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(Reuters) – Mexico has had six different coaches in the last seven World Cups, ranging from the pbadionate Mexican Miguel Herrera to the irascible Argentinian Ricardo La Volpe and the Colombian brainer Juan Carlos Osorio, their current boss.
For the seventh consecutive World Cup, the country of football, crazy about more than 100 million people, saw his team eliminated in the second round, this time with the defeat 2- 0 from Brazil against Brazil.
As always, there have been tantalizing moments, especially in the 1-0 win against Germany, when Mexico suggested that they could finally succeed in their seemingly sisyphean task. reach the "fifth game."
But then came the l & # 39; collapse familiar, this time in their last group match against Sweden when they were outclbaded by less sophisticated opponents and lost 3-0, followed by the inevitable end.
Four of Mexico's second round eliminations were against clearly superior teams: twice against Argentina (2006 and 2010), once against Germany (1998) and now Brazil.
But twice Mexico was favorite, against Bulgaria in 1994 when they lost on penalties, and against the United States in 2002 when they collectively froze and lost 2-0.
The other was an equal match against the Netherlands four years ago, when they were leading 1-0 up to the last five minutes, only to capitulate and lose 2-1.
One of Mexico's many problems is that the pressure on the coach is immense, especially for a stranger, and Osorio – the ninth man to hold the position in 10 years – has been in a battle against the media during his three years in charge.
Another finger might be pointing to the Mexican league, the strongest in Latin America, which is paradoxically detrimental to the national side.
This is partly because the number of foreign players makes it more difficult for Mexicans to break into teams and also because, when Mexican players succeed, they often prefer to stay at home rather than move to more competitive leagues.
The Mexican team in Russia had eight home players, three others in Major League Soccer and only six in the top five European leagues.
Indeed, Osorio highlighted the lack of Mexico players in the top European clubs as a key factor in their defeat in Brazil.
"The fact that we can play equally against a team like Brazil is a great reflection of our attitude, but we lacked efficiency and added quality in the bottom third of the pack," said Osorio. . Brazil players are based with the best clubs.
"You have to remember where Gabriel Jesus (Manchester City) plays, where Willian and Philippe Coutinho play (Chelsea and Barcelona, respectively).
" Mexican football has to export more players and they have to compete every weekend. end with the best, they must train each week with the best, and then the team will take this quality jump. "
Homewood; Editing by Hugh Lawson
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