Mexico Coach Lets Them See Him Sweat

The setting was peaceful, but the man was not at peace.

Mexico Coach Ricardo Lavolpe gave every indication Sunday afternoon of a soul in torment. The stress showed in the expression on his face. It showed in his body language. It showed in what he chose to do and what not to do.

A World Cup only days away, a problematic game against Iran awaiting, a team not fully united, a questioning media and a skeptical public can do that to a coach.

If Lavolpe had any doubts, all he had to do was ask France Coach Raymond Domenech. When Domenech was greeted with some critical inquiries by reporters the other day, he came unraveled.

“We are here to prepare for the World Cup, not my hanging,” the Frenchman snapped.

Lavolpe could empathize.

Mexico lost, 1-0, to France in a warm-up game in Paris nine days ago. It lost, 2-1, to the Netherlands in another tune-up in the Dutch city of Eindhoven on Thursday. One of its top strikers, Francisco “Kikin” Fonseca was left on the bench for the France match and went public with his displeasure, telling the media that he needed to be on the field.

Lavolpe went ballistic. In a heated closed-door session with his players, he let them know that he was in charge, that he would make the calls, that there would be repercussions if anyone else stepped out of line.

He also called Fonseca “stupid” for whining. That remark, in turn, drew a sharp rebuke from Alfredo Alvarez, vice president of Fonseca’s club team in Mexico, Cruz Azul.

“It is unnecessary rudeness for the captain of the ship to adopt such offensive attitudes,” Alvarez said of Lavolpe.

Fonseca, for his part, quickly backtracked, saying that he was “with Mexico until the death.”

It was against this background Sunday that Mexico’s team arrived by bus at Jahn Stadium in tree-shaded and pleasant Gottingen Sports Park.

Several hundred fans stood outside, many sporting Mexico shirts or flags. They watched through a fence or from the stands for almost two hours as Mexico trained. They were supportive, not hostile.

And yet, when Lavolpe left the field afterward, he strode right past the gathered media, ignoring the television cameras, shutting out the outthrust microphones, looking straight ahead, turning a deaf ear to calls for a comment or two.

He was the same way with the fans, walking directly to the bus, his lone positive action being to exchange a half-hearted high-five with one teenager.

Lavolpe is in World Cup mode. If there is such a thing as the opposite of the great communicator, he is it. The man does not know how to play to the media -- something at which one of his predecessors, Bora Milutinovic, excelled. He refuses to talk unless he has to.

Mexico opens its World Cup schedule against Iran on Sunday. It plays Angola next and ends the first round against Portugal.

Victory in the first game is vital if Mexico is to advance.

Lavolpe knows that, and the pressure is beginning to tell.

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Unlike their coach, the Mexican players were relaxed. They went through various drills and a light-hearted scrimmage with smiles on their faces. They laughed, they joked, they dealt with the stress.

Afterward, defender Claudio Suarez and midfielders Rafael Garcia and Andres Guardado posed for pictures on the field with a group of youngsters from SOS Children’s Villages International, a FIFA-supported charity that helps orphans and abandoned children.

The rest of the squad went to the fence and signed autographs for fans for 20 minutes.

Selected players approached the three dozen or so media members herded together like sheep in a cordoned-off “mixed zone” guarded by security officials. Unlike Lavolpe, the players were willing to talk.

They had arrived in Gottingen, their World Cup base, on Friday night and had beaten a regional team, 3-0, in a scrimmage Saturday. For the most part, the players appeared at ease.

“We’re relaxed, we’re prepared for the games, but nerves are just part of the whole thing,” said defender Carlos Salcido.

“We haven’t played the way we’ve wanted to play lately, but in the end it’s the game against Iran that we’ve marked down,” said midfielder Luis Ernesto Perez. “The first game is the one that counts.

“That’s the day we’ll be inspired. That’s when we want to start winning.”

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Iran has Mexico worried.

In their own warm-up matches last week, the Iranians tied Croatia, 2-2, in Osijek, Croatia, and came from behind to defeat Bosnia-Herzegovina, 5-2, in Tehran.

“We are ready and I expect that we will do very well,” said Iran Coach Branko Ivankovic. “Portugal and Mexico are clearly the favorites, but we can surprise anyone.”

Suarez realizes that. He has played more international matches than any other men’s field player in history and knows that soccer is an unpredictable sport, that upsets can occur at any time.

“Even though we don’t know Iran, we know they are a dangerous opponent,” he said. “In the World Cup there are no easy teams. We need to start off well in the first game. That’s important in a competition like this.”

Addressing the concern of fans and the criticism of skeptics, Suarez said: “We have spoken with our families in Mexico. We know people are excited. There are always going to be critics that are in favor or against” Mexico.

“The critics that are against us don’t need to affect us. Right now, we are a team looking to get a result.”

Added Perez: “We have to be calm. We’re working hard for our goal and they [the fans] should support us like they usually do. Their support has been important. It’s nice to have that good vibe amongst the players and to have the faith that Mexico can succeed.”

Argentine-born forward Guillermo Franco, one of Lavolpe’s more controversial selections, was simply thankful to be in Gottingen.

“It’s a gift from God to be here,” he said, presumably not referring to Lavolpe. “To be one week away from playing in the World Cup is a beautiful thing. It’s difficult to put into words.

“You dream about playing at a World Cup, and here are 23 players who are getting a chance to defend Mexico. It is very satisfying. The least you can do is kill yourself” on the field.

And then, like Lavolpe, they were gone.

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Begin text of infobox

Through the years

How the Mexican soccer team has fared in the World Cup:

*--* Year W L T GF GA Round 1930 0 3 0 4 13 First Highlights: Played in first World Cup game in history, losing, 4-1, to France, but avoided a shutout on Juan Carreno’s 70th-minute goal. 1950 0 3 0 2 10 First Highlights: Played the foil to host Brazil in the new Maracana Stadium in the tournament opener, losing , 4-0. Horacio Casarin scored both of Mexico’s goals. 1954 0 2 0 2 8 First Highlights: After falling to Brazil, 5-0, Mexico rallied to tie France at 2-2 in the 85th minute, only to concede the winning goal on a penalty kick three minutes later. 1958 0 2 1 1 8 First Highlights: Jaime Belmonte’s header in the 89th minute helped Mexico avoid a World Cup defeat for the first time in a 1-1 tie with Wales. 1962 1 2 0 3 4 First Highlights: After giving up a goal 15 seconds into the game, Mexico came back to beat eventual runner-up Czechoslovakia, 3-1, for its first finals victory. 1966 0 1 2 1 3 First Highlights: Ties against France and Uruguay weren’t enough to earn a second-round berth, but goalkeeper Antonio Carbajal became the first to play in five World Cup finals. 1970 2 1 1 6 4 Quarterfinals Highlights: Acting as host, Mexico tied the Soviet Union and beat El Salvador and Belgium to advance out of group play for the first time, then took a 1-0 lead over Italy on Jose Luis Gonzalez’s 13th-minute goal, before falling, 4-1, in the quarterfinals. 1978 0 3 0 2 12 First Highlights: Tunisia became the first African team to win a finals match, bouncing back from a 1-0 halftime deficit to win, 3-1. 1986 3 1 1 6 2 Quarterfinals Highlights: Stepping in to host again when Colombia dropped out because of economic problems, Mexico won its group and then defeated Bulgaria, 2-0, for its first-ever win in knockout competition. The hosts then took West Germany to penalty kicks in the quarterfinals, where they lost, 4-1. 1994 1 2 1 4 4 Second Highlights: Stuck in the “Group of Death” with Italy, Ireland and Norway, Mexico won it by scoring the most goals, when all four team tied at four points. In the second round, Bulgaria avenged its loss of eight years earlier, winning on penalty kicks, 3-1, after a 1-1 tie. 1998 1 1 2 8 7 Second Highlights: Roaring back from a 2-0 deficit, Mexico tied the Netherlands, 2-2, on Luis Hernandez’s 90th-minute goal, to cap group play. In the second round, it was Mexico that blew a 1-0 lead after 73 minutes in a 2-1 loss to Germany. 2002 2 1 1 4 4 Second Highlights: With victories over Croatia and Ecuador and tie against Italy, Mexico won its group, but was then surprised by the United States in the second round, 2-0.

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Source: Los Angeles Times