Five keys for Olympic qualifying
By Brent Latham
ESPN INSIDER
The Mexican Olympic team has reconvened with a flurry of activity over the past two weeks, after a long break following the Pan-Am Games triumph late last summer. Coach Luis Tena's team looks a little different from that version, having jettisoned the overage mainstays from last summer's tournaments, and added a few players who stood out in the Mexican League over the past few months.
With only a month to go to the Olympic tournament that will determine the region's tickets to London, El Tri is a prohibitive favorite to qualify. But the next few weeks, including a series of mini-camps and an upcoming friendly against the U.S. U-23s next week in Dallas, will go a long way towards determining how ready Tena's squad is for the qualifying challenge. Let's take a look at five key goals for the team over the next month.
1. Get Liborio some reps
Finding a starting goalkeeper for this group has been at the top of the to-do list for the last year. From last summer's Copa America through the Pan-Am Games, the U-23 goalkeeping duties were mainly handled by overage Jesus Corona, a decision which did little to further the effort to make the Olympic Games. With a thin pool at this age level, Tena should be thanking his stars that Liborio Sanchez emerged as a top-level keeper over the past six months.
The late incorporation of Sanchez -- a player with just one cap for Mexico, at the U-20 level -- won't help the fluidity of the defense, but it's imperative that he now step in and take the reigns quickly. Luckily, "Saint Liborio" has been tested over the past year in Queretaro, coming up big under the same type of pressure he'll face during Olympic qualifying when he was key to ousting Chivas from the Apertura quarterfinals. To get through to London, Mexico may need at least one big game from their goalkeeper, so the next few weeks will be important in getting him worked into the team with the confidence needed to shine at the international level.
2. Find the forwards
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Another overage player who got a lot of time with the U-23s over the last year was their leading scorer, Oribe Peralta. But the 28-year-old is far from eligible to help El Tri get to London. That leaves a bit of an experience void up front alongside Jeronimo Amione, who played well in the Pan-Am Games and looks to have won a starting spot.
The poor form of Erick Torres at Chivas has ruled the young prospect out for now, and other options for a true striker up top are limited to say the least. Alan Pulido is coming on strong at Tigres, but the 20-year-old may be a little too green still -- despite the excitement of potential Manchester United interest he has only five starts and a little over 1000 pro minutes to his credit in a young career -- to trust with a load this size. Othoniel Arce has been the go-to alternative for Tena over the course of the cycle, but his goal scoring track record is less than inspiring. Still, if the team is to play with two forwards, finding a suitably in-form pairing over the next few weeks is essential.
3. Tinker with the Formation
It's a little late in the game, but Tena still needs to figure out which scheme works best for this talented group of U-23s. Without many exciting options at striker, the solution could be to put Marco Fabian at a withdrawn spot in a 4-4-1-1 similar to what the full national team often plays.
But looking at the players available, this group clearly lends itself to a 4-3-3. Here's the impressive list of wingers available to Tena: David Cabrera, Javier Cortes, Nestor Calderon, Isaac Brizuela, and Javier Aquino. Throw in Miguel Angel Ponce, who should be on the team when he recovers from injury, and it's clear that a three-man front line on top of a triangle midfield would give Tena the chance to get more of his best players on the field at once. With Marco Fabian at the point of midfield above R.R. Bocanegra and Jorge Enriquez -- who will return to the squad after Chivas' Copa Libertadores trip to Argentina -- the 4-3-3 probably yields Tena's best team, and certainly one that will generate a ton of offense.
4. Come together on defense
If he can get the offense right, Tena has little to worry about in terms of qualifying for London. This team has the potential offensive firepower to outgun any CONCACAF rival and plot a smooth course to the British Isles.
But they may have to win some shootouts (like the 4-2 victory Wednesday over Club Neza) along the way, because it's not as clear that the defense will hold up. There are legitimate worries in back, starting with the central pairing of Nestor Araujo and Hiram Mier, which hasn't solidified despite plenty of time playing together over the last year. That may leave an opening for Diego Reyes, though it's pretty clear Mier and Araujo are the top candidates to start. Whichever pairing plays the middle will need to find some rhythm quickly with Sanchez if El Tri is to go into the tournament sure of its chances of avoiding a tragic slip up in that all-important play-in semifinal.
5. Avoid complacency
As good as El Tri looks on paper, the Olympic tournament is an unforgiving whirlwind that can punish even the best team for an off-day. Tena will need to avoid that possibility by keeping the team fresh and focused for the semifinal, something which may be tough if they roll too easily over opening round competition Honduras and Panama -- two teams that should be among the toughest in the tourney.
Pre-tournament friendlies will have a big role in establishing that focus against mostly inferior opponents, starting with Wednesday's scrimmage victory over Neza. Next week's more challenging showdown with the U.S. in Dallas should be a positive no matter the outcome -- allowing El Tri to finally size itself up against a team of its own category. The biggest danger for a group for which everything came too easily in the Pan-Am Games is that a win against their biggest rival will trigger overconfidence headed into qualifying. El Tri will also scrimmage Senegal's Olympic team on March 17th, providing a decent test against a fluid team. Overall, the friendlies will give El Tri a good measure of what they'll face with Panama and Honduras on the horizon as the group phase kicks off in late March, but they'll need to keep focus no matter how well it looks like things are going on the road to the semifinals.
Notebook
• The 4-2 friendly victory over Toros Neza was more comfortable for El Tri than the score might indicate. The U-23s strolled to a 3-0 lead on goals from Javier Cortes, Jair Barraza and Othoniel Arce, before Candido Ramirez -- one of three U-20 players who joined the team to give Tena the option to play a different eleven in each half -- added the fourth in the late going.
• With what Tena calls 85 to 90 percent of the team decided, the coach said the Mexican federation hasn't reached out to any European club to solicit the release of Europe-based players for the qualifying tournament. That means Ulises Davila, who's been struggling for playing time at Vitesse in Holland, is likely out, as well as Espanyol's Taufic Guarch and Braga's Edson Rivera. As expected, the development would also rule Carlos Vela and Giovani Dos Santos out of the qualifying tournament, though Tena said there's still time to change the approach if deemed necessary.
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By Brent Latham
ESPN INSIDER
The Mexican Olympic team has reconvened with a flurry of activity over the past two weeks, after a long break following the Pan-Am Games triumph late last summer. Coach Luis Tena's team looks a little different from that version, having jettisoned the overage mainstays from last summer's tournaments, and added a few players who stood out in the Mexican League over the past few months.
With only a month to go to the Olympic tournament that will determine the region's tickets to London, El Tri is a prohibitive favorite to qualify. But the next few weeks, including a series of mini-camps and an upcoming friendly against the U.S. U-23s next week in Dallas, will go a long way towards determining how ready Tena's squad is for the qualifying challenge. Let's take a look at five key goals for the team over the next month.
1. Get Liborio some reps
Finding a starting goalkeeper for this group has been at the top of the to-do list for the last year. From last summer's Copa America through the Pan-Am Games, the U-23 goalkeeping duties were mainly handled by overage Jesus Corona, a decision which did little to further the effort to make the Olympic Games. With a thin pool at this age level, Tena should be thanking his stars that Liborio Sanchez emerged as a top-level keeper over the past six months.
The late incorporation of Sanchez -- a player with just one cap for Mexico, at the U-20 level -- won't help the fluidity of the defense, but it's imperative that he now step in and take the reigns quickly. Luckily, "Saint Liborio" has been tested over the past year in Queretaro, coming up big under the same type of pressure he'll face during Olympic qualifying when he was key to ousting Chivas from the Apertura quarterfinals. To get through to London, Mexico may need at least one big game from their goalkeeper, so the next few weeks will be important in getting him worked into the team with the confidence needed to shine at the international level.
2. Find the forwards
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Another overage player who got a lot of time with the U-23s over the last year was their leading scorer, Oribe Peralta. But the 28-year-old is far from eligible to help El Tri get to London. That leaves a bit of an experience void up front alongside Jeronimo Amione, who played well in the Pan-Am Games and looks to have won a starting spot.
The poor form of Erick Torres at Chivas has ruled the young prospect out for now, and other options for a true striker up top are limited to say the least. Alan Pulido is coming on strong at Tigres, but the 20-year-old may be a little too green still -- despite the excitement of potential Manchester United interest he has only five starts and a little over 1000 pro minutes to his credit in a young career -- to trust with a load this size. Othoniel Arce has been the go-to alternative for Tena over the course of the cycle, but his goal scoring track record is less than inspiring. Still, if the team is to play with two forwards, finding a suitably in-form pairing over the next few weeks is essential.
3. Tinker with the Formation
It's a little late in the game, but Tena still needs to figure out which scheme works best for this talented group of U-23s. Without many exciting options at striker, the solution could be to put Marco Fabian at a withdrawn spot in a 4-4-1-1 similar to what the full national team often plays.
But looking at the players available, this group clearly lends itself to a 4-3-3. Here's the impressive list of wingers available to Tena: David Cabrera, Javier Cortes, Nestor Calderon, Isaac Brizuela, and Javier Aquino. Throw in Miguel Angel Ponce, who should be on the team when he recovers from injury, and it's clear that a three-man front line on top of a triangle midfield would give Tena the chance to get more of his best players on the field at once. With Marco Fabian at the point of midfield above R.R. Bocanegra and Jorge Enriquez -- who will return to the squad after Chivas' Copa Libertadores trip to Argentina -- the 4-3-3 probably yields Tena's best team, and certainly one that will generate a ton of offense.
4. Come together on defense
If he can get the offense right, Tena has little to worry about in terms of qualifying for London. This team has the potential offensive firepower to outgun any CONCACAF rival and plot a smooth course to the British Isles.
But they may have to win some shootouts (like the 4-2 victory Wednesday over Club Neza) along the way, because it's not as clear that the defense will hold up. There are legitimate worries in back, starting with the central pairing of Nestor Araujo and Hiram Mier, which hasn't solidified despite plenty of time playing together over the last year. That may leave an opening for Diego Reyes, though it's pretty clear Mier and Araujo are the top candidates to start. Whichever pairing plays the middle will need to find some rhythm quickly with Sanchez if El Tri is to go into the tournament sure of its chances of avoiding a tragic slip up in that all-important play-in semifinal.
5. Avoid complacency
As good as El Tri looks on paper, the Olympic tournament is an unforgiving whirlwind that can punish even the best team for an off-day. Tena will need to avoid that possibility by keeping the team fresh and focused for the semifinal, something which may be tough if they roll too easily over opening round competition Honduras and Panama -- two teams that should be among the toughest in the tourney.
Pre-tournament friendlies will have a big role in establishing that focus against mostly inferior opponents, starting with Wednesday's scrimmage victory over Neza. Next week's more challenging showdown with the U.S. in Dallas should be a positive no matter the outcome -- allowing El Tri to finally size itself up against a team of its own category. The biggest danger for a group for which everything came too easily in the Pan-Am Games is that a win against their biggest rival will trigger overconfidence headed into qualifying. El Tri will also scrimmage Senegal's Olympic team on March 17th, providing a decent test against a fluid team. Overall, the friendlies will give El Tri a good measure of what they'll face with Panama and Honduras on the horizon as the group phase kicks off in late March, but they'll need to keep focus no matter how well it looks like things are going on the road to the semifinals.
Notebook
• The 4-2 friendly victory over Toros Neza was more comfortable for El Tri than the score might indicate. The U-23s strolled to a 3-0 lead on goals from Javier Cortes, Jair Barraza and Othoniel Arce, before Candido Ramirez -- one of three U-20 players who joined the team to give Tena the option to play a different eleven in each half -- added the fourth in the late going.
• With what Tena calls 85 to 90 percent of the team decided, the coach said the Mexican federation hasn't reached out to any European club to solicit the release of Europe-based players for the qualifying tournament. That means Ulises Davila, who's been struggling for playing time at Vitesse in Holland, is likely out, as well as Espanyol's Taufic Guarch and Braga's Edson Rivera. As expected, the development would also rule Carlos Vela and Giovani Dos Santos out of the qualifying tournament, though Tena said there's still time to change the approach if deemed necessary.
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