It seems the Gold Cup final has had a negative effect on Mexico. As the team arrived in Venezuela for Copa America, reports arose that the locker room is split and the pressure on Hugo Sanchez is as high as ever.
It's interesting to note that speculation over the European trio of Carlos Salcido, Ricardo Osorio and Pavel Pardo stems from their supposed admiration for Ricardo Lavolpe and that that somehow affected their decisions to skip the tourney and go on vacation. I tend to think that it has to do more because they want to have some rest before they have to report to their clubs next month but there is probably some truth to their respect for Lavolpe.
Pardo pre-dates Lavolpe but Osorio and Salcido were brought in by Lavolpe. So was Kikin. So was Omar Bravo and Andres Guardado and Guillermo Ochoa. That has to count for something, so maybe those players are still in some ways loyal to Lavolpe.
As far as having an affect on the game Wednesday or the whole tournament in general, probably what will hurt Mexico most is fatigue. Because Mexico chose to take essentially the same team to Copa America, Mexico will have a difficult time facing Brazil. I originally thought that six games would be great preparation for Mexico but now it seems to me that Mexico will be playing Brazil on tired legs, and that's dangerous.
Factor in some injuries - Jared Borgetti, Andres Guardado and Alberto Medina are out according to Mediotiempo.com - and the task becomes even harder.
I think Mexico's going to struggle to get out of the first round.
If the 'Lavolpe' players wanted to remain loyal they would have done so since day one and not acepted any call ups.
ReplyDeleteSpeaking of the Argie A-hole he failed to meet most of the goals he set out to accomplish with the Tricolor.
Get a Medal at the Olympics, Reach the finals of the Copa America, and advance past the round of sixteen at the World Cup.
And somehow Lavolpe is supposed to be the solution, to what? Mexico not reaching their potential.
Aguante Hugo ~
I doubt there is any truth is this.
ReplyDeleteI have been around the Mexican media enough to know that generic articles from reuters, mexsport, notimex, etc tend to be nothing but fishing expeditions. Yellow page journalist just throwing something out there and hoping someone to bites.
Upon reading this story a couple days back, I looked through various online papers (Universal, Ovaciones, Esto, Monitor, Record, etc) and not one reporter (with the exception of ESPN's Huerta) is sticking their nose out and claiming such a story. This leads me to believe that by NOT putting their name next to that article, that they do not have reliable sources.
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I do not think you have much basis for speculating loyalties.
Kikin Fonseca may have been been called up for NT duty by Lavolpe, but Kikin made a name for himself under Hugo's wings during thier UNAM days.
Guillermo Ochoa is another player that was called up for NT duty under Lavolpe, however, Ochoa and Hugo's circle of friends run tighter than that of Lavolpe. Ochoa is good friends with Blanco. Blanco's agents is a person that goes by the name of Jose Manuel Sanz. Sanz also happens to be Hugo Sanchez's agent. What I do know is that Sanz and Ochoa have been spotted togehter. What i am not 100% certain is if Ochoa is being represented by Sanz.
I also do not think that Kikin, Bravo, and a handful of other players feel more loyalty towards Lavolpe. Afterall, Lavolpe spent 4 years criticizing Mexican players, stating Mexico did not have an Hugo Sanchez, a Zinedine Zidane, or a Maradona. He called up 2 naturalized players. Mexican forwards and attacking midfielders all were at risk by the inclusion of Zinha and Franco. Let us not forget that Kikin, Blanco, Bofo, Bravo all were at risk by losing their position to naturalized players (2 of them did). I also remember Lavolpe attending the 2006 Interliga tournament and speaking with Walter Gaitan. Lavolpe even was open to the idea of him joining the NT. I am 100% positive, had Gaitan had his naturalization papers in motion 4 months prior to the interliga, Gaitan would have been on the final 2006 WC roster. For that reason alone, I do not see how many of the players still feel more loyalty towards Lavolpe.
I wonder where Rafa Marquez stands on the situation with Hugo. I interviewed him a couple of times while Lavolpe was in charge and he seemed very loyal to him. Perhaps he was just a good soldier and is also very loyal to Hugo.
ReplyDeletei think most of the players that show preference for a specific coach are the ones that that benefit directly.
ReplyDeleteVictor Ruiz, David Rangel, Omar Blanco, Alberto Macias, etc all were very loyal towards Ojitos Meza. Some of them had been called up prior to Meza, but did not see a lot of PT. I remember the last match Ojitos lost, they interviewed Ruiz and was asked if he thought his cycle was over. His face said it all, but what amazed me was that he answered the question with truth and said that he knew his cycle was over.
A player of Rafa's caliber doesnt need to campaign for his existance on the NT. That type of stuff is left for the Chatos, Osornos, etc who need to suck up.
I do think Rafa has a strong friendship with Lavolpe. Their paths crossed during the late 90s when lavolpe was coaching Atlas.