Hola mis amigos!
Chicano here. Just wanted to drop by and set things straight. There's been a lot of noise lately concerning the Mexican national team and unfortunately now New Zealand is now part of this sh*tstorm. Please excuse the ignorance of my fellow compadres. Alcohol is one helluva drug.
I will try to explain this in a way you guys can understand. Soccer is the most popular sport in Mexico. Its not just a game. Its our passion. Its our LIFE. Its as essential as eating and breathing. Another thing about Mexicans. We are proud. We have heart. And the will to fight on until the last second. Sort of that "macho"mentality. We have a tendency to mix Patriotism with the Mexican national soccer team. Why? They have always performed respectfully in their sport. 6 Gold Cups (most in the CONCACAF, although USA is one shy away from catching up to us) a confederations cup, and most recently a gold medal (2012). Obviously the most prestigious international tournament is the world cup, where the farthest we've ever gone is quarterfinals (twice, both times ironically have been when we've hosted it). The world cup has been an area of opportunity for Mexico. The country has instilled a belief of hope that Mexico must go farther than they've ever been before in history. Our expectations of our national team are a lot higher than they've ever been before. WHY? For the first time we've finally established a decent amount of players in Europe. Everyone knows that Europe is where you'll play the highest level of competition. Therefore its everyone's dream to make it big out there and be successful. We've had players like Hugo Sanchez (best Mexican player of all time, Real Madrid legend) Rafael Marquez (Barcelona) make a name for themselves but now we have 10+, the most ever. Combine that with the proven success of our U17 & U20 teams (2 world cup winners and 3rd place) and our expectations/hope have gone over the roof. We demand a higher level of play, performance, & results. The Mexican media does not help the cause. They always portray a negative vibe towards the team. So much criticism, hatred, judgement, unprofessionalism (yellow journalism at its finest). Instead of supporting the team they have a tendency to break the team down. If they win a game it was either a fluke or it wasn't entertaining enough. If they lose they blame the coach, players, etc. The poor coach ends up being a scapegoat. And of course the people of the nation feed into that stuff laid out by the media. Its sad and a crying shame.
Mexico has been underperforming for quite some time now. Stress levels and pressure are as intense as they've ever been. Its quite clear that its had its toll on our staff and players. Its quite obvious to see on the pitch. They are playing with self doubt, lack of confidence, a sense of fear. They are second guessing themselves, their decision making, their tactics. Its Murphys law at the moment. And just when we thought it was over, USA gave us a blessing/curse depending on how you look at it. I was coming to terms with missing out on the world cup. Mexico was 2 minutes away from being eliminated. It would have given the federation an opportunity to clean up this mess. But no, the circus at will continue. There's a strong rumor going around that the coach brought in to replace our ex coach is now being replaced. Its a f*cking disgrace. Things will not change until the mentality of the media and federation (all the care about is making $$) change. Do you guys want to know how greedy our federation is? In fear of not qualifying to the world cup they pushed Adidas to release a new kit (that was meant to be revealed for the WC) against Panama in hope to rack up even more $$.
I'm sorry New Zealand. You guys don't deserve to be part of this. I hope we can be compadres after this is all over. Our recent clashes vs Kiwis (2-0, 2010 3-0, 2011). We are currently battling against ourselves, so god knows what will end up happening.
Saludos
Great review!! you're telling it as it is, also dont forget to mention that the owners of the teams are very rich barons some may have obscure connections and they are the real owners of the FOOTBALL MEXICO, that`s why a guy like Marcelo Bielsa wouldnt operate with Mexico, with guys like the Chivas president, he brought Van`t Schip and Cruyff as consultings, then they fought and the pair of dutch resigned.
And remember they hired Sven Goran Erikson a few years back, and the hype there was like a soup-opera with girls edecans and strippers all over the place and a Sven Goran look-a-like having party with whores. So you are correct, the big money plugged in Mexico around football, is like killing the national team.
A couple of questions my loyal amigo, what about the gossip that the manager Herrera will replace Vucetich?
Is is true that Mexico will have 2 camps for the play-offs, one based in Mexico City with local based players from the teams of Mexico DF, like America, and another camp based NZ with the european based players to gain time for the return leg? So Mexico is gonna call up like 40 players for both legs?
