In a rather boring soccer game last Wednesday, Mexico’s national team managed to lose to the United States. For historians and soccer fans on both sides of the border, the result was not a surprise not only because Mexico tends to lose in general, but also because it has not won a single game against the United States on American soil in almost 10 years. Only the best three teams of the zone (including North and Central America, as well as the Caribbean) will qualify to the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. By February 13, Mexico has accumulated a total of 0 points (it has only played one game in round 4 too).
Soccer games between Mexico and the United States are highly anticipated by fans, journalists, sponsors, and comedians. In the current context, American fans usually expect a victory, as the United States is clearly one of the top teams in the region. Mexican fans usually pray for a victory, as Mexico has not won a single game outside Mexican territory since Sven-Goran Eriksson was appointed coach in mid-2007. Comedians and sarcastic bloggers expect (and usually get) to see the usual Mexican player reacting unprofessionally to the success of the opposing team. This time, the Mexican captain got himself removed from the game after conspicuously kicking the American goal-keeper.
Mexico has not delivered under the direction of Eriksson. However, the Mexican soccer team has not done that well either with other coaches. This presents an important question: is there a coach that can help Mexico play better soccer? This is a familiar question for the officials in charge of managing the national team. It is also a familiar, yet increasingly irrelevant question for realistic soccer fans. Mexico’s national soccer team has been directed by fantastic coaches. Yet, the team does not improve. Could this mean that there is something wrong with the team and not with the coach? If the composition of the team had not changed, and if the skills of the opposing teams had remained constant, then the problem is likely to reside in the team. Indeed, the composition of the team has not changed dramatically, and the same is true for the opposing teams. The rest is up in the air.
