Daves On Soccer24 March 2005
Que Dicen Los Tricolores?
I thought I'd take a peek at some of the build-up to Sunday's WC qualifier through our neighbor's eyes. Even though my Spanish is "respetable", I nonetheless enjoyed turning Google's language tools loose on some of the Mexican "periodicos" usually with humorous results. Here's a sampling (my translations) of what the Tricolores are saying...
"The game is a classic because we are the two most important teams in the region. They beat us at the World Cup, but that's in the past and now we need to beat them on Sunday. I feel good and La Volpe will decide who will play in the upcoming match. I played in that World Cup game but I don't feel that Sunday's match is revenge. Like all teams it hurts to lose and I feel this will be one of our most difficult games. Nowadays, goal fests are rare, besides, the United States has improved a lot."
-Oscar Perez (goalkeeper)
"The U.S. has a strong defense and they will certainly play defensively. All Mexicans will be hoping for a victory so we have to win. Our elimination from the 2002 World Cup is history, now we have to focus on winning, and winning convincingly, as we did in Costa Rica."
-Pavel Pardo (team captain)
"The U.S. has improved, that's why they have players abroad. I believe they always had their sights on Mexico, they wish to reach our level and pass us, but that's normal. We should work that much harder. We need academies and better nutrition. Cuauhtemoc is still around, but nobody is waiting to fill his shoes, so something is missing."
-Ricardo La Volpe (coach)
...Also, I plan on keeping tabs on this road trip.
"The game is a classic because we are the two most important teams in the region. They beat us at the World Cup, but that's in the past and now we need to beat them on Sunday. I feel good and La Volpe will decide who will play in the upcoming match. I played in that World Cup game but I don't feel that Sunday's match is revenge. Like all teams it hurts to lose and I feel this will be one of our most difficult games. Nowadays, goal fests are rare, besides, the United States has improved a lot."
-Oscar Perez (goalkeeper)
"The U.S. has a strong defense and they will certainly play defensively. All Mexicans will be hoping for a victory so we have to win. Our elimination from the 2002 World Cup is history, now we have to focus on winning, and winning convincingly, as we did in Costa Rica."
-Pavel Pardo (team captain)
"The U.S. has improved, that's why they have players abroad. I believe they always had their sights on Mexico, they wish to reach our level and pass us, but that's normal. We should work that much harder. We need academies and better nutrition. Cuauhtemoc is still around, but nobody is waiting to fill his shoes, so something is missing."
-Ricardo La Volpe (coach)
...Also, I plan on keeping tabs on this road trip.
// posted by David Landry @ 13:36 
