obsession
By JERÉ LONGMAN del The New York Times
JOHANNESBURG — Of all the opponents that South Africa could have faced Friday in the first World Cup match on African soil, none will probably be better prepared for the noise and emotion and altitude than Mexico.
The vast Soccer City stadium will throb like a giant beehive with tens of thousands of vuvuzelas bleating in unison. But Mexico is not likely to be intimidated. El Tricolores are regularly serenaded by buzzing trumpets in their own hornets’ nest — 105,000-seat Estadio Azteca in Mexico City — where at 7,200 feet the air is even thinner than it is in South Africa.
And no team has played a more exhaustive pre-World Cup schedule. Mexico has seemingly been on tour longer than the Black Eyed Peas, playing a series of matches in the United States, jetting off to play England in London and Italy in Brussels, collecting passport stamps the way some teams collect yellow cards. They need roadies as much as a manager.
All of this preparation was for one purpose — to secure Mexico’s advancement beyond the second round of the 32-team tournament, where it has exited from four consecutive World Cups. El Tri did reach the quarterfinals twice, in 1970 and 1986, but both times as host. Its progression was not so much applauded as expected and demanded.
This time, far from home, playing in the same group as South Africa, France and Uruguay, a perch in the quarterfinals would afford grander validation. It is more than an objective, Mexico’s Coach Javier Aguirre has said. It is an obsession. But the ultimate aim is to climb to the semifinals, a height that Mexico has never reached.
“I see hunger,” Aguirre said of his players at a news conference Thursday. “They want to write a chapter in history.”
He is a man who inspires confidence in the calm, firm way he speaks and in the way he looks — handsome, with a gray pompadour and a chiseled face that belongs on a coin.
Such assurance was desperately needed in April 2009, when Aguirre was hired for his second stint as coach of Mexico’s national team. Qualification for the 2010 World Cup was floundering. Coaches seemed to pop up with the randomness of lottery balls.
Hugo Sánchez, the Mexican legend, could not reproduce tactically on the sideline what he had done on the field. Jesús Ramírez lasted four games. Sven-Goran Eriksson, a Swede who coached England at the 2006 World Cup, failed to navigate the deep channels of Mexican soccer politics or the jostling rapids that confront visitors in the North American, Central American and Caribbean region.
When Aguirre was fired by Atlético Madrid, in the Spanish league, the Mexican federation eagerly rehired him. He had coached Mexico to the second round of the 2002 World Cup. Now an entire country looked to his self-confidence to restore pride in the national sport.
He found players who were “demotivated, losing their energy,” Aguirre said. “There was a lot of quarreling going on, a lack of order in the ranks.”
As the spring and summer of 2009 played out, Mexico faced a dire economy during a global recession, a swine flu epidemic, and escalating and brutal drug wars. In that toxic environment, Justino Campean, president of the Mexican federation, said at the time, “Not to qualify for the World Cup would really be devastating.”
Aguirre gathered his players and told them that a call-up to the national team was a reward, not a punishment. The team would come before individual vanity.
Last July at the Gold Cup, after being suspended for kicking a player from Panama, Aguirre returned to see his team defeat a reserve squad from the United States, 5-0, in the final. It was Mexico’s first victory in a decade on the road against the Americans.
Then in mid-August, Mexico prevailed again, 2-1, over the United States at Estadio Azteca, this time in a World Cup qualifying match. Its ticket to South Africa was all but punched.
“Today is a day to celebrate, drink a few tequilas and then get back to work,” Aguirre said.
Playing a possession game that can be both patient and aggressive, he has blended the youth and experience of what he calls Mexico’s “greatest football generation.”
The speed and creativity of forwards Giovani dos Santos and Carlos Vela are complemented by the ageless probing vision of Cuauhtémoc Blanco, whose passes are still of exquisite weight even if his stocky frame is not.
Andrés Guardado, with his leonine hair, provides a threatening presence on the left wing. Javier Hernández, the forward known as Little Pea, nearly quit soccer a year ago to pursue a degree in business administration, upset with modest playing time at Chivas Guadalajara in the Mexican league. But his career has since been revived by such scoring proficiency that he will join Manchester United after this tournament.
“They are the most daring team in the World Cup,” said Carlos Alberto Parreira, South Africa’s coach.
Thursday, Aguirre seemed remarkably relaxed. His team is at a peak after 60 days in training, he said, adding, “We are here to play football, not to make friends and do some sightseeing.”
He would love to shake hands with Nelson Mandela, who is scheduled to make a brief appearance before kickoff. Aguirre said he had read many articles and books about the patriarch of South Africa’s so-called Rainbow Nation, calling him “a living icon, a beacon.”
The opening match is viewed here as something more than a sporting event. Hopeful citizens want it to be a unifying moment for a country divided until 16 years ago by apartheid. Aguirre is sympathetic, but his own purpose is more ruthless. He is here to win a soccer match.
“For 90 minutes, I will be against South Africa,” Aguirre said.
Friday’s opening match, he was sure, would be “a great day for Mexico.”
By JERÉ LONGMAN del The New York Times
JOHANNESBURG — Of all the opponents that South Africa could have faced Friday in the first World Cup match on African soil, none will probably be better prepared for the noise and emotion and altitude than Mexico.
The vast Soccer City stadium will throb like a giant beehive with tens of thousands of vuvuzelas bleating in unison. But Mexico is not likely to be intimidated. El Tricolores are regularly serenaded by buzzing trumpets in their own hornets’ nest — 105,000-seat Estadio Azteca in Mexico City — where at 7,200 feet the air is even thinner than it is in South Africa.
And no team has played a more exhaustive pre-World Cup schedule. Mexico has seemingly been on tour longer than the Black Eyed Peas, playing a series of matches in the United States, jetting off to play England in London and Italy in Brussels, collecting passport stamps the way some teams collect yellow cards. They need roadies as much as a manager.
All of this preparation was for one purpose — to secure Mexico’s advancement beyond the second round of the 32-team tournament, where it has exited from four consecutive World Cups. El Tri did reach the quarterfinals twice, in 1970 and 1986, but both times as host. Its progression was not so much applauded as expected and demanded.
This time, far from home, playing in the same group as South Africa, France and Uruguay, a perch in the quarterfinals would afford grander validation. It is more than an objective, Mexico’s Coach Javier Aguirre has said. It is an obsession. But the ultimate aim is to climb to the semifinals, a height that Mexico has never reached.
“I see hunger,” Aguirre said of his players at a news conference Thursday. “They want to write a chapter in history.”
He is a man who inspires confidence in the calm, firm way he speaks and in the way he looks — handsome, with a gray pompadour and a chiseled face that belongs on a coin.
Such assurance was desperately needed in April 2009, when Aguirre was hired for his second stint as coach of Mexico’s national team. Qualification for the 2010 World Cup was floundering. Coaches seemed to pop up with the randomness of lottery balls.
Hugo Sánchez, the Mexican legend, could not reproduce tactically on the sideline what he had done on the field. Jesús Ramírez lasted four games. Sven-Goran Eriksson, a Swede who coached England at the 2006 World Cup, failed to navigate the deep channels of Mexican soccer politics or the jostling rapids that confront visitors in the North American, Central American and Caribbean region.
When Aguirre was fired by Atlético Madrid, in the Spanish league, the Mexican federation eagerly rehired him. He had coached Mexico to the second round of the 2002 World Cup. Now an entire country looked to his self-confidence to restore pride in the national sport.
He found players who were “demotivated, losing their energy,” Aguirre said. “There was a lot of quarreling going on, a lack of order in the ranks.”
As the spring and summer of 2009 played out, Mexico faced a dire economy during a global recession, a swine flu epidemic, and escalating and brutal drug wars. In that toxic environment, Justino Campean, president of the Mexican federation, said at the time, “Not to qualify for the World Cup would really be devastating.”
Aguirre gathered his players and told them that a call-up to the national team was a reward, not a punishment. The team would come before individual vanity.
Last July at the Gold Cup, after being suspended for kicking a player from Panama, Aguirre returned to see his team defeat a reserve squad from the United States, 5-0, in the final. It was Mexico’s first victory in a decade on the road against the Americans.
Then in mid-August, Mexico prevailed again, 2-1, over the United States at Estadio Azteca, this time in a World Cup qualifying match. Its ticket to South Africa was all but punched.
“Today is a day to celebrate, drink a few tequilas and then get back to work,” Aguirre said.
Playing a possession game that can be both patient and aggressive, he has blended the youth and experience of what he calls Mexico’s “greatest football generation.”
The speed and creativity of forwards Giovani dos Santos and Carlos Vela are complemented by the ageless probing vision of Cuauhtémoc Blanco, whose passes are still of exquisite weight even if his stocky frame is not.
Andrés Guardado, with his leonine hair, provides a threatening presence on the left wing. Javier Hernández, the forward known as Little Pea, nearly quit soccer a year ago to pursue a degree in business administration, upset with modest playing time at Chivas Guadalajara in the Mexican league. But his career has since been revived by such scoring proficiency that he will join Manchester United after this tournament.
“They are the most daring team in the World Cup,” said Carlos Alberto Parreira, South Africa’s coach.
Thursday, Aguirre seemed remarkably relaxed. His team is at a peak after 60 days in training, he said, adding, “We are here to play football, not to make friends and do some sightseeing.”
He would love to shake hands with Nelson Mandela, who is scheduled to make a brief appearance before kickoff. Aguirre said he had read many articles and books about the patriarch of South Africa’s so-called Rainbow Nation, calling him “a living icon, a beacon.”
The opening match is viewed here as something more than a sporting event. Hopeful citizens want it to be a unifying moment for a country divided until 16 years ago by apartheid. Aguirre is sympathetic, but his own purpose is more ruthless. He is here to win a soccer match.
“For 90 minutes, I will be against South Africa,” Aguirre said.
Friday’s opening match, he was sure, would be “a great day for Mexico.”
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