Mexico

Mexico Boss: Eriksson For the Long Term

Speaking in Los Angeles on Monday, Mexican Federation head Justino Compean gave El Tri manager Sven Goran Eriksson a vote of confidence ahead of the side's massive do-or-die match in World Cup qualifying with Honduras.

Nov 10, 2008 10:38:44 PM

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WCQ: Sven-Goran Eriksson - Mexico (Mexsport)

By Zac Lee Rigg

LOS ANGELES -- Justino Compean, President of the Mexican Football Association, has stressed that Mexican National Team Manager Sven Goran Eriksson is a longterm appointment. Speaking at the Honda Symposium, sponsored by Futbol Forever Fundacion, in Los Angeles, Compean spoke candidly about hiring the Swede and the future of the national team.

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"He is a mid-to-long term appointment, not short term," Compean declared.

The fed boss was less clear when explaining the issues surrounding Mexico's qualification for World Cup 2010. Mexico lead their round three qualifying group, but by a mere point, and have struggled to close out games. They are still not assured of advancing to the Hexagonal, and must earn a result against Honduras on November 19th.

"We have not gotten points as a visiting team," Compean said. "Something is happening and we're concerned."

That the Association would be concerned enough to shift managers at this stage is unlikely. Compean recently oversaw the removal of manager Hugo Sanchez from the hot seat of El Tri and the hiring of Eriksson.

However, Compean admitted that Eriksson was the third choice. The FMF first approached Mexican Javier Aguirre, but the Atletico Madrid manager felt a debt to his current employers, especially as he had recently guided them into the Champion's League. Then the budget prevented the hiring of Luis Felipe Scolari, who is now presiding over the billions at Chelsea.

The FMF finally turned to the former England manager Eriksson, fresh from his firing at Manchester City. Compean pointed out that Mexico has a strong belief in youth and is looking to Eriksson to develop that at the international level. Mexican clubs are required to field players under 21-year-olds for at least 1,000 minutes throughout the course of the season. All of the clubs bar one have already reached the minimum, and Chivas de Guadalajara has racked up over 4,000 minutes of youth time.

Eriksson very well could be the man for the job, especially considering his fascination with starting young players for the national team. One pundit who thinks this could be a good long term fit is Alexi Lalas, the former US international and LA Galaxy president, who was also in attendance at the symposium.

"I think [Eriksson] realizes that this is a team that's ripe for some European influence and some outside-of-the box thinking," he said. "In order to implement that, he's going to have to take some time and patience. Almost go through a whole regeneration type thing where he identifies a core, young group, instills in them some alternative philosophies, and watches them grow."

Lalas is less confident Mexico will show enough patience to see the project through to the end, adding, "I'm not sure they'll give him that type of time."

But Lalas sees little problem with Mexico's actually making it to South Africa. Compean stressed the FMF's desire to play more than five matches at the next World Cup, which implies a quarterfinal appearance, a result Mexico has yet to achieve in its history.

Lalas thinks that may be too optimistic a goal. "I think Mexico will ultimately pull qualifying out, but it will only shade over that bigger problem," he said. "They have significant problems where, rather than continue the progress they've made, everyone else has caught up, and, in certain cases, passed them, as in the US's case."

Zac Lee Rigg is an associate editor at Goal.com USA.

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