Mexico was supposed to be an Olympic medal contender, led by a golden generation of young stars including Giovanni Dos Santos, Carlos Vela and Andres Guardado. Hugo Sanchez’s team was supposed to walk through Olympic Qualifying. The Mexicans were supposed to do a lot, but are now heading home having accomplished nothing.
Mexico thrashed Haiti, 5-1, in one of the must absurd soccer games ever played, but it was one goal short of what the Mexicans needed to reach the Olympic qualifying second round. Canada’s 5-0 win against Guatemala earlier on Sunday set the bar too high for the Mexicans, which put on a clinic on how to squander easy scoring chances. Mexico won big, but lost bigger and now Dos Santos, Vela, Guardado and Hugo Sanchez will be watching the Olympics on TV.
Haitian goalkeeper Johnny Placide gave up five goals but stole the show with a plethora of clutch saves, inluding a penalty kick stop. Even as his defense abandoned him, Placide kept making saves and earned folk hero status in Canada, the USA and Guatemala.
There will be no sympathy for Mexico, an underachieving squad of floppers and whiners who spent more time begging for yellow cards for its opponents than playing quality soccer. It is sad that the likes of Dos Santos, Vela and Guardado won’t get to shine at the Olympics, but they have only their countrymen to blame.
Most of the blame, at least in Mexico, will fall at the feet of Hugo Sanchez, who wore all black on Sunday, perhaps getting a head start on the mourning of his time as Mexico head coach. Does he really deserve to be fired? I don’t think he does but failing to reach the Olympics is going to be tough for Sanchez to survive.
What do you think of Mexico’s failed Olympic bid? Does Sanchez deserve to be fired? Was the team just not good enough? Was Group B (with Guatemala, Canada and Haiti) tougher than we realized? Share your thoughts below.
Hugo definitely deserves to go and well he deserves the bulk of the blame, that display of finishing (or lack there of) make American fowards look like prolific goal scorers. I think the one person who has slid and deserves some heat is Memo Ochoa. That was a weak goal to give up and as a keeper I was always told, do not get beat at the near post and well the one goal that keeps Mexico out was a weak one. Granted I realize that Mexico had chance after chance to get that 5 goal cushion but between the weak goal surrendered and the PK miss: Wow. I also realized that after watching Ochoa give up that goal, that this is gonna be the keeper that Donovan gets to torture for the next ten years, much like he did to that whack job Oswaldo Sanchez.
ives, you just need to stop with your “floppers and whiners” stereotype.
gimmie a break. your bias as a reporter has hurt your credibility.
ya but one more goal would tie them w canada. head-2-head
Again, the Mexi Melts fell TWO gols short of what they needed to go through. The Deportes telecast was clear about this from the beginning of the game. The Mexican’ts had to be six gols clear to advance, not 5. Knowing that made the ending a little more absurd, and a little less tense for the Yank bystander.
Ives,
With the possible exception of Canada- and they lost to Haiti -this whole Olympic Qualifying has been a massive embarassment/train wreck/set back for CONCACAF and the way the world views football from this region.
Absolutely Hugo deserves to be fired. The reason this team did not qualify was mentality. There was no lack of technical ability or tactical knowledge…some wonderfully brillant players. As a team they lacked cohesion and that lays firmly at the feet of Hugo Sanchez.
Uncle Jason,
Well said!!!
Unfortunately for Mexico, their selection process for the national team coach is MORE flawed than ours.
I am half-Mexican and I would love to see them put out a respectable team that has some sort of moral structure (i.e. US, England, etc.); but egomaniacs like Hugo Sanchez and Ricardo Lavolpe will just not cut it.
The best thing for them to do would be to fire Sanchez and look for a strict coach that will not put up with a-holes and teach the very talented Mexican youths to play as a team and respect their opponents.
At this point and time, it is impossible for me to root for Mexico because I can’t stand their attitude and the coaches that they choose. Hasta la vista, Hugo!
Unfortunately for Mexico, their selection process for the national team coach is MORE flawed than ours.
I am half-Mexican and I would love to see them put out a respectable team that has some sort of moral structure (i.e. US, England, etc.); but egomaniacs like Hugo Sanchez and Ricardo Lavolpe will just not cut it.
The best thing for them to do would be to fire Sanchez and look for a strict coach that will not put up with a-holes and teach the very talented Mexican youths to play as a team and respect their opponents.
At this point and time, it is impossible for me to root for Mexico because I can’t stand their attitude and the coaches that they choose. Hasta la vista, Hugo!
also guardado, vela, and dos santos weren’t even cosidered for the olympics because their clubs didn’t release them
While I have no sympathy for Mexico, I do wonder why FIFA should expect Olympic soccer to be taken seriously when they don’t bother to make qualifying mandatory release Int’l dates??
hey TK
I agree w what u said about mexico not being liked across the americas because of its arrogance, however (and I’m saying this as a fan of both usmnt and tri), the US isn’t exactly adored either. wether it be in the Americas or in Europe.
gentlemen
Well that was an interesting game last nite eh? LOL
I feel a little better today and actually felt a great deal of satisfaction when Hugo himself declared that this qualifying process was a FAILURE. I just wanted him to admit that he deceived the mexican people by promising things he couldn’t deliver. I mean sure, we have some talented youngsters but so does everyone else.
I just want to clarify that the arrogance my beloved Mexico team has displayed is due to a false sense of superiority that Hugo himself and the mexican sports media (who is a complete joke, they have little to no integrity) have instilled in the minds of these kids by saying things like “Mexico has an obligation to qualify because on paper we’re the best freaking team in the universe!!!” I mean, why don’t these people try the humble approach, it’s worked wonders for Canada and Guatemala.
I just really want to commend american fans and athletes for their winning mentality and the never-say-die attitude because frankly I do believe we have a more talented team but in the end this is a team game and you win or lose as a team. US fans are also guilty of the same “hugo complex” that plagues mexican footie though but not nearly as bad as everywhere else since sadly football is a third tear sport in this country.
didnt watch this game, but my post is in reference to the Refs…
it seemed to me that the refs were really good at 1 thing, and 1 thing only…. noticing a dive in the box… it seemed to me they did very well noticing it and carding for it…
they ref’ed the games like we were all a bunch of U8’s…. small and frail… any bump, touch, or dirty look was simply called… it was quite annoying that every 20 seconds i heard the whistle O.o
It’s been a long time since I’ve seen that much flopping in a game, and I watch Serie A quite a bit. It was out of hand on the part of Mexico. I love it when flopping goes unrewarded.
HAHAHAHAHAHAH!!!! GO CANADA!!!
i think i wrote on here a week ago or so, PREDICTING this!!!
mexico is the most overrated (senior and U-23) team on the planet.
meanwhile, canada is one of the most UNDERrated! unfortunately, it won’t be USA and Canada in the olympics, so lets hope for Guate to beat the crud out of Honduras!
I agree with the posters about the good level or reffing in the Mexico-Haiti game. It was a difficult game to ref, and the ref got almost all the calls right.
As far as Haiti not playing defense and being bought off, I think that a better explanation is that they were not there to make sure Canada made it in. They were there to advance, and the only way they could do that was to win the game, so they had to score goals. It didn’t matter to them if they lost 6-1 or 5-1, it was all the same to them. So they kept trying to attack even when they were 2 men down. Tactically sound, probably not, but I don’t think it was anything more than that.
Tavis:
“I am so fricken excited, it’s amazing.
I mean, as Haiti refused to play defense with 9 men, I just assumed Mexico had bought off the Haitians in order to get through.
Then my internet died as Mexico scored the fourth and I was thoroughly convinced that Mexico had scored the necessary six.
I’m still pretty convinced that Mexico bought off the Haitians, but were simply too poor to finish all their gifted chances.
I can’t wait for the excuses to fly, and I think I may just do a little jig.”
Lemuel:
I agree 100% it sure did seem that way, that’s why I posted yesterday that, that was the worst defense I’ve ever seen. I guess I can’t even call it defense, all Haiti had to do was fall back and play defense.
I was watching the game on the net and agree that the Ref and crew did a good job. The Spanish announcers though kept criticizing the ref for not calling a PK each time one of the players went down in the box. Goes to show how a person’s bias effects their perception. As a Mexican American who roots for the U.S. and Mexico (when they don’t play the U.S.) I am left with mixed emotions. I found myself not rooting for the Mexican side mostly because I’m not a big fan of Sanchez. His arrogance and lack of respect for his opponents and the game made it impossible for me to cheer for the team. At this point I don’t even feel the least bit sympathetic toward them. I have to agree with what many people have said about the Mexico’s false sense of superiority, arrogance and lack of respect for their competition. These players and coaches have no right to feel that way. They have not won any major tournaments over the last couple of years or distinguished themselves in any way. As a Mexican American it angers me because they are going Mexico a bad rep. Things must change and they have to change now.
Looks like someone already has put this up on Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johny_Placide
As Sandro said.
Ives, the Canadian seemed to play well. Do you think they will beat the US?
“Mexico…refuse[s] to look at their own shortcomings and internal problems. Easier to blame others and project outwards, rather than look inwards.”
This is a pretty huge generalization. There are plenty of American idiots I’d rather not be affiliated with who do the same thing.
Anyway, back to soccer. One of the more interesting developments in this tournament is the quality of officiating. I’ve seen each of the U.S. games and probably three more matches and most of the referees have been solid…certainly better than the Gold Cup. The referee (and ref’s assistants) during Mexico-Haiti had one of the more challenging assignments in recent memory and did pretty well under pressure.
Ives, for someone that was extremely vocal when Lavolpe was coach, not resigning is shameful. Sanchez whines and whines about others, it was showtime for him and look how it ended up. No rabbit came out of the hat. Humble he was not! I’m not happy for the Mexican players but when you make promises you better deliver. Hugo the savior is no more and if the federation doesn’t fire him it would be shameful. Hugo don’t count your chickens before they hatch! You fool! hope you learned your lesson on humility!
I saw the last 3 or 4 minutes of stoppage time last night, and all I could think was, “What the hell is going on?” Haiti, to me, looked either very tired (possible), or just uninterested in defending. Amazing keeping by Johnny Placide.
As a USA fan, I’d just like to remind everyone that, yes, it’s an awful lot of fun to laugh at and criticize Mexico. I agree, watching them go down in flames gives us all great joy. However, our side has not exactly lit it up this past week and needs to win one more game to qualify. I think they can do it, but let’s not be too cocky here. Should be an exciting game on Thursday.
GO USA!!!
Does anyone else love the fact that both USA and mexico had to fight hard in this tournament, its only makes concacaf better . Stronger concacaf opponents makes for better quality soccer and players .
HA HA
There is a reason Mexico is not loved throughout the Americas.
Their general arrogance is not isolated to the game of soccer.
The Mexicans always have the chip of “oppressive giants” to the north to always play on th eworld stage. It is an easy chip that wins sympathy.
Mexico however is an incredibly arrogant demeaning nation to those below it. They also are in denial about their history in general. Self realiztion is the first step towards improvement.
Mexico does not have that. They refuse to look at their own shortcomings an dinternal problems. Easier to blame others and project outwards, rather than look inwards. Soccer shows a nations character.
Never could be truer with this squad IMO.
Talent and resources yet they do it to themselves, then they complain, make excuses, whine and blame others for their shortcomings.
It’s a famaliar story. Poltics or soccer.
Wow, just wow!!!
Should Hugo be fired?
No…he should be humbled. Maybe he should start respecting his competition and get his players mentally prepared to finish a job.
While they had to score a lot of goals, they could have easily controlled that game. Their approach was frantic.
Remember Nowak telling our guys to calm down and maintain possession? They responded and ground out the results.
Hugo needs to be a little more humble.
This certainly puts the Nowak talk in perspective, doesn’t it?
I think the U.S. team could have scored 30 goals in this game under the exact same circumstances. (This is NOT a compliment to the U.S.)
The coach before LaVolpe, I think it was Aguirre(Spelling)? at least showed the USA some respect during our World Cup 2nd Round match in 2002, when the players didn’t. All LaVolpe & Hugo Sanchez does is talk to much and can’t show their managerial skills on the field.
It’s more than just the mental aspects of the game that we as the USA are showing that we can beat them, right now its the physical aspects as well. It’s more mental for Mexico because they haven’t beaten us on our home soil. The only time they will ever get a victory is at the Azteca when that foul smog is mixed with the altitude.
At the same time their arrogance is so huge, you can’t cork it. I don’t understand why these players that have so much talent, they have to resort to these diving & Whiny tactics. Honestly I do believe that Mexico has better & talented players than the USA, but right now it goes to show that when you have a mental edge they can psych themselves out and so far they did that with Canada & Guatemala during these Olympic Qualifiers. Not only are these kids deserving of that blame and the nation wanting their heads, but Hugo Sanchez put his own ego on the line & ruined them.
Maybe the time has come that Mexico is starting to have a poor string of un-talented players.
Hi, folks….only saw the end of the first half. Anyone know of an internet replay, besides espn 360, which I can’t get. Thanks.
“There will be no sympathy for Mexico, an underachieving squad of floppers and whiners who spent more time begging for yellow cards for its opponents than playing quality soccer.”
Ives, you’ve never written a better sentence.
As for Hugo, sure he’s a good coach. But he also is arrogant. When you constantly and publicly crap on the former coach, and then produce absolutely zero results upon getting the job, well guess what buddy, you’re effed.
I think Hugo is a good coach, but the players are not as good as many people think. It appears that the rest of the CONCACAF teams are improving, which is a sign of how difficult the 2010 World Cup eliminations will be. It is possible for the USA or Mexico to not qualify.
But to add to your thought… I really don’t know, there are plenty of em out there, hard to say who is the worst, but it surely sucks as a fan to see that crap
Haha Kris be careful with any negative thoughts on Peru here
My girlfriend and I were discussing which region produces the most floppers/whiners/fakers.
I thought Portugal, because early Christiano, Quersma, Nani, Petit, and others… they all flop really bad.
She argued that Mexicans were the biggest floppers. “Mexico?” I thought to myself. I thought surely parts of Argentina, and then the other regions of Paraguay, Ecuador, Peru,etc. would be much more prevalent at flopping. Nope she was adamant about Mexico having the biggest mentality of flopping and whining there is.
Since she knows waaaaayyy more about soccer than I do, I took her word for it.
This game validated how true she was.
This kind of games are the reason in the world cup they play at the same time, so it is harder for crazy stuff to happen. So long Mexico.
CJ, I had kind of the same thought about the offside trap, but I thought it was an unintentional trap. Haiti just wasn’t playing defense, and Mexico had so many guys pouring through they were offside half the time.
Haiti couldn’t even figure out how to kick the ball upfield toward the corners to waste more time. It was like they made no tactical adjustment after losing two players except maybe refusing to play anyone at left back. In fact, it looked like their response was to push more players up front.
UUUUU SSSS AAAAA!!!!
good riddance to another mexican side. for all the smack ive heard from mexican folks about how superior they are to the US when it comes to football, its nice to see them knocked back down to planet earth once again.
That game was one of the most exciting you’ll see, though, it was so bizzare.
Haiti was playing an offside trap 40 yards up the field, and they kept getting beaten, yet didn’t change strategy. It was so bad it almost looked like they were trying to throw the game.
But, Haiti’s keeper was massive, and Mexico blew at least 5 golden chances to score, not including the PK.
It’s quiet here in East Los Angeles. Even the cops are bored.
Go USA!!
Even against Canada (Which I watched) they were showing how whinny and bitchy they acted. They never showed their real talent till they got their spot kick which they did deserve.
Sometimes the arrogance of Mexico really shows when they don’t respect their opponents. It really doesn’t matter what level it is. The Youth sides or their Men’s side, just for once if they really want to show that they are a top level nation in football/futbol/soccer, stop acting like you have to dive and whine to get thru.
Even though they were able to come out on top in their final match, Canada deserved to move ahead. Maybe Canada will finally have the young players to move on and become the top stars for the Men’s National Team.
I am so fricken excited, it’s amazing.
I mean, as Haiti refused to play defense with 9 men, I just assumed Mexico had bought off the Haitians in order to get through.
Then my internet died as Mexico scored the fourth and I was thoroughly convinced that Mexico had scored the necessary six.
I’m still pretty convinced that Mexico bought off the Haitians, but were simply too poor to finish all their gifted chances.
I can’t wait for the excuses to fly, and I think I may just do a little jig.
just wanted to say kudos on a quality write-up, very well expressed.
Somebody needs to give the Haitian GK a tryout. He was the hero of the game. That being said, Mexico blew so many chances I lost count.
I would like Hugo to succeed,I really would, but he has not shown that he is anything special and that’s what this team, these teams, need right now to take advantage of Mexico’s especially talented generation that is now emerging. He should be let go with honors and respect, but certainly let go.
“One of the must absurd soccer games ever played” just about sums it up. Haiti’s refusal to play defense down three goals with two players red carded was one of the more bizarre things I’ve ever seen on the pitch. The goalie was left to singlehandedly prevent 3, 4, or 5 Mexicans from scoring and did it more than I ever thought possible. It isn’t easy to score 6 goals in a game.
Should be a good game against Canada.
From what I saw, it was merely a case of a team underachieving. No idea about the reason why. I didn’t see too many tactical errors from Hugo, that group was nothing special, and even without some of their players in the squad Mexico had quality.