Mexico Stars Underwhelmed By Eriksson

The Mexico squad is far from thrilled at the prospect of Sven-Goran Eriksson's possible appointment as new coach...

May 31, 2008 9:03:02 AM

Carlos Salcido - Mexico (Mexsport)
Outgoing Man City boss Sven-Goran Eriksson is widely expected to be unveiled as the new boss of Mexico within the next week or so.

The Swede has a fine record in club football, despite his recent City saga and served as England boss, but some Mexico stars are wary of his appointment.

Ex-Bolton striker Jared Borgetti was the most outspoken, admitting: "In Mexico it is generally assumed that the coach has to be someone from Mexico, and that the coach would have spent a year learning about the side.

"I don't think that Eriksson is the correct decision as many of the players don't speak English and I doubt that he knows much about Mexican football."

Barriers

Borgetti's forthright comments follows Carlos Salcido's (pictured) concerns that Eriksson might not have enough time to 'adapt', while a host of other players have expressed their concerns about their potential new coach.

Antonio Naelson said: "I think that it would be useful if the new coach was someone who knows more about Mexican football, but the players cannot make this decision.

"He is a well known coach in Europe which is promising for Mexico, but I would prefer someone from this country."

Luis Perez added: "Personally I think the new coach must know a lot about the game in this country as we don't have much time from now until the next World Cup begins.

"If we were talking about four years then I wouldn't have a problem in bringing in a coach like Eriksson."

Johnny Magallon, too, is concerned about the the language barrier, reiterating: "One of the most important things is that many of us don't speak English.

"Maybe he won't have a problem making us understand what he wants on the pitch, but what worries me most is whether he will have enough time to get to know the players and if the supporters will back him."

Midfielder Gonzalo Pineda is worried that a new boss like Eriksson could start to tamper with the side, insisting: "A new coach which doesn't know much about our football is going to start calling up many players for testing and that will result in us losing the hard work which has been put in to his point."

Duncan Robertson, Goal.com

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