Preseason in Cancún

Pumas wound up their sea-level training in Cancún with a 2-0 victory over Atlante in front of a 10,000 crowd at the Estadio Andrés Quintana Roo. Leandro Augusto in the first half and youngster David Cabrera in the second half got the goals, both from headers. The team now return to Mexico City to finalise their preparations for the Apertura tournament.

Meanwhile Mario Trejo (picture) continues to make pronouncements about the "Mexicanisation" of the Pumas first team. While the encouragement of younger players is officially the reasoning behind this policy it is interesting to read between the lines. This is what the Sporting Director of Pumas had to say:

"We want you to understand that in contracting fewer players we are giving more chances to our young players, with the responsibility not to fall into the same mistakes as on other occasions, when because of being champions in the first tournament you make expensive investments."

"Filling up our quota of foreigners and bringing in so many players from abroad does not mean that championships will be won in this way. It has to be done by refining and making a success of the process of bringing on the university player, in our case."

Once this process is done then according to Trejo Pumas can be champions "along with rediscovering our mystique, along with our efforts to achieve Mexicanization, brought about through the process of players coming up from the youth ranks, and the purchase of others such as Juan Carlos Cacho."

"We need to start by looking to be competitive and if we are champions then better still, but we have to make room for Mexican players, and as a club to imbue ourselves with that philosophy, that essence, but this takes time."

"The decision to buy players we brought in (foreign players) was hotly disputed, and we were asked who is Esteban Solari, who is Scocco who is Rubens Sambueza" but "with time people realised their skills, what they could and should do, and for this reason they were brought in. But it is difficult to always be working with a millstone round your neck, if they are Mexican because they are Mexican, and if they are foreigners, because they are foreigners."

This all seems pretty muddy thinking to me, but thankfully it seems not to be a pure marketing decision, even if its nationalism falls little short of racism.

Later in the week Trejo clarified further, saying that although Guillermo Vásquez the assistant coach was in South America looking for an addition to the squad, he would prefer that they did not get anyone.

Trejo again: "For my part it seems that at the moment we haven't found anyone right. Yes there are good players, obviously, fortunately there are always good players, abroad and in our country, but what is happening as I see it is that bringing another player from abroad is going to delay the emergence of our own players."

"The second reason that I see for believing that it is not a good time to bring in a foreign player is price. Because when they realise and when you promote yourself from inside your club, or you declare you are going to go for a player, we all know what happens, because everyone approaches you, sends you hundreds of videos. They all cost three million (dollars) or more, and it seems to me that we shouldn't let ourselves be dragged into this type of situation, this kind of game, out of respect for our institution, and especially because of our philosophy that we've had for giving our young players a chance."

Nevertheless Guillermo Vásquez will submit a report on his South American findings to, in Trejo's words "to confirm or not whether I'm telling the truth" but there seems little likelihood of a change of heart from the sporting director: "I still maintain my opinions" he concluded. The only chance of a change of policy comes from the Technical Committee or from Club President Víctor Mahbub.

I am still uncertain how much support Trejo has from the grass roots for this policy, but it is definitely true that some of our most exciting and reliable players have been non-Mexican. One thinks of Dario Verón, Leandro Augusto, Joaquin Botero, Ailton Da Silva, as well as legends such as Ferretti himself. There have also been dreadful foreign purchases such as Agustín Delgado but there have also been poor Mexican purchases such as Raul Salinas, Cesareo Victorino and Gerardo Espinoza. At the end of the day the quality and loyalty of the players has nothing to do with their place of birth, and the development of Pumas' youngsters is enhanced not damaged by contact with players of excellence, wherever they are from.

Elsewhere in Mexico
The Mexican national team redeemed themselves with a convincing 7-0 defeat of Belize in Monterrey to advance to the group stages of World Cup qualifying, with a brace each from the ever-improving Fernando Arce, and leading all-time scorer Jared Borgetti. In the first group stage they will face the might of Canada, Jamaica and Honduras. The games begin on 20th August.

Meanwhile LDUQ, América's conquerors in the Copa Libertadores, took a 4-2 lead in the first leg of the final in Quito. The return leg in the Maracaná in Rio is this Wednesday.

Transfer News

It is seeming more and more that the Pumas team will have a different look about it next season. Notwithstanding Mario Trejo´s declarations about "Mexicanising" the first team, the changes have come thick and fast this week.

Firstly it was confirmed that Ignacio Scocco is to leave to join AEK Athens for a fee of around 1.5 million euros. While Pumas were keen for him to stay, the player clearly had ambitions to play in Europe, and it is the right move for the University club to allow players to move on when the opportunity presents itself. This will encourage more young players to come to Pumas.

Scocco Record with Pumas (2006-2008), played 74, scored 28, although curiously he only played 21 full games.

Eseban Solari, the other half of the Argentinian striking partnership also announced he would be leaving to play for Spanish club Almeria, who finished eighth in Spain last season. It is a big step up for quite a one-dimensional player, but nevertheless it is a great opportunity and you have to wish him well.

Solari's Pumas record (2007-2008), played 40 (all full games), scored 25.

Losing two strikers in the space of a week left Pumas with problems up front, but they were very quick to pouch a replacement to be a likely partner for Paco Palencia when the new season starts. The signing of Juan Carlos Cacho (picture) from Pachuca is a decent move: the player was an important part of the succesful Pachuca team of 2007 scoring three goals against America in the final of Clausura 2007, and 19 over the year, also earning a call-up to the national side. In recent times Pachuca have relied more on Luis Gabriel Rey (who ironically has also been transferred to Atlante) and recently signed Bruno Marioni, so maybe he was looking for more opportunities.

I still think that Pumas need to contract another striker for the new season, as well as clinching a deal on Sambueza, particularly as Chivas have made a move for Pablo Barrera, who has said he would like to move to the Guadalajara club. Meanwhile there is no news on Israel Castro; if he were to go then presumably Jehu Chiapas or Efrain Juarez would step up.

The fixtures are now out for the new season, and Pumas open their campaign against Necaxa in CU on 27th July, followed by a trip to champions Santos the following week.

Elsewhere in Mexico

The Mexican National team stumbled to an unconvincing 2-0 win against Belize in the first half of their World Cup qualifier in Houston. Carlos Vela grabbed the first bundling in the rebound from a Luis Perez free kick, while Borgetti added the second late on from the penalty spot. The midfield still needs a rethink, with both Perez and Sinha being too small to be partnered in the middle, while Torrado is clearly past his best. Fernando Arce, however seems to have cemented his place after a couple of decent displays in the last two games.

Next Up

The return leg Mexico-Belize will be played in Monterrey on Saturday evening.

Latest News

Speculation continues about the futures of Ignacio Scocco, Israel Castro and Rubens Sambueza, and whther they will be with Pumas for the next tournament.

Scocco, it seems, looks likely to stay at Pumas at least until Christmas when he will be out of contract, as the asking price of 3 million dollars is putting off a number of potential suitors. This seems to be poor business by Pumas, since once he is out of contract they will not recieve a penny for any potential move.

Castro's move is also doubtful as Pumas have given a time limit of Friday for a definite offer to be made, and although Castro is keeping quiet, there clearly has been some interest and it would be good for him personally to further his career in Europe. He has stated, however, that if he does not go to Europe he will stay with Pumas.

Meanwhile the club has put the purchase of Rubens Sambueza from River Plate on the back-burner, curiously claiming that there were "other priorities". This seems very unfair on the best outfield player of the last tournament who is keen to stay at Pumas but who is seeing the board of the club prevaricate about his future. Other Mexican options could also arise for Sambueza and Pumas would lose a great talent.

Pumas head off for "beach training" in Cancún this Sunday. Castro may join them if there is no resolution of his transfer possibilities. Cancún appears to be a popular destination, Tigres also arriving in Quintana Roo this week.

Pumas also discovered who they will be playing in the preliminary round of the CONCACAF champions league in August. They are paired against Harbour View of Jamaica, with the second leg to be played in CU. A win will take them through to the group stage which has yet to be drawn. Incidentally Cruz Azul play Hankook Verders of Belize, while Atlante and Santos go through to the group stage automatically.

Elsewhere in Mexico
Mexico gained some measure of consolation after their defeat against Argentina by crushing a poor Peru team 4-0 in Chicago. All the goals came in the first half, from Fernando Arce (2), Andrés Guardado and Carlos Vela. Following the game goalkeeper Oswaldo Sánchez was arrested after an incident at the team hotel. He was detained for a breach of the peace after the group he was with failed to turn down their music during early-hour celebrations. Sánchez claimed he had done nothing wrong, and was only acting as spokesman for a number of players, while he also said he had gone out for a meal earlier that evening with his wife "to celebrate the championship (for Santos)" and had only drunk half a bottle of wine. Over-zealous policing or celebrity arrogance? We shall probably never know.

The draw was made this week for the fairly pointless "Superliga" tournament, to take place pre-season between Mexican and US clubs. The Mexican clubs taking part are Pachuca and Santos who face New England Revolution and Chivas USA. The other group consists of Atlante, Chivas, DC United and Houston Dynamo. Games begin on the 12th July.

Next Up
The European Championship is not the only meaningful football taking place this week. Mexico begin their Concacaf qualifiying campaign with an away game against Belize (although being played in the US for financial reasons) on Sunday afternoon.

Clausura 2008: Season Review

Pumas have got to be disappointed with the season, after beginning with so much optimism based on being runners-up in Apertura 2007, and the youngsters performing with credit in the Interliga. Mario Trejo, re-elected as president of the club, summed it up by saying that everyone was unhappy and that it was a bad tournament.

It is undeniable that Pumas were unable to get the results they needed, and it is clearly seen as a failure not to qualify for the play-offs, but curiously the team performed in a similar manner to the Apertura where they so nearly won. There were a number of games which the team were on top but were unable to close out the win - the game against Atlas after being 2-0 up and dominating after an hour springs to mind. Despite creating sufficient goal-scoring opportunities too many went astray...

The season started with a tough game at Chivas and it was no surprise that it was a struggle in the Jalisco, with all the emotion surrounding Chava Reyes and the celebration of past Chivas teams. But three defeats in the first three games, the next two against América and Atlante who were to go on to have very poor tournaments, made things difficult right from the start. From games 4 to 11 there was a good run with only one defeat (a baffling home reverse against Necaxa), but the run-in was always going to be more of a problem, with some tough fixtures. The moment it looked as though classification for the play-offs had slipped away was in the 2-0 defeat to a poor Tigres team in game 12. Despite controlling possession Pumas lacked cutting edge, for certainly not the only time this season, and they would only win one more game for the rest of the season, a 4-2 win at relegated Veracruz.

Pumas played reasonably well against tough opposition in the last few games but went down narrowly to Cruz Azul and San Luis while only managing a draw against Toluca and Pachuca. If a team is to realistically challenge for the championship then they have to be able to defeat off-colour giants such as América, Pachuca and Toluca. Pumas only got wins against two of the top 12 teams (Jaguares and Monterrey).

Curiously, after forming a sound partnership with Hector Moreno before Christmas, and doing a sound job in the Interliga, Carlos Humberto González could not strike up such a good relationship with Dario Véron and this contributed to the poor early season form. In the end Pikolín Palacios took over and the centre of defence took on a more solid look. The two youngsters involved with the disastrous Mexican Under-20 campaign, Velarde and Barrera also started the season badly and looked jaded and confused. Neither truly recovered their best form throughout the whole tournament.

Velarde's absence also caused Ferretti to experiment with Castro back at right back, and Gerardo Espinoza in the middle, but this was never convincing and it seemed to unsettle Castro and his relationship with Leandro in the heart of the midfield. Palencia slowly came back from injury and added some directness up front, but again Tuca saw it as a sign to ditch Scocco rather than the profligate Solari whose style is too similar to Palencia's. Meanwhile it took Sambueza half a season to get into flow, while Iñiguez was brilliant in one game (usually off the bench) and dreadful in the next (when he had gained a starting spot).

The plusses have to be the return to some sort of form of Palacios, the continued solidity of the ageless Bernal in goal, and Sambueza's excellent form late in the season. Other players seemed to be a little off their best, the normally reliable Verón, Castro and Leandro having too many off games between them.

So what of the future? Mario Trejo stated that his goal was for Pumas to rely ever more on players from the Cantera (youth set up), with eventually all players coming from them, and there being no foreign players (ie all players would be Mexican). Following on from Esteban Solari's reservations about this idea, I find the idea abhorrent that a player should be excluded from playing for a side based on where they were born. It seems the worst kind of prejudice, and a slap in the face to players like Leandro and Verón who have committed their careers to the club, as well as players in the past such as Cabinho and "El Tuca". Developing young players is an admirable goal for a club - let us hope that it is not done in a one-eyed nationalistic spirit, and that young foreign players such as Scocco can also find a niche in CU.

Meanwhile there has been speculation about the future of Israel Castro and Ignacio Scocco, with Greek clubs supposedly interested in both (Olympiakos for Castro and AEK Athens for Scocco). The club is no further forward in sorting out the situation of Sambueza with River Plate, while Chiapas may miss the beginning of the season after hernia trouble. There will need to be some rebuilding, but it is unlikely there will be much spending on new players given the club's pronouncements. This may well be the time that the young players who showed well in the Interliga will have to step up.

Moment of the Season
Iñiguez's 88th minute winner against Monterrey on 10th February. Scocco skipping round a defender and sliding it coolly to Iñiguez who drove home for Pumas first win of the season to revive hope after a dreadful start. Pumas fans could also delight in América's 4-0 thrashing by Veracruz.

Goal of the Season
Well the best goal in a Pumas game was the stunner by Braulio Luna for San Luis against Pumas in CU. But the best by a Puma was probably Sambueza's effort against Veracruz. Picking up the ball out left he surged past one then played a neat one-two with Solari before muscling in front of another defender to stab it confidently past the keeper.

Team Performance of the Season
Admittedly Veracruz were the weakest side in the league, but they were battling for survival and Pumas played an open and dynamic game, with Solari, Sambueza and Scocco showing the movement that was lacking during much of the season. It also gave Pumas a chance to qualify for repechaje had they managed to sneak a goal past Pachuca on the last day.

Individual Performance of the Season
A difficult one, but I go for Sambueza against Necaxa (albeit in a losing cause) as he stood head and shoulders above the other players that day.

Worst Player
Although Pablo Barrera was a big disappointment, sadly the worst player award has to go once again to Gerardo Espinoza. This is not due to lack of effort, but in the position he plays (midfield ball-winner) he is not sufficiently comfortable in possession and was repeatedly muscled off the ball. He was a poor signing.

Best Young Player
Efrain Velarde turned round a dreadful first half to the season to come back firing. None of the other Pumas youngsters really moved forward, with Chiapas getting little game time, and Morales, Bonells et al getting even less. So Velarde it is.

Player of the Season
Rubens Sambueza has clearly been the most exciting player, and if the award were to be given on the second half of the season he would run away with it. But consistency and reliability are important to a team and the Pumas captain has epitomised this through a difficult season. Sergio Bernal wins player of the season. Here are the scores (of players playing 5 or more games):

Bernal 6.50
Sambueza 6.35
Palacios 6.20
Leandro 6.13
Verón 6.12
Castro 6.00
Palencia 5.90
Scocco 5.89
Iñiguez 5.88
Velarde 5.83
Solari 5.65
Chiapas 5.64
C.H. González 5.63
F. Espinoza 5.41
Barrera 5.30
G. Espinoza 5.00

It is perhaps indicative of a poor season that no player really got close to averaging 7 per game.

Elsewhere in Mexico
Sven Goran Eriksson, now confirmed as Mexico manager, must feel he has his work cut out after watching the "Tri" come apart at the seams against a dynamic Argentina in San Diego on Wednesday. The game was dominated by youngsters Lionel Messi and "El Kun" Agüero and the Mexicans were 3-0 down at half time to goals by Burdisso, Messi and Maxi Rodríguez. A strange goal by Sinha which floated into the corner past an incompetent Abbondanzieri lunge pulled one back, but Agüero finished a nice flowing move to restore the three goal cushion to show how far Mexico have to go to be competitive at the World Cup. Carlos Salcido in particular looked well short of his best, while the midfield needs a rethink after being comprehensively outplayed.

América finally bowed out of the Libertadores on Tuesday. Needing a win or a high scoring draw in Quito against LDUQ they were dominated in a dull game by the Equatorians and offered little in a 0-0 draw that sends LDUQ through to play Fluminense, who beat Boca Juniors 5-3 on aggregate, in the final.

Next Up
Pumas have started medical tests and pre-season training, but there is still a way to go before competitive football starts again. Mexico, however, have a chance for redemption as they play Peru in the US on Sunday.

Final

Video 1st leg
Video 2nd leg

Santos were crowned champions of Mexico for Clausura 2008 after a narrow win over Cruz Azul. It is Santos's third title and fully deserved after finishing first before Christmas (and losing to Pumas in the semi-final) then coming in second behind Chivas in this tournamnent. If the league had been run in the conventional European style over a full year they would have ended up champions anyway.

The basis of their dominance has been the attacking trio of Argentinians Daniel Ludueña (pictured) and Matias Vuoso, along with Christián Benítez of Ecuador. They also have a very promising left back with pace in Edgar Castillo, experienced international goalkeeper Osvaldo Sánchez and the young midfielder Fernando Arce recently acquired from Morelia.

Cruz Azul were worthy rivals and dominated the opening stages of the first leg, with ex-Puma Jaime Lozano looking dangerous, and Torrado and Villaluz dominating the middle. But they only had a Vigneri header to show for it at the interval, and Santos emerged in the second half a better side. Benítez had a fine second half and set up Arce to rocket past Gutiérrez for the equaliser and then scored the winner himself after a scorching break.

This set up the Laguneros nicely for the home leg, and when Ludueña curled in from the edge of the box after only fifteen minutes, one felt it was a long way back for Cruz Azul, who despite ample possession showed little fluency. Torrado became an increaslingly frustrated figure in midfield, and despite Lozano touching in his swinging cross for the equaliser with ten minutes to go, he nevertheless ended up being given his marching orders by Armando Archundia. The final few minutes were fairly tense but there was little doubt that Santos would come through as deserved champions.

Copa Libertadores
Atlas failed to capitalise on their draw in Buenos Aires against Boca Juniors and were thrashed 3-0 at home by an inspired dislay by the classy Riquelme. Irritating striker Martín Palermo grabbed a first-half hatrick for the "Xeneizes" and goalkeeper Bava was sent off for Atlas early in the second half.

América however made it through to the semi-finals after a nervous 1-0 defeat away at Santos. Again Guillermos Ochoa looked in fine form and on these displays América will struggle to hold on to him for much longer. They moved on to play LDUQ (Quito University - Liga Deportiva) in the semi-final and managed an unimpressive 1-1 draw in the Azteca. Enrique Esqueda got a late equaliser after Bolaños had put LDUQ ahead. Meanwhile Fluminense grabbed a 2-2 draw in Argentina against Boca Juniors in the other semi-final.

Mexican National Team
After a lot of rumours and "will-he, won't-he"s it is looking almost certain that ex-England and Manchester City manager Sven Goran Eriksson will be appointed Mexico's national coach. Despite a number of players publicly coming out in direct opposition to his appointment (ostensibly because he does not know Mexican football), including ex-Puma Gonzalo Pineda and veteran Jared Borgetti, the feeling is that the team needs a "director técnico" with more technical know-how after the rather disappointing Hugo Sánchez reign.

Interestingly "Tuca" Ferretti also claimed that his appointment would push up managers' wages in Mexico which have rather stood still in recent years.

Next Up
Look out for Mexico playing Argentina this Wednesday and Peru on Sunday (both matches in the USA), while América face LDUQ in Quito on Tuesday.