Bora Loses Job, but Mexico Might Be the Real Loser

The move, rumored for weeks, was not so much surprising as it was disappointing. Mexico has made a huge mistake in firing the most successful coach in its history, and likely will pay the price at the France ’98 World Cup.

But Bora, as Bora Milutinovic is known worldwide, was simply a fall guy in the continuing soap opera that is Mexican politics, in which the governmental, financial and sporting connections are hopelessly intertwined.

For the firing was very much a political act.

Soccer, like so much else in Mexico, is largely influenced, if not controlled, by the communications giant, Televisa, which owns four Mexican League

teams. When a significant rival, TV Azteca, finally emerged not long ago, the sport became simply another piece of rope in a complex tug of war.

And the Mexican national team, as the focal point of the nation’s passion, was at the center of the struggle.

Bora, as its coach, was an obvious target.

When Televisa supported Bora, TV Azteca attacked him. When Televisa started questioning whether the 53-year-old Serbian should stay in charge, TV Azteca supported him.

Through it all, Bora was simply a mop-haired pawn being moved back and forth across a national chessboard--nightly fodder for the television masses.

Small wonder 114,000 fans were shouting for him to be fired when the United States tied Mexico, 0-0, at Guillermo Canedo Stadium in Mexico City on Nov. 2 in a vital World Cup qualifying match.

They had been primed by TV.

Because there is no way that anyone in Mexico can fault Bora for his team’s on-the-field accomplishments. Its style, perhaps yes. Its results, no.

Since returning to Mexico for his second stint in charge of the national team on Aug. 10, 1995, Bora had:

* Won the 1996 CONCACAF Gold Cup, the regional championship for the North and Central American and Caribbean region, defeating world champion Brazil, an invited guest, in the final at the Los Angeles Coliseum.

* Won the four-nation U.S. Cup ’96 tournament over Bolivia, Ireland and the United States.

* Won the four-nation U.S. Cup ’97 tournament over Denmark, Peru and the United States.

* Finished third in the 12-nation Copa America in Bolivia, where Mexican striker Luis Hernandez was the tournament’s top goal scorer.

* Qualified for France ’98 with an unbeaten (4-0-6) record in the final round, scoring more goals than any other team and allowing fewer than any other team.

How can that be considered failure?

How can his overall record of 21-13-13 in his second stint as coach, with 85 goals for and 54 against, be considered not good enough?

Coaching is as much a con game as anything else, the object being to convince players, individually and collectively, that they are better than they really are.

Bora is a master at it. His World Cup record offers ample proof.

* In 1986, he coached Mexico into the quarterfinals, and sixth place overall, when it was the host nation. It tied eventual runner-up Germany and was ousted only on penalty kicks. Mexico had never done as well.

* In 1990, he coached Costa Rica into the second round in Italy, upsetting Scotland and Sweden along the way and bowing to Brazil by only a single goal in Turin.

* In 1994, he coached the United States into the second round against many expectations, tying Switzerland and defeating Colombia before again falling to Brazil by one goal, this time in Palo Alto.

In 1998, “the miracle worker” again could have conjured an upset or two. Mexico is ranked 11th in the world by FIFA, and, under Bora, it might have proved it is not overrated.

Now, it could fall at the first hurdle.

Bora knows France, having played there for Monaco, Nice and Rouen. Bora speaks French. Bora will be a hit when he attends the World Cup ’98 Draw in Marseilles on Thursday.

Mexico could have benefited greatly by his presence in the 32-nation tournament June 10-July 12.

Now, it will simply be another also-ran. The charisma has vanished.

*

News of Bora’s ouster was not slow in reaching Los Angeles, which is home to not only U.S. Soccer Federation President Alan Rothenberg and U.S. national team Coach Steve Sampson, but several national team players.

Rothenberg, who considers Bora a close friend despite having removed him as U.S. coach in April 1995, was one of the first to hear the news.

“I was stunned, to say the least,” he said. “First of all, I think he’s a great coach and a great person. But when you finish first in your [World Cup qualifying] group, when you qualify with three games to go, with more goals scored than any other team, with fewer goals against, when you’re unbeaten . . . it [the firing] is astounding. It’s absolutely incredible.

“For him, personally, I feel terrible. He’s a very dear friend. He doesn’t deserve it as a coach or as a person.”

Rothenberg believes Bora will bounce back in a hurry, however, and even predicts a possible future for him in Major League Soccer.

“Bora’s too special of a talent to stay down for long,” he said. “So, if I had to bet, I would bet that one of the other 30 teams that have qualified [excluding the U.S. and Mexico] would figure out that maybe he could be a miracle worker a fourth time and grab him for the World Cup.

“By that time, soccer being what it is, I wouldn’t be surprised if there were an opening or two here in MLS. I would love nothing better than to have Bora associated with this league.”

But the chances of Bora returning as U.S. national coach are virtually nonexistent. Sampson, Bora’s assistant in ‘94, is likely to officially be offered a new contract in France next week.

The news of Milutinovic’s firing also shocked U.S. players.

Defender Marcelo Balboa of Cerritos would have joined Bora in Marseilles next week to play for a Rest of the World team against Europe in the all-star game that is part of the World Cup Draw ceremony. But a foot injury sidelined Balboa and Eric Wynalda of Westlake Village will take his place.

“I was surprised,” Balboa said of Bora’s ouster. “They hired him to do a job and he did it. When we were in Mexico [for the Nov. 2 game] he was getting hammered by the fans and by certain media while other media were praising him. It was really weird.

“I didn’t think he’d be fired, because he did his job, he got them to the World Cup. You hate to see a friend get fired.”

Recall now the words Bora voiced when he was named coach of the U.S. national team in March 1991, three years before the Americans’ commendable showing in World Cup ’94.

“[World Cup] final games are a dream,” he said, “but if you don’t dream, you don’t get there.”

Mexico has taken Bora’s dream away.

And in the process, probably destroyed its own.