Mexico

FMF Play Blame Game Over U-20's Failures

FMF executive Decio de Maria pinned the blame on the Under-20 national team's failures in qualifying squarely on former coach Jesus "Chucho" Ramirez, who says he did not abandon the team.

Mar 13, 2009 2:46:48 AM

More On : Mexico, Mexico Under 20

Mexico's Under-20 national team arrived in Trinidad & Tobago more than one week ago with the hopes of qualifying for the FIFA U-20 World Cup in Egypt later this year.

Instead, Mexico returned home with far more questions than answers, and added to the misery that has plagued the entire national team system for the last year.

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Mexico lost games to Costa Rica (1-0) and Canada (2-0) before salvaging a point against Trinidad & Tobago (2-2). However, with the Under-20 team's failures there is quite a deal of blame that has been spread around. Mexican Football Federation officials blame the former manager while he says he is not alone in the team's failures.

Mexico lost coach Jesus "Chucho" Ramirez to Club America in February and replaced him with Juan Carlos Chavez. The move, FMF General Secretary Decio de Maria said, was a blow to the team.

"Of course it weighed on the team," de Maria said. "This was a team that had been working together for a long time and days before qualifying a change is made. That surely affected the team."

Ramirez, though, said the team was about more than just him.

"Even though I left, I was always in contact with them and at Juan Carlos Chavez's call as well. I talked to him several times," Ramirez said. "I did not abandon them."

Ramirez led Mexico's Under-20 effort in 2007 and guided the team to the tournament in Canada, where Mexico reached the quarterfinal round. He is best known for having guided Mexico to the Under-17 world title in 2005, and helping bring players such as Carlos Vela, Giovani Dos Santos and Cesar Villaluz to prominence.

Now, though, Ramirez has all but been vilified by the FMF.

"He was part of it all and he has his share of responsibility," de Maria said.

Success in 2005, though, was followed by a multitude of job offers from clubs around the Mexican league, and Ramirez said his right to leave the national team for a coaching job was one granted to him in his contract.

"A situation arose that had become increasingly common, since other clubs had made similar offers," Ramirez said. "When I signed my latest contract, there was a clause that if I would have received an offer, I would have been able to take it. I did not leave them alone. There was a group in place. This work was not done in 15 days' time; it was work that had been done for quite some time."

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