Atlante: A Hollywood Stroy?

This summer when I visited the Yucatan Peninsula, I got a mild shock to my system. I was told Atlante, a traditional Mexican power who has fallen on hard times lately was coming to the region. I politely asked if we were talking about the same Atlante, the club that has so much success in Mexico City? Yes, the same club and Necaxa was bailing on the capital as well I was told. That left me in utter shock. For me Mexico City had always been the epicenter for football south of border. Sure Chivas was from Guadlajara but for me an interested but disconnected fan of Mexican Football, the capitol was where it all happened, or so I thought.

But with the emergence of such clubs as Pachuca, and Toluca as bona fide powers to rival the traditional powers from the two largest cities, the idea of moving far afield into states and regions with fewer teams has become appealing. Atlante for its part was having trouble even making Estadio Azteca appear one quarter full the past few seasons while Club America with whom Atlante shared the stadium had no problem filling the place. Cruz Azul and UNAM Pumas also have their followings, a hard core fan base both in the capital and throughout the states. Despite tradition Atlante and Necaxa felt they had leave the capital city to keep afloat.

As I mentioned earlier Necaxa the one time club of Dominic Kinnear (See, I found a way to tie this post to MLS and US Soccer after all) bailed on the capital this season after an unsuccessful run the past few seasons. Necaxa’s move improved attendance but not the quality on the field. They failed to make the Apertura Playoffs. Atlante on the hand is in the finals facing one of the three remaining big clubs from the capitol, UNAM Pumas. What is amazing is the Yucatan Peninsula is from my perspective the least football friendly region of the country partly because of the influx of foreigners as tourists and partly because of its disconnect culturally and economically from the rest of the nation. Yet in spite of this Atlante has made a go of its new home and is a weekend of football away from its first league title since 1993.

Mexican football is always compelling to me because inspite of the predominance of big clubs, smaller teams like Atlante and of course Pachuca (who we now think of as a big club but they really aren’t) seem to break through more often than in any other historically strong league in the world. The two leg Apertura Final will be on Telefutura Thursday and Sunday this weekend.

How the Mexican Media Covers Football

As most of our readers, and listeners to the Major League Soccer Talk podcast know, I spent last week vacationing in Mexico. It was an exciting time to be south of the border with the finals of the Gold Cup and the start of group play in Copa America. While in Mexico, I was able to purchase several Football related magazines and watch several matches on live television.

For the final of the CONCACAF Gold Cup, I watched the match as a restaurant patroned almost exclusively by locals. The owner of the restaurant brought in a big screen to project the match from the satellite on. Televisa, Mexico’s largest TV network and BSkyB, (Sky from the UK) have a joint satellite venture known as Sky, which broadcast extensive pre-match coverage (starting three hours before match time) dissecting every possible match-up between the USA and Mexico. One thing I learned in the pre match show was that Landon Donovan’s Spanish was impeccable enough for him to actually translate his team-mates thoughts to the Televisa reporters. (Including the thoughts of Carlos Bocanegra who is of Mexican heritage, but who obviously spoke little or no Spanish.) They also showed a nice historic program highlighting all the big matches and goals in previous USA-Mexico matches.

During the match replays and graphics were to put it kindly, much more timely and pertinent that the coverage the rest of you were seeing on Fox Soccer Channel or even on Univision. The Televisa broadcast was of the highest quality and the post game coverage with lasted an hour included both coaches press conferences (Where Bob Bradley’s poor Spanish was again partially interpreted by Donovan), and an extensive look at the key point of the match.

The coverage of both Copa America matches I watched while in Mexico (Mexico-Brazil, USA-Argentina) on Televisa featured far less pre game coverage but again crisp production, timely replays and outstanding analysis of what was happening in the match. Sure, they don’t have Ray Hudson, but watching the Copa there was still an experience.

Several of the Mexican Football magazines I purchased were also interesting. I bought magazines put out by several of the big clubs in the Clausura (Club America, Chivas, and Cruz Azul) and all three amounted to propaganda about the clubs. But the two magazines I bought that were periodicals covering more than a single club had lots of coverage of Gold Cup, Copa America, the end of the La Liga season, and even some coverage of MLS. (including an interview of Don Garber in one of the magazines.) Obviously the focus of the publications was the Mexican National Team, the Mexican Leagues and places abroad where Mexicans play. However, I was still shocked to see zero coverage whatsoever of the Premiership. It was as if the English league, and mega clubs like Manchester United and Liverpool don’t even exist. Even though to my knowledge no Mexicans play in Serie A, Italian Football was mentioned in both of these magazines even if just in passing.

The lack of coverage or even recognition of the Premiership may also explain why I had so many encounters with people supporting Alexi Lalas comments about the Premiership. Many of these same Mexicans told me that Landon Donovan is the best player the USA has ever produced and he’s the sole reason the US has advanced in world football, and since he plays in the US domestic league, that is further proof that the EPL is a sham and that the US market should reject it. Instead of arguing with the people who held these views I probed them further and found a general resentment of the influence the English media and European nations in general have over world football. I must say it was a fascinating lesson for me.

MLS' Best Signing?

Mexico has been revelation to me about the perceptions that exist in certain parts of the globe about soccer in the USA. First the Alexi Lalas conversations and now this: According to three different people I spoke to about MLS, the most credible signing for the league this year from a pure technical standpoint was not David Beckham or even Mexico's own Cuauhtemoc Blanco. It is according to football experts in this part of the world, Guillermo Barros Schelotto.
I must admit I have been awed by Schelotto since he arrived in MLS two months ago. As BC John and I discuss in the soon to be released post Gold Cup edition of the Major League Soccer Talk podcast, Schelotto seems to be single handily responsible for turning Columbus from one of the worst teams in MLS to perhaps one of the best. However, I never thought a player that has only been capped 11 times for his nation would be mentioned in a favorable light when compared to England's former Captain and one Mexico's all time leading goal scorers.

But what Schelotto brings MLS according to the people I spoke to here in Mexico is more continental club football titles than just about any current player on the planet. It wasn't until recently I learned that Schelotto is the most decorated player in the history of Argentinian Clausura, between his domestic and international trophies with Boca Juniors, as well as individual awards while playing for Boca. In addition, Schelotto's near legendary status among Boca fans opens up a whole new potential fan base for MLS, and builds the league's credibility in South America.

While Schelotto falls well short of Beckham and Blanco in marketing appeal (which is why he is playing for Columbus rather than L.A. or Chicago) he may actually do more to build the league's credibility among the Futbol "Intelligentsia" in Latin America. Who would have figured?

Mexico's Pain and New Love for Lalas

I must admit having a new respect for the Mexican people today even if I still detest their national football team. They are a people who seemed to have so much hope that today they would finally remove the spell Landon Donovan (aka the Mexicutioner) and his mates have on their national team, and yet deep down they knew when they took the 1-0 lead it would not last. All morning long anticipation filled the air, even in this a glorified tourist town. The locals planned to shut down their businesses of bring in large TVs to the shops to watch the match. I watched the game as a promised at La Moreno in Cozumel where the restaurant owner had brought in a big film screen for patrons to watch the match. As the only American fan in the establishment (wearing a #17 DeMarcus Beasley jersey) I stood out like a sore thumb.

Nonetheless, the patrons were all more than kind and respectful of me. They must have known as a lover of the beautiful game back home that I must get lots of abuse from the adherents to the jockacracy that runs the American sports media and that I must be a real lover of the game to actually own a US jersey. (What they do not know is that I am a sucker who buys every new kit once Nike introduces it, and I probably could have given each and every one of them an old out of date US jersey) Moreover, since the US has become so dominant in the rivalry between the two nations, Mexicans fans have a begrudging respect for the American team even if they keep mentioning how dirty they feel Oguchi Onyewu and Carlos Bocanegra are. When the US tied the match at 1-1 the Mexicans all knew it was a matter of time before the roof caved in. Nonetheless, the comical finishing of Brian Ching and DeMarcus Beasley left the door open (and opened the door for me to be laughed at wearing a Beasley jersey) for a potential equalizer. But as the restaurant owner told me on the way out, “Your keepers always find a way to steal from our best attackers,” an obvious reference to the outstanding match Tim Howard had, and a retrospective of Kasey Keller and Brad Friedel before him who have often times won matches for the US against Mexico, that we otherwise had no business winning. But today was different. We should have won, but the suspect finishing that cost us all Gold Cup long reared its ugly head again today and forced Howard to be the hero.

The funny thing is when the match became 2-1 I had the same reaction as the Mexican fans. Having watched every match in the last ten years between these two nations, I fully expected us to get one or two more counterattacking goals, which we almost did if it had not been for some amazingly suspect finishing. I sensed the Mexicans fans were almost relieved the scoreline didn’t end up 4-1 or 5-1 as it could have, and now they can claim Howard robbed them while their manager Hugo Sanchez blames the officials for his no-call in the 88th minute. This match was wildly entertaining and back home I believe a tape of this match should be sent to the skeptics of the beautiful game. A packed Soldier Field, an intensity unmatched in most American professional sports matches and a wide open, free flowing game, particularly from minutes 30 to 65 would sell skeptics on Soccer, if they were ever willing to give it the time of day.

What was most interesting about my conversations with the Mexican fans however, was the new almost cult hero worship some have developed for Alexi Lalas following his worldwide publicity last week. Most Mexican fans it seems regard English football and the Premiership with contempt. Several fans pointed out to me that the Premiership simply plays a style of football that is incompatible with most of the world. One patron at La Moreno even told me that he felt the EPL was inferior to all of the other big Euro leagues because of the lack of quality Brazilian, Mexican or Italian players in the league. This morning in the center of town one Mexican merchant who spoke perfect English told me that Lalas was dead on with his comments and he felt that both the Mexican Clausura and Major League Soccer are comparable to Premiership. The same man went on to explain to me how the English media is responsible for creating the perception that CONCACAF nations don’t understand football, and that he is concerned by the number of Americans he sees in Cozumel wearing Manchester United, Chelsea or even England jerseys. His theory is that the English media has influenced the American public to turn on its own national team and domestic league in favor of an inferior imported product. In other words, this fellow agreed 100% with Lalas. Another person in broken English told me “Lalas hablar facts es Londres,” which I interpreted to mean Lalas speaks the truth about London, or England. Another fan told me Jared Borgetti, one Mexico’s best ever players was “ruined” by the Premiership that forced him to play a “British game, rather than the way the rest of the world plays.” The same fan told me new LA Galaxy signing Carlos Pavon, a Honduran who once played in Serie A and La Liga is better than any England player other than David Beckham. He went on to mention to me what flops Michael Owen, Steve McManaman and Jonathan Woodgate were for his favorite team Real Madrid. He finished by telling me Lalas should replace Sepp Blatter at FIFA, which of course is a absolutely ridiculous suggestion. This fan showed a clear contempt for the English game and everything he feels it represents.

The Premiership is making great strides in popularity both in Asia and the United States. However based on today’s conversations I believe the EPL will NEVER see the light of day in Latin America. An unhealthy does of nativism exists here coupled with some very honest critiques about the style of play (but not the quality) and a new cult hero in Alexi Lalas.

The View From Mexico

I arrived in Mexico this afternoon eager to find out if a buzz existed about tomorrow’s Gold Cup final between Mexico and the USA. Coming into a touristy airport like Cancun doesn’t tell you much about Mexico. In fact you might as well be somewhere in middle America, because probably less awareness of the beautiful game exists in beach laden tourist traps that cater to Americans who don’t travel much outside their neighborhood than in your average urban area in the US.

But Cancun of course wasn’t my final destination today, just my point of entry. (Or more honestly the only city in the Yucatan with a nonstop to Fort Lauderdale.) After a bus ride to Playa Del Carman, I walked through the city streets before boarding a ferry for Cozumel. In the town of Playa Del Carman a buzz permeated about the match whenever in my very poor Spanish I brought up the match. The locals feel that Hugo Sanchez is depending too much on grizzled old warriors and not deepening the player pool enough to match the energy and pace of the Americans. Now of course a year ago the Mexicans were complaining that Ricardo LaVolpe had chased away too many veterans from the national team and that he could beat the USA either.

On board the ferry a different view was brought to my attention. “The Americans can’t beat us forever,” said one passenger and “ They miss Reyna and McBride,” said another. Then after arriving in Cozumel and checking into my hotel room I ventured into San Miguel away from the tourist traps and chain restaurants to a small outdoor cafe' named La Moreno. In my broken Spanish I spoke with the cooks and waiters (some of whom knew enough English to understand me even when I misused some words) about tomorrow. The consensus at the cafe' was that Hugo Sanchez is "el loco" and should be sacked if he cannot beat the USA tomorrow. I agreed to come back to the same restaurant tomorrow to watch the game (which sadly means I will miss our EPL Talk Chat) on a big screen TV they are renting for the event. Yes this game means that much to the Mexicans. Considering we have a hex over Mexico, I just wish people back home would even be aware of what our national team has accomplished and what a big game Chicago is hosting tomorrow.