Local Players to report April 3

The timetable has been set. The schedule is almost finalized. The 3 ½ year process is coming to an end. Mexican league teams are required to release named national team members on April 3 as Mexico makes final preparations for Germany 2006. This will give the majority of the team 67 days with which to prepare for their Group D matches. In the meantime, the league teams will have to adjust to not having key members of their squads as they march toward the playoffs. This will obviously affect some teams more than others, and the one that is most affected is Guadalajara.

The FMF will not make concessions to any team, including Guadalajara, to release their players for important matches. These include Copa Libertadores ties. While Tigres, UNAM, and Guadalajara are all fighting in the Libertadores, Chivas will be the most crippled. They will be without Oswaldo Sanchez, Carlos Salcido, Maza Rodriguez, Gonzalo Pineda, Ramon Morales, Omar Bravo, and possibly Diego Martinez and Alberto Medina.

The report date also means that next week’s clash against Paraguay is unspeakably important for the bubble players. This is the schedule for Mexican National Team training:

April 3 – Report date
FIFA mandated 1 week vacation
Training at sea level and at altitude
Friendlies – May 5 in the US, May 12 in Mexico, and April 11 vs. Columbia TBD
Leave for Germany April 20
Friendlies vs. France and Holland
June 11 Mexico vs. Iran, Nuremberg

Expect the European contingent to report when their seasons end. For Rafa, let’s hope it is after May 17 (Champions League Final).

This raises a few questions: will the April 3 date include only the 23 team members, or will there be an extended “try out”? What about injured players like Zinha, or Blanco? If healthy, they would make the 23 list for sure. How easily will the euros blend in with a group that has already been together for at least a month?

Getting together this early will certainly help the team gel. I only need to look no further than the US, who had fantastic results training earlier in the year with their MLS players, as proof that it is a huge advantage.