World Cup: Mexico returns to Fortress Azteca

[Karl]

FIFA World Cup
Desperate for victory, Mexico returns to Fortress Azteca for match against Costa Rica

Suspended Mexican back Rafael Marquez has been defending himself and his teammates
3/24/2009 - By Dylan Butler

Desperate for a victory, Mexico returns to the fortress that is Estadio Azteca in Mexico City Saturday for a critical World Cup qualifier against Costa Rica on Saturday. But El Tricolor will do so without captain Rafael Marquez, who has been handed a two-game ban by FIFA for his red card against the United States in a 2-0 loss in February.

The Barcelona defender was sent off in the second half for a late challenge on American goalkeeper Tim Howard in the opening game of the final round of CONCACAF qualifying for next year’s World Cup.

It was just the latest in what has become a rash of high-profile ejections for Marquez, who was also sent off in the 2002 World Cup and the Confederations Cup in 2005. Marquez, in an interview with FIFA.com, said the blame with Mexico’s recent form shouldn’t be placed on his shoulders.

“I…think it’s unfair that people are trying to pin the blame on me for the bad results we've been having,” he said. “If you ask me, Mexican football has a deep-rooted problem and that’s the cause of the bad patch we’ve been going through. Our football is stagnating and with everything that’s happened, it’s time to come right out and say it. If we carry on like this, we’re all going to pay for it.”

Mexico is winless in its last four World Cup qualifying matches, including three losses, and manager Sven-Goran Eriksson has come under intense scrutiny from the Mexican news media and former players, including Cuauhtémoc Blanco.

But a day after the loss to the United States, the president of the Mexican Football Federation gave Eriksson his full backing.

“There’s total support for Eriksson because we have a commitment with him to get to South Africa, and we are going to be there,” Justino Compean said.

A 5-1 victory in a friendly against Bolivia on March 11 helped ease some of that panic, but the pressure will be on Saturday to get a result against Costa Rica, the only visiting team to claim three points in Azteca, doing so in 2001.

Three points isn’t the only thing on the line for the Mexican players, according to defender Julio Cesar Dominguez.

“Against Costa Rica, we are going for the three points and the continuity of this team,” Dominguez told reporters after training Monday. “The results have not been there, so we need to get six points (from the next two games) any way we can in order to maintain our places on the national team.”

While Mexico is struggling, Costa Rica seemingly has been unstoppable, winning eight straight games in qualifying, including a 2-0 victory against Honduras in the “hexagonal” opener in February.

Andy Furtado scored twice the Ticos, which is tied with the USA atop the six-team field.

Despite Mexico’s recent poor form, Costa Rican manager Rodrigo Kenton said the CONCACAF giant has a “lack of humility” and that his team will be demanding respect on Saturday.

"They always think less for the teams coming from Central America,” Kenton told reporters Monday following training. “They always talk about the situation that in Central America there are no teams for them, that they should be participating in a European tournament... and that is lack of humility. "I think that is what hurt the most, because if they had respect for the other team, if they were cautious, maybe the ‘bomb’ wouldn't be so strong."

[Karl]

Could we see Mexico, out?!

[Karl]

Another Aztecazo on the cards?

Another Aztecazo on the cards?

(FIFA.com) Wednesday 25 March 2009

With spirits understandably low amid a miserable run of form, Mexico now have the added frustration of re-living one of the most traumatic moments in their history.

When Costa Rica come calling at the fabled Azteca Stadium in Mexico City on 28 March for their FIFA World Cup™ qualifier, they will do so with heads high and confidence soaring despite only ever winning five of 37 meetings with their hosts. Whereas Mexico are on a run of four straight games without a win in North, Central America and the Caribbean qualifying, Rodrigo Kenton's Ticos have scored 22 goals in their last seven games, all wins. And current form aside, the memory of Costa Rica's famous win in Mexico City in 2001 is still fresh in the memory.

Some eight years ago, on 17 June, a Costa Rica outfit led by Alexandre Guimaraes made history in the Mexican capital, handing the home side their only-ever qualifying loss at the gigantic and imposing Estadio Azteca, in what is now known as the Aztecazo. It was a watershed moment for both nations, one which the Mexicans, whose supremacy in CONCACAF is fast fading, would love to forget and, at the same time, a springboard for the Ticos.


We want to keep that going. We're looking for wins and that's that.
Rodrigo Kenton on Costa Rica's run.






No team has beaten Mexico at their famous 100,000-seat ground, perched high among the mountains that surround the city, since that summer day in 2001 when Hernan Medford popped up to score a late winner in a historic 2-1 win. Even so, there are some alarming parallels between then and now as Mexico stumble toward a home date with Central America's finest side.

In 2001, the Aztecazo was preceded by a run of dreadful results by El Tri. Three straight losses at the 2001 FIFA Confederations Cup in the Far East were followed by a slow start to the final qualifying round for Korea/Japan 2002, where Enrique Meza's men drew with Trinidad and Tobago and lost to the United States. Fast forward to today, and the second matchday of qualifying for South Africa 2010, and Mexican troubles seem even more alarming. Fresh off a 2-0 loss to arch-rivals USA on the road last month, El Tri will be missing their stalwart captain Rafa Marquez, who was sent off against the Americans and handed a two-game suspension. The Mexicans have not won a competitive match in the space of 360 minutes of football, during which time they have scored just two goals. Despite their troubles, a 5-1 win friendly win over Bolivia in a recent friendly will be cause for some optimism.


Mexican football has a deep-rooted problem and that's the cause of the bad patch we've been going through.
Rafael Marquez on the problems of Mexican football.






In an exclusive interview with FIFA.com, Marquez summed up the atmosphere surrounding Sven-Goran Eriksson's team. "Mexican football has a deep-rooted problem and that's the cause of the bad patch we've been going through," said the Barcelona player and national team captain, red carded for kicking out at US goalkeeper Tim Howard in February. "Our football is stagnating. Sometimes I feel we're being left to fend for ourselves."

Only two survivors from the 2001 Aztecazo, Pavel Pardo and goalkeeper Oswaldo Sanchez, are likely to take part in the festivities on Saturday. The Costa Ricans, for their part, are a completely revamped outfit.

No woes for Ticos
In sharp contrast to Mexico's much-publicised wobbles, the Ticos are oozing confidence. Coach Kenton has built himself a dynamic, youthful squad, re-inventing a team that could only manage a draw with Grenada last year. Since the former Saprissa man and national youth coach has taken the reins from Aztecazo hero Hernan Medford, it has been all smiles. They finished top of their semi-final group with six straight wins (20 goals scored and three conceded), and last time out, at home against Honduras, they managed a 2-0 win for a share of top spot in the hexagonal with the USA.

The likes of Brian Ruiz, Froylan Ledezma, Celso Borges and Andy Furtado have stepped in to fill the gaps between aging veterans like Walter Centeno, making the Ticos a dangerous bag of tricks. "The players have gotten into a rhythm and are playing good and, as a result, the fans and the media have come around and are right behind us," Kenton said, describing a diametrically opposed atmosphere to that surrounding the Mexicans. "We want to keep that going. We're looking for wins and that's that."