Mexico looking to Aguirre to rally El Tri once again

June 4, 2009

He came to the rescue eight years ago. He came in and helped lift a deflated El Tri.

Mexico needed a coach like Javier “El Vasco” Aguirre, who came in and took over as Mexico’s coach. He led them to the 2002 World Cup when the team was flirting with elimination.

Two World Cup cycles and three coaching changes later, Mexico finds itself in a similar situation. Aguirre has returned for a second stint after leading the team from 2001 to 2002, and this time, the expectations are very similar it not more demanding.

“For me, it’s an honor to return home,” Aguirre said in April when he was introduced.

Aguirre’s immediate task is to keep Mexico from falling into the bottom of the standings in the region’s final round of qualifying round for next year’s World Cup in South Africa.

Mexico sits in fourth place with three points behind Honduras, Costa Rica and the United States as the “hexagonal” approaches its midpoint.

Aguirre’s first test comes Saturday as El Tri heads into its third road game against El Salvador.

“June 6 is our D-Day,” said Aguirre, who replaced Sven Goran Eriksson in what amounted to be an eight-month post-Hugo Sanchez experiment.

Eriksson coached Mexico to six victories and a draw in 13 matches after he took over in August. That included two convincing losses to the United States, El Tri’s arch rival.

Sanchez was better, winning 13 and losing only four of 26 matches while in charge, but also coached the under-23 team that failed to qualify to the Olympic Games in Beijing, resulting in his dismissal.

“It’s our important obligation.” Aguirre said of qualifying for the World Cup and the match against El Salvador, which enters the match tied with Trinidad and Tobago for last place with two points.

The El Salvador contest will be Aguirre’s first taste of a national team that, to some, hasn’t altered much since he left it five years ago.

Aguirre doesn’t see it that way.

“I see a lot of changes,” he said. “There is an evolution in our structure. The organization is better. There is a solid dedication to our youth system. I can tell you with pride that in the last seven years, Mexican soccer teams have fed through the youth systems. That makes any coach’s job easier.”

Perhaps it makes it easier that players, the Mexican media and fans mostly approve of Aguirre’s attitude.

He is regarded as a straight-forward, no-nonsense coach. He is also a seasoned coach.

“My experience then doesn’t compare to what I have now,” said Aguirre, who after departing Mexico spent the next 6-7 years coaching Osasuna and Atletico Madrid in Spain. “I had a short experience (as coach). I can say with pride that I have 11 years of experience and I come in to this second stint with more experience and greater understanding to make decisions.”

Aguirre had only managed Mexican club Pachuca in 2001 before turning a Mexico’s qualifying campaign around with four wins and a draw in its final five matches in 2001.

He plans to do the same this time around with the help of players “who come with pride, with identity, with love for the shirt.”

Perhaps the most notable inclusion to Aguirre’s first team is Chicago Fire forward Cuauhtémoc Blanco, who retired from national team duty last year.

“I accepted to return to the national team because Javier spoke with me face-to-face and told me how things are going to be,” Blanco told a Mexican newspaper. “I’ll try and help in any way required by the coach.”

Other notable additions by Aguirre include veteran goalkeeper Oscar Perez, who was Mexico’s No. 1 during the 2002 World Cup under Aguirre.

America’s Guillermo Ochoa is the likely starting goalkeeper, but Perez brings 12 years of experience to the national team.

Aguirre also included naturalized forward Guillermo Franco, Morelia forward Miguel Sabah and Jose Cardenas of Pachuca. All three could be considered surprise picks.

“May the player who comes, come with pride, with identity,” Aguirre said. “Let this be a prize, not a punishment, because this is a prize for our careers.”

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