After a turbulent period that has seen three coaches come and go and more than sixty players pull on the green jersey, Mexico have returned to calmer waters under Javier Aguirre.
The former Atletico Madrid coach has assembled a team of bright young talents and established stars, restoring their confidence in the process.
After his appointment, Mexico went from fifth to second place in the final qualification group for CONCACAF (Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football). Their objective will now be to progress beyond the Round of 16, where they have been knocked out of the last four Soccer World Cups.
The road to South Africa
After disposing of Belize in the second qualifying round, Mexico were drawn into a against Jamaica, Canada and Honduras in the following phase, but only scraped into the final round on goal difference. Their erratic form continued in the final six-team group, before Aguirre transformed their fortunes.
Star players
Veteran Cuauhtemoc Blanco is perhaps the player fans should thank for the side’s turnaround. The 36-year-old was the symbol of a revitalised team, helping younger teammates such as Guillermo Ochoa, Efrain Juarez, Andres Guardado and Giovani dos Santos find their best form.
The coach
Aguirre is Mexico’s most successful coach of recent times. After guiding the Pachuca to the league title in 1999, he ensured Mexico qualified for Korea/Japan 2002. He took the Mexicans to the top of a group that contained Italy, Croatia and Ecuador, though their tournament came to an end with a last-16 defeat to USA. He is hoping they can go further this time around.
Soccer World Cup record
- Mexico have qualified for the Cup 14 times, more than any other side from the CONCACAF Zone.
- Mexico’s achieved their best-ever performances in the finals as hosts in 1970 and 1986, reaching the last eight on both occasions.
- South Africa 2010 is their fifth successive Cup appearance.
Records
- Under Aguirre, Mexico went unbeaten for 12 games.
- The squad that earned qualification the Soccer World Cup contained four players who won the Fifa U-17 World Cup in 2005.
- No fewer than 18 Tricolor players found the back of the net during the qualifiers. — Fifa