Thinking Man’s Player Goes Into Action : Soccer’s Socrates to Face Mexico in the Coliseum
The 1986 World Cup is 15 months away, but already the sense of anticipation is growing as the field of 121 nations gradually is narrowed to the final 24 that will compete in Mexico.
And, for the first time in eight years, Los Angeles need not feel left out.
Because soccer’s quadrennial world championship will be held in just south of the border, Southern California is a logical stop for teams and players en route to or from Mexico.
During the next 12 months or so, many of the world’s top teams will be visiting the city, beginning Tuesday when the Mexican national team pays a return visit to the Coliseum for an 8 p.m. game against Fiorentina of Italy.
The match, which is expected to draw upwards of 25,000 fans, features some of international soccer’s leading names, including members of the 1978 and 1982 World Cup-winning teams, Argentina and Italy.
Not the least of those names is Socrates, the tall, bearded midfielder who captained Brazil in the 1982 World Cup in Spain. Often dubbed the thinking man’s soccer player, Socrates is an anomaly in the world of soccer, where most world-class players (Pele, Maradonna, Cruyff, Best) rise from humble origins.
Socrates, on the other hand, lives up to his name. He is a doctor of medicine and has said that he will hang up his boots and return to his pediatric practice after next year’s World Cup. Before then, however, he would like to emulate former Brazilian greats Pele and Carlos Alberto by leading his country to a World Cup championship.
In addition to Socrates, Fiorentina’s all-star lineup also includes defender Daniel Passarella, who led Argentina to its 1978 World Cup triumph, and Italian national team players Claudio Gentile, Gabriele Oriali and Giovanni Galli.
Gentile, known as the “Butcher of Turin” because of his physically aggressive defensive style, and Oriali were on the Italian team that defeated West Germany in the 1982 World Cup Final in Madrid.
Mexico, which automatically qualifies for next year’s tournament as the host nation, is hardly a pushover, though. It proved that last month by defeating Poland, 1982’s third-place finisher, 5-0, in Queretaro, Mexico. That game marked the inauguration of the new Estadio Corregidora, one of the stadiums built especially for the 1986 World Cup.
The Mexican national team has been strengthened by the addition of one of its brightest stars, forward Hugo Sanchez. Sanchez, 26, played for Universidad in Mexico and for the San Diego Sockers in the North American Soccer League before joining the Spanish First Division club Atletico Madrid in 1982. He is being flown in from Spain especially for Tuesday night’s game.
Mexico also features such established national team players as team captain Thomas Boy, Fernando Quirarte and Mario Trejo, as well as 19-year-old newcomer Miguel Espana.
The United States’ quest for a berth in the final 24 continues in May, when the national team meets Costa Rica and Trinidad and Tobago in a round-robin series, the winner of which will advance to a final three-team qualifying group.
Trinidad and Tobago has given up its home-field advantage in the series and will play both its games against the United States in this country. The first is tentatively set for May 15 in St. Louis, while the second will be played May 19 at El Camino College in Torrance.
The May 19 game marks the first time in eight years that Los Angeles has played host to a World Cup qualifying game. The last occasion was in 1977, when the United States and Mexico played to a scoreless tie at the Coliseum.
After the Trinidad series, the U.S. team will meet Costa Rica in Costa Rica on May 26, with the return game May 31 at a U.S. site still to be determined.
Assuming that the United States can win the group--Trinidad is not considered a strong threat and the U.S. team easily beat Costa Rica in last summer’s Olympic Games--it would then meet the winners of the two other three-team groups. Teams in those groups are Honduras, El Salvador and Surinam, and Canada, Guatemala and Haiti. Honduras and Canada are favored to advance.
The three finalists will play another round-robin series between June 1 and Nov. 15, with the winner qualifying for the World Cup.
In an exhibition match played as a warm-up for its upcoming qualifying games, the United States held Switzerland to a 1-1 tie in Tampa, Fla. Feb. 8.
The Spanish International Network (SIN) once again will take the lead in bringing the world’s game to the United States.
Beginning April 6 and continuing on 60 consecutive Saturday’s until May 24, 1986, the network will broadcast live or tape-delayed qualifying matches from around the world, paying particular attention to games in Europe, South America and North America. The schedule includes a minimum of 15 live matches. Air time is 1 p.m. PST.
SIN began its World Cup coverage with the 1970 tournament in Mexico, when it broadcast four matches on closed-circuit television in selected U.S. theaters. The number of games increased with each successive World Cup, culminating in 1982 with the broadcast of all 52 matches from Spain.
This time around, SIN will carry 164 World Cup programs totaling 348 hours of coverage. Highlights will include the World Cup draw Dec. 15 from Mexico City, when the 24 qualifying teams will be divided into six groups for the first round of the tournament proper.
The 1986 World Cup will be played from May 31 to June 29. The championship game will be carried live in the United States by both SIN and NBC.
The 24 finalists will be divided into six groups of four at the Dec. 15 draw in Mexico City. Defending champion Italy will play in the opening match at Mexico City’s Estadio Azteca and will be in Group A. Mexico will be in Group B.
The groups and their venues are as follows:
Group A--Estadio Olimpico (Mexico City, capacity 78,000) and Cuauhtemoc (Puebla, 50,000). Opening match in Estadio Azteca.
Group B--Estadio Azteca (Mexico City, 110,000) and Toluca 70 (Toluca, 40,000).
Group C--Campo Nuevo (Leon, 42,000) and Irapuato (Irapuato, 40,000).
Group D--Jalisco (Guadalajara, 72,000) and Zapohan (Zapohan, 40,000).
Group E--Neza (Nezahualcoyotl, 40,000) and Queretaro (Estadio Corregidora, 40,000).
Group F--Universitario (San Nicolas de Los Garza, 50,000) and Technologico (Monterrey, 45,000).
