Oswaldo Sanchez’s goal is simple: Play better
Oswaldo Sanchez’s play in goal was a big reason why Mexico made it to the second round of soccer’s World Cup four years ago. Which is one reason why Sanchez thinks he should be wearing the tricolores again this summer in South Africa when Mexico opens play in the 2010 tournament against the host nation on June 11.
“I’ve been in three World Cups. And I’d like to go to a fourth,” Sanchez said. “But I have to play well for that to happen.”
So far, that hasn’t happened. With Memo Ochoa, one of the world’s top young goaltenders, virtually guaranteed the starting job for Mexico in South Africa, Sanchez, 36, entered the winter needing some big performances to catch the eye of Mexican Coach Javier Aguirre, who could use an experienced veteran backup to help mentor Ochoa.
But in the eight-team Interliga tournament, which shifts to the Home Depot Center in Carson today, Sanchez has been anything but impressive, allowing a tournament-high five goals. As a result, his Santos Laguna team from Torreon enters today’s 5:30 p.m. Group A match with Cancun’s Atlante as the only team in the tournament without a point.
Ochoa’s Club America team of Mexico City, meanwhile, can clinch the Group A title with a win or a tie against Tecos in tonight’s 8 o’clock match. On Sunday, Puebla, which has already won Group B, plays Monterrey, which needs a victory to secure a spot in Wednesday’s final in Carson. That match will start at 5:30. In Sunday’s opening game at 3 p.m., Jaguares of Chiapas meets Tigres of Monterrey in a battle of winless teams.
The victors in Wednesday’s finals will advance to the 11-nation Copa Libertadores, Latin America’s version of the UEFA Championships League, which begins later this month. For everybody else, attention will probably turn to the World Cup.
Sanchez was on the Mexican roster for nine of the country’s World Cup qualifying matches but played only once in the fourth stage. And that was under former coach Sven Goran Eriksson, who was replaced by Aguirre last spring. There have been rumors that Sanchez and Aguirre clashed when Sanchez played goal for Aguirre in the 2002 World Cup -- rumors that Sanchez denies. “Obviously, I’d like to be on [the national team], but I’ve got to show them with my actions,” Sanchez said.
He gets at least one last chance today.
