They Can Take It on Faith
The past couple of years have done little to undermine the faith Ramon Maradiaga has in his ability and that of his players.
In that time, Honduras’ soccer coach has qualified his country for the Sydney Olympic Games, guided it to an astonishing third-place finish in the Copa America in Colombia--with victories over former world champions Brazil and Uruguay--and now has it poised to qualify for the World Cup for the first time in two decades.
But there’s a catch.
To reach the 2002 World Cup in Japan and South Korea, his team must defeat Mexico today in the intimidating Azteca Stadium in Mexico City, where more than 100,000 fans will be screaming for the home team.
It’s going to take more than ability, more than unexpected luck, for Honduras to succeed.
“Mexico is ranked 10th in the world and it really would be a present from heaven if we beat it in its own backyard,” Raul Flores, president of the Honduran soccer federation, told Reuters last week.
“We’ve reached the end of the battle. We are still full of optimism that we can win the next game and bring happiness to the Honduran people.”
The Honduran people would have been a lot happier had their team not been upset, 1-0, at home by Trinidad and Tobago in its most recent qualifying match. Had Honduras won that game, it would have needed only a tie today.
A tie is all that Coach Javier Aguirre requires from Mexico, which has gone from the brink of elimination to the threshold of Korea/Japan 2002.
He has engineered the turnaround of the Tricolor, as Mexico’s team is nicknamed. He has instilled discipline and restored the players’ confidence.
“All I can tell you is this team is going to play with heart, with fight,” Aguirre said. “I don’t know if we will qualify, but we are going to leave our souls on the field, this I can assure you.”
Coincidentally, it was a 3-1 loss to Honduras in a qualifying match at San Pedro Sula, Honduras, in June that put Aguirre in command. After Honduran forward Carlos Pavon carved up the Mexican defense with a hat trick, bringing about Mexico’s sixth straight defeat, Coach Enrique Meza was fired by Mexico and Aguirre, a former national team player, took over.
To make sure Mexico does not stumble at the final hurdle, Aguirre has called in all of his foreign-based players: striker Cuauhtemoc Blanco (Real Valladolid), forward Francisco Palencia (Espanyol), midfielder Gerardo Torrado (Polideportivo Ejido) and defender Rafael Marquez (AS Monaco).
Mexico not only has to contend with Pavon, it also has to find a way of stopping Milton Nunez, David Suazo and the rest of Honduras’ fast-moving forwards.
Mexico was unbeaten in World Cup qualifiers at Azteca Stadium before Costa Rica ended that run during this qualifying campaign. Maradiaga, who played on the last Honduras team to reach the World Cup--in Spain in 1982--can only hope for as good a result.
“We have 90 minutes to try and qualify,” he said. “We are playing the match of our lives.”
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Today marks the end of the two-year World Cup qualifying process for teams in soccer’s North and Central American and Caribbean (CONCACAF) region.
The Mexico-Honduras game is the only one with any real meaning because Costa Rica, which is away to Jamaica in Kingston, and the United States, which plays Trinidad and Tobago in Port of Spain, Trinidad, already have clinched places in Korea/Japan 2002.
U.S. Coach Bruce Arena will be without several of his usual starters for the game in Trinidad.
Playmaker Claudio Reyna is being allowed to rest while nursing a groin injury, defensive midfielder Chris Armas is being given a break because of the recent birth of his first child, and goalkeeper Brad Friedel is being allowed to stay with his English Premier League team, Blackburn Rovers.
Kasey Keller was to have been the U.S. starter in net, but he aggravated an injury to his left ankle in training and returned to his English team, Tottenham Hotspur, to continue treatment. As a result, either Zach Thornton of the Chicago Fire or Nick Rimando of the Miami Fusion will be the starter.
