World Cup Qualifying Criticized
Mexico Coach Ricardo Lavolpe, whose team plays Colombia in Phoenix tonight, Tuesday lashed out at the qualifying procedure for the 2006 World Cup, claiming that throwing the big fish in with the little fish would help neither.
On Friday, the executive committee of CONCACAF, meeting in New York, decided that all 35 of its North and Central American and Caribbean member nations would be tossed into the same pond for first-round qualifying play.
That means such powers as Mexico and the United States -- which are ranked in the top 10 in the world and which in the past have received byes in the early rounds -- could end up playing such soccer nonentities as Anguilla or Montserrat, ranked 196th and 203rd, respectively.
“Playing these representatives on badly kept pitches would not bring any benefit to a Mexican team that hopes to play at the World Cup in Germany,” Lavolpe told Mexico’s Notimex news agency. “The poor condition of the pitches would result in physical matches.”
The decision by CONCACAF, which could entail teams having to play as many as 20 qualifying matches over a two-year period, has yet to be ratified by FIFA.
U.S.-Jamaica
The U.S., coming off a 1-0 loss to Argentina in Miami on Saturday, plays Jamaica in Kingston today, hoping to extend its all-time 7-0-5 unbeaten streak against the “Reggae Boyz.”
Coach Bruce Arena made only one significant change for the game, flying defender Steve Cherundolo in from Hannover 96 in Germany to replace the Galaxy’s Sasha Victorine, who injured his right thigh in the Argentina match and returned to Los Angeles for treatment.
“We’re hoping we can regroup and give a better performance,” Arena said. “We just have to play better in all facets of the game.”
Yugoslavia Disappears
Yugoslavia is no more. The national team has officially changed its name to Serbia and Montenegro and will play its first game as such, against Azerbaijan today in a Euro 2004 qualifying match in Podgornica, Montenegro.
Approval for the name change was granted Tuesday by UEFA and FIFA. As Yugoslavia, the country compiled an all-time record of 293 victories, 125 ties and only 87 losses in 505 international matches.
Referee Sees Red
Referee Edgardo Codesal, who had charge of the Germany-Argentina World Cup final in Rome in 1990, Tuesday asked to be fired as head of the Mexican league’s refereeing commission because he is fed up with the constant criticism of match officials by coaches and the media.
“If the authorities can’t give their backing [to referees], it’s better that they bring in somebody with a magic wand or robots that don’t make mistakes,” Codesal told reporters in Mexico City.
“The referees get no protection against the criticism, which is made on a daily basis.”
Codesal said he will not resign because being fired would entitle him to financial compensation after 10 years in the position. It is “a considerable amount of money which I am not prepared to lose,” he said.
Ruiz Restrained
Galaxy striker Carlos Ruiz could miss Guatemala’s match against Panama in the UNCAF Copa de Naciones in Panama City on Saturday after being restrained by a court order from leaving the country with the rest of the national team.
The forward’s former wife, Laura Mendez Urizar, obtained the family court order in Guatemala City after claiming that Ruiz, 22, has not provided her with child support as required.
In tournament games played Tuesday night in Panama City, Honduras shut out Nicaragua, 2-0, on goals by Jairo Martinez and Julio Cesar DeLeon, while Costa Rica blanked El Salvador, 1-0, on a goal by Erick Scott.
