Mexico Can Take a Giant Step
Mexico’s modest resurgence under Coach Javier Aguirre, which began with a 1-0 World Cup qualifying victory over the United States in Mexico City on July 1, can achieve real substance today.
A victory over Colombia in Bogota in the final of the Copa America tournament would mark the return of Mexico as one of the soccer powers in the hemisphere after a yearlong run of bad results.
The Copa America is ostensibly the South American championship, but Mexico has taken part since 1993, often with impressive results.
It lost the 1993 championship game to Argentina in Guayaquil, Ecuador, and finished third in the tournaments of 1997 and 1999.
It goes into today’s game as the decided underdog, however.
“We are just 90 minutes away from writing history,” Colombia Coach Francisco Maturana said after his team defeated Honduras, 2-0, in the semifinals on Thursday. “Our objective is to win the Copa.”
A Colombian victory would mark the first time the country has won soccer’s oldest continuing international tournament. Since its founding in 1916, the Copa America has invariably been won by either Argentina, Brazil or Uruguay.
But Argentina elected to skip this year’s event, citing safety concerns in war-torn and drug-ravaged Colombia. Brazil, enduring the most bleak period in its illustrious soccer history, was knocked out of the tournament by Honduras, which had taken Argentina’s place. Uruguay lost, 2-1, to Mexico in the semifinals.
Mexico has not been beaten with Aguirre as coach. Since its World Cup qualifying victory over the U.S., it has defeated Brazil, tied Paraguay and beaten Peru, Chile and Uruguay in the Copa America.
“Mexico is a great team, but we believe in our own side,” Colombia defender Ivan Ramiro Cordoba told Reuters. Colombia’s strength is its defense, which has not allowed a goal in the competition.
Honduras Coach Ramon Maradiaga said the Colombian offense is not too shabby either, had kept his team under pressure throughout Thursday’s semifinal and had thereby “unbalanced us physically and tactically.”
Mexico’s defense will come under similar pressure today in front of what is sure to be a sellout crowd.
Among those attending the game (televised live on Channel 34 at 2 p.m.) will be Joseph “Sepp” Blatter, the president of FIFA, world soccer’s governing body.
Blatter on Friday praised the tournament from afar.
“I want to congratulate Colombia for its efforts . . . and also President [Andres] Pastrana for his courage in organizing the tournament, which, despite some difficulties, was successful,” he told Reuters while on a visit to Lima, Peru.
Blatter chose to ignore the fact that Argentina and Canada had declined to take part and that most countries, including Colombia, fielded reserve teams while resting their top squads for more important World Cup qualifying play, which resumes next month.
Only Ecuador, Costa Rica (invited in Canada’s place) and Venezuela fielded full-strength teams.
Nicolas Leoz, the Paraguayan president of the South American soccer confederation, said he would like to broaden the Copa America to include the entire hemisphere.
“Our yearning is the unification of all the American continent,” he said. “The ideal thing would be a Copa in which all the countries of the continent take part.”
