Mexican striker Javier Hernandez has stolen headlines following his match-winning goals against Stoke on Sunday and Wolves on Tuesday but things aren’t so rosy back at his old club Guadalajara Chivas.
Sunday’s “clasico of the clasicos” against bitter capital city rivals America ended 0-0, the second half of which was at times exasperating to watch.
The clash pits the all-Mexican, provincial “people’s club” from second city Guadalajara against Mexico City’s America, whose name alone alludes to intentions of grandeur. America spend big on players, flaunt their wealth and their fans are proud of it. Chivas, thanks to an era of domination called the campeonisimo in the late 1950s and 1960s, lead America eleven to ten in the overall title count but both clubs currently find themselves in a slump.
The Mexican sports press was ferocious in building the game up, suggesting the clubs owed the fans a true classic after recent mediocrity and scandal in the national team.
After 90 minutes, boos rang out and the game only served to highlight how both clubs now have some thinking to do in terms of how they can compete on the pitch, not just commercially, with Mexico’s new elite: Monterrey, Cruz Azul, Toluca, Santos Laguna.
Of the two giants of the Mexican though, it’s Chivas who are very much in flux.
Fans are almost unanimously against club owner Jorge Vergara, who bought the club in 2002 and said he would make it into one of the biggest in the world.
“On paper the project is fine but in practice it’s not that easy,” says Chivas fan Luis from Mexico City before Sunday’s game. “Where’s the money going to come from?”
Chivas fans dancing, singing and drinking in a Mexico City park before making their way to the Azteca hid a shared concern about the future of the club.
“I’ll tell you, none of us like Vergara,” says Carlos of Guadalajara’s Legion 1908 fan group. “You go round the park and ask people what they think of him.”
A major problem for Chivas fans in Guadalajara this year has been the new Omnilife Stadium.
“It’s an amazing stadium, incredible but the prices are too high and we can’t get there easily,” says Jorge, who was one of those to make the trip from Guadalajara to Mexico City on Sunday.
Hardcore fans like Jorge and Carlos go to the new stadium every home game, but thousands have been put off.
The Estadio Omnilife is like a modern European stadium, set on the edge of the city. It is genuinely impressive. The problem is that Mexicans can’t pay Western European costs and most people simply can’t afford to pay the ticket prices plus transport to the stadium and then the food and beer inside the stadium. In comparison to the vast majority of Mexican stadia, there are no independent vendors outside; meaning Vergara has a monopoly on food, booze and merchandise.
Vergara laughs it off and says the stadium has been a success and that it’s the media causing the discontentment, but he would be better looking at the stark facts.
There were swathes of empty seats around the ground when Chivas took on local rivals Atlas a couple of weeks ago and when Pumas came to town it was the same. At the old Estadio Jalisco it was rare if one of the above games didn’t sell out, regardless of the circumstances of the team.
The stadium isn’t the only sign of discontent within Chivas however.
“This year I only brought one bus to the clasico,” says Luis Felipe Martinez, organizer of the Legion 1908 in Guadalajara. “I usually bring three.”
Outside the Azteca on Sunday another supporters’ club was protesting a potential change to the club badge.
As in all sports, a successful team brings fans around and while Chivas are performing like they did on Sunday, discontentment is bound is reign.
Perhaps what is required in the long term is that the club relaxes the rule on not allowing foreign players. Chivas have struggled in recent years in the Mexican league and now rely almost exclusively on talent coming up through the youth team.
The “sacred herd” has won just three titles since the Campeonisimo era ended in the 1960s. Toluca, on the other hand, has won seven titles since 1997.
The template for success in the Mexican league seems to be to have a large base of seven or eight Mexicans complemented with a few foreigners sprinkled in there. The Mexican identity remains while the team can be hugely aided by foreigners who can provide the missing link.
An additional problem for Chivas’ “Mexican only” policy is that it is combined with a policy of selling players that are successful. ‘Chicharito’ Hernandez played exceptionally well for only one year with Chivas before being whisked off, while 19-year-old midfield starlet Jorge Enriquez is being tipped to move in the same direction in the not too distant future.
If Chivas’ best players are sold on, the team naturally loses quality and it becomes difficult to win trophies; the most surefire way of getting supporters back into the stadium.
Most worryingly of all, Chivas fans are already fantasizing about the potential end-of-career return of the already mythical Chicharito. With his goals on Sunday, the wait could seem like an eternity.
Monday, 8 November 2010
Thursday, 21 October 2010
Chicharito to stake claim for first team place?
The shenanigans of Wayne Rooney have dominated headlines in recent days, but for Mexico's Javier 'Chicharito' Hernandez, a golden opportunity to earn a regular starting berth has arrived.
Just two months into his United career, the responsibility on United's strikers, minus Rooney, has increased and many will be looking to the young Mexican after a bright start to his United career.
A partnership with Dimitar Berbatov appears mouthwatering. The two have linked up well already this season and showed signs of understanding. The sleek, subtle genius of Berbatov combined with the sharp movement, awareness, sheer pace and workrate of
Chicharito would be a nightmare for any defence.
Time is required for the duo to knit, of course, but with Rooney's future up in the air, the Berbatov/Chicharito partnership might just be given a run of games.
It may be a steep learning curve for Chicharito so early in his United career but the keen Guadalajara native seems to be relishing life at Old Trafford. And, he's showed no sign, so far, of being overawed by anything put in front of him.
Just two months into his United career, the responsibility on United's strikers, minus Rooney, has increased and many will be looking to the young Mexican after a bright start to his United career.
A partnership with Dimitar Berbatov appears mouthwatering. The two have linked up well already this season and showed signs of understanding. The sleek, subtle genius of Berbatov combined with the sharp movement, awareness, sheer pace and workrate of
Chicharito would be a nightmare for any defence.
Time is required for the duo to knit, of course, but with Rooney's future up in the air, the Berbatov/Chicharito partnership might just be given a run of games.
It may be a steep learning curve for Chicharito so early in his United career but the keen Guadalajara native seems to be relishing life at Old Trafford. And, he's showed no sign, so far, of being overawed by anything put in front of him.
Sunday, 17 October 2010
De la Torre to take charge of Mexico
Mexico's new manager Jose Manuel de la Torre is an unknown outside of his home country but during his five years as a coach has quickly gained an awesome reputation in Mexico.
Three league titles won in those five years shunted 44-year-old 'Chepo,' as he is commonly known, to the top of the Mexican Football Federation's list to take over from Javier Aguirre.
Known as a stern, attack-minded coach who will give short shrift to players that step out of line, Chepo had a distinguished playing career starting out at Guadalajara Chivas in 1984. In the 1986-7 season Chepo helped Chivas to the title. He also won titles with Puebla in 1989-90 and Nexaca in the Invierno 1998 tournament.
He was a regular for the national team but never played in a World Cup.
After he retired from playing in 1999, Chepo took up coaching positions helping managers such as Mario Carrillo, Leo Beenhakker and current America boss Manuel Lapuente.
Born in Guadalajara, it was Chivas that gave Chepo his first chance at managing. In just his second tournament in charge in 2006, Chivas won the league title, a feat he repeated with Toluca in the Apertura 2008 and again in the Bicentenario 2010.
Having only played one year outside Mexico for Real Oviedo in Spain, it's been argued that Chepo doesn't have the international experience required for the post of national team coach, especially during a time of crisis.
Chepo's brother, Nestor de la Torre, was director of the national team until he was forced to resign from the post earlier this month.
Chepo's first job when he officially takes over in January will be to finally put to bed the ongoing fallout from September's party after the game against Colombia in Monterrey.
Eleven players were fined and two (Carlos Vela and Efrain Juarez) suspended for their role in the shindig, but all thirteen took offence at the very public nature of the investigation. All thirteen responded by refusing to play for the national team. The players then asked a public apology from Nestor before the recent friendly against Venezuela. When he refused, he was forced to resign.
Such examples of player power are rare in other countries. The Mexican press had a field day, one cartoon reading: "The party goes on!"
Finding the balance between appeasing the FMF and getting the players behind him will be difficult for Chepo. The hope is that it will be a smooth transition from successful club manager to international glory.
Chepo's first major tournament will be the Copa America 2011.
Three league titles won in those five years shunted 44-year-old 'Chepo,' as he is commonly known, to the top of the Mexican Football Federation's list to take over from Javier Aguirre.Known as a stern, attack-minded coach who will give short shrift to players that step out of line, Chepo had a distinguished playing career starting out at Guadalajara Chivas in 1984. In the 1986-7 season Chepo helped Chivas to the title. He also won titles with Puebla in 1989-90 and Nexaca in the Invierno 1998 tournament.
He was a regular for the national team but never played in a World Cup.
After he retired from playing in 1999, Chepo took up coaching positions helping managers such as Mario Carrillo, Leo Beenhakker and current America boss Manuel Lapuente.
Born in Guadalajara, it was Chivas that gave Chepo his first chance at managing. In just his second tournament in charge in 2006, Chivas won the league title, a feat he repeated with Toluca in the Apertura 2008 and again in the Bicentenario 2010.
Having only played one year outside Mexico for Real Oviedo in Spain, it's been argued that Chepo doesn't have the international experience required for the post of national team coach, especially during a time of crisis.
Chepo's brother, Nestor de la Torre, was director of the national team until he was forced to resign from the post earlier this month.
Chepo's first job when he officially takes over in January will be to finally put to bed the ongoing fallout from September's party after the game against Colombia in Monterrey.
Eleven players were fined and two (Carlos Vela and Efrain Juarez) suspended for their role in the shindig, but all thirteen took offence at the very public nature of the investigation. All thirteen responded by refusing to play for the national team. The players then asked a public apology from Nestor before the recent friendly against Venezuela. When he refused, he was forced to resign.
Such examples of player power are rare in other countries. The Mexican press had a field day, one cartoon reading: "The party goes on!"
Finding the balance between appeasing the FMF and getting the players behind him will be difficult for Chepo. The hope is that it will be a smooth transition from successful club manager to international glory.
Chepo's first major tournament will be the Copa America 2011.
Monday, 4 October 2010
Scandal, sex and soccer: recent Mexican soccer news
Mexican soccer is currently awash with interesting stories both on and off the field.
The most attention grabbing has been regarding the national team and a party in a Monterrey hotel after the September 7 game against Colombia.
The Mexican Football Federation (FMF) fined 11 players 50,000 pesos for their part in the shindig. Two players, Efrain Juarez and Carlos Vela, were banned from the national team for six months.
Then, last week team captain and New York Red Bulls star Rafael Marquez responded by penning a letter stating that he and the other 12 players sanctioned were refusing to play again for the national team until the directors clean up their act. (Mexico still has no permanent manager despite knowing Javier Aguirre would leave before the World Cup). All the other players, including Manchester star Javier “Chicharito” Hernandez supported Marquez verbally but didn’t sign the letter, according to Marquez.
In the letter, Marquez called for a cleaning up of the FMF and also seemed bizarrely to put himself in the frame to head the organization. The Mexican press was split between supporting the players’ demands for more organization and decrying them for acting like babies spitting out their dummies when the FMF punished the players.
The latest news is that Marquez says he will play for the national team and that there has been dialogue between him as captain and the FMF.
The players’ case wasn’t helped in any way when transvestite Yamille, also known as “Gema,” came out last week and said Fulham left back Carlos Salcido invited him to a party in the players’ hotel. In a video interview with TVNotas, she also recounted a sexual encounter the two had in the bathroom, described by Yamille as “oral sex.”
The two met via Facebook in April earlier this year, according to Yamille, who would easily pass as a female to be fair to Salcido, but it wasn’t until after the September 7 game that the two actually met.
Yamille described the “moral hangover” she felt after the incident, as Salcido had no idea that he was a man. The transvestite, who appeared on a high-class prostitutes website, told Salcido later and he was said to have been a little shocked. Yamille also apologized to Salcido’s wife.
Salcido denies the event happened and is suing the transvestite.
One newspaper columnist asked the question that if Salcido did what he did and only got a 50,000 peso fine, then what could Juarez and Vela have done to deserve a six month ban?
In other national team news, next Tuesday, October 12, the team travel to Ciudad Juarez to play against Venezuela. Known as the most dangerous city in the world, the game is more a PR exercise than anything else. Everyone is hoping everything goes smoothly. Security is likely to be extremely tight.
In the domestic league, Cruz Azul top the general standings after a 1-0 home derby victory over the giant America on Sunday. Cruz Azul hadn’t beaten their Mexico City rivals for seven years.
In the big Guadalajara clasico, Chivas took on Atlas at their brand new Estadio Omnilife. Unfortunately, the stadium was only around half full but on the field the game was full of incident. It may be a world class venue but there is a big difference between the price people in Guadalajara can pay and the price of the tickets. Chivas owner and businessman Jorge Vergara was left with egg on his face. For many in town, the Chivas-Atlas derby is the biggest game of the season.
On the field action was highly entertaining and ended in heartbreak for the loyal Atlas fans who have seen their team win only once since late April.
After a fairly even first half in which both teams set out to get goals, the score was 1-1. On 63 minutes, Chivas player Marco Fabian had a penalty saved by Pedro Hernandez. As fate would have it, Atlas took the lead for the second time on 73 minutes and goalscorer Gerry Flores got a “Zorro” mask from somewhere, put it on and saluted away fans going crazy for their team known as the “Zorros.” Unfortunately the referee took a dim view of the humorous prank and gave Flores a second yellow card followed by a red.
Naturally, Chivas piled the pressure on Atlas but couldn’t get the equalizer. The rapid Omar Arellano and playmaker Adolfo “Bofo” Bautista pulled the strings while Atlas looked increasingly dangerous on the break as Chivas ploughed men forward.
In the first minute of injury time, Bofo broke free inside the penalty area, made his way to the byline and put in a low cross. With two Chivas players waiting for a tap in, Atlas defender Nestor Vidrio sliced a clearance into the top corner of his own net. The game ended 2-2 with the Zorros devastated.
Elsewhere and the post-season playoffs (liguilla) look to be shaping up the same as they have for the last couple of years.
Cruz Azul, Monterrey, Santos and Toluca make up the top four with San Luis, Pumas and Puebla just behind them.
The big question is whether the “big two” of Mexican football, Chivas and America, will be there along with the aforementioned clubs. The playoffs have missed them in the later stages over the last few years.
Mexican player to watch
Cruz Azul striker Javier “Chuletita” Orozco has grabbed a lot of headlines this season and is a young Mexican player to look out for. He’s scored six goals so far and recently broke into the national squad and came on to make his debut. From Sinaloa, Orozco played more baseball than football but, thankfully, he opted for the latter despite being an excellent batter.
The most attention grabbing has been regarding the national team and a party in a Monterrey hotel after the September 7 game against Colombia.
The Mexican Football Federation (FMF) fined 11 players 50,000 pesos for their part in the shindig. Two players, Efrain Juarez and Carlos Vela, were banned from the national team for six months.
Then, last week team captain and New York Red Bulls star Rafael Marquez responded by penning a letter stating that he and the other 12 players sanctioned were refusing to play again for the national team until the directors clean up their act. (Mexico still has no permanent manager despite knowing Javier Aguirre would leave before the World Cup). All the other players, including Manchester star Javier “Chicharito” Hernandez supported Marquez verbally but didn’t sign the letter, according to Marquez.
In the letter, Marquez called for a cleaning up of the FMF and also seemed bizarrely to put himself in the frame to head the organization. The Mexican press was split between supporting the players’ demands for more organization and decrying them for acting like babies spitting out their dummies when the FMF punished the players.
The latest news is that Marquez says he will play for the national team and that there has been dialogue between him as captain and the FMF.
The players’ case wasn’t helped in any way when transvestite Yamille, also known as “Gema,” came out last week and said Fulham left back Carlos Salcido invited him to a party in the players’ hotel. In a video interview with TVNotas, she also recounted a sexual encounter the two had in the bathroom, described by Yamille as “oral sex.”
The two met via Facebook in April earlier this year, according to Yamille, who would easily pass as a female to be fair to Salcido, but it wasn’t until after the September 7 game that the two actually met.
Yamille described the “moral hangover” she felt after the incident, as Salcido had no idea that he was a man. The transvestite, who appeared on a high-class prostitutes website, told Salcido later and he was said to have been a little shocked. Yamille also apologized to Salcido’s wife.
Salcido denies the event happened and is suing the transvestite.
One newspaper columnist asked the question that if Salcido did what he did and only got a 50,000 peso fine, then what could Juarez and Vela have done to deserve a six month ban?
In other national team news, next Tuesday, October 12, the team travel to Ciudad Juarez to play against Venezuela. Known as the most dangerous city in the world, the game is more a PR exercise than anything else. Everyone is hoping everything goes smoothly. Security is likely to be extremely tight.
In the domestic league, Cruz Azul top the general standings after a 1-0 home derby victory over the giant America on Sunday. Cruz Azul hadn’t beaten their Mexico City rivals for seven years.
In the big Guadalajara clasico, Chivas took on Atlas at their brand new Estadio Omnilife. Unfortunately, the stadium was only around half full but on the field the game was full of incident. It may be a world class venue but there is a big difference between the price people in Guadalajara can pay and the price of the tickets. Chivas owner and businessman Jorge Vergara was left with egg on his face. For many in town, the Chivas-Atlas derby is the biggest game of the season.
On the field action was highly entertaining and ended in heartbreak for the loyal Atlas fans who have seen their team win only once since late April.
After a fairly even first half in which both teams set out to get goals, the score was 1-1. On 63 minutes, Chivas player Marco Fabian had a penalty saved by Pedro Hernandez. As fate would have it, Atlas took the lead for the second time on 73 minutes and goalscorer Gerry Flores got a “Zorro” mask from somewhere, put it on and saluted away fans going crazy for their team known as the “Zorros.” Unfortunately the referee took a dim view of the humorous prank and gave Flores a second yellow card followed by a red.
Naturally, Chivas piled the pressure on Atlas but couldn’t get the equalizer. The rapid Omar Arellano and playmaker Adolfo “Bofo” Bautista pulled the strings while Atlas looked increasingly dangerous on the break as Chivas ploughed men forward.
In the first minute of injury time, Bofo broke free inside the penalty area, made his way to the byline and put in a low cross. With two Chivas players waiting for a tap in, Atlas defender Nestor Vidrio sliced a clearance into the top corner of his own net. The game ended 2-2 with the Zorros devastated.
Elsewhere and the post-season playoffs (liguilla) look to be shaping up the same as they have for the last couple of years.
Cruz Azul, Monterrey, Santos and Toluca make up the top four with San Luis, Pumas and Puebla just behind them.
The big question is whether the “big two” of Mexican football, Chivas and America, will be there along with the aforementioned clubs. The playoffs have missed them in the later stages over the last few years.
Mexican player to watch
Cruz Azul striker Javier “Chuletita” Orozco has grabbed a lot of headlines this season and is a young Mexican player to look out for. He’s scored six goals so far and recently broke into the national squad and came on to make his debut. From Sinaloa, Orozco played more baseball than football but, thankfully, he opted for the latter despite being an excellent batter.
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