Pele tabs Mexico as a dark horse

Pele was making his rounds in Mexico City over the weekend, and during his press conference he suggested that Mexico could very well be a revelation at the World Cup. He gushed about Mexico’s team unity as their key strength. He sees Mexico as more mature, and more experienced. But, unlike Brazil, he added Mexico does not have the depth of the Brazilian squad to overcome injuries. He also lauded Rafael Marquez as one of the best players at his position in Europe.

Being a revelation this summer was a recurring theme in an interview with Bolton Wanderers striker Jared Borgetti. He stated that Mexico has proven that they can match-up with the best teams, and given the right circumstances Mexico can surprise a few folks, namely their Group C opponents if they make it through to the 2nd round.

Borgetti also echoed Manuel Negrete’s sentiments in saying that Mexico cannot go into their games with Iran and Angola overconfident, citing that Angola and Iran were dangerous because they are unknown quantities. Mexico have been guilty in the past of overconfidence, and they were sentenced to a 3-1 drubbing at the hands of Tunisia in the 1978 tournament. It was the first world cup match ever won by an African squad. Mexico fell to even greater depths of misery by losing to Germany 6-0, and Poland 3-1 to round off their feast of futility.

Both Borgetti and Pele named Brazil as favorites (duh!!), along with the other usual suspects. Pele is idolized in Mexico. He is commemorated with a plaque at the Estadio Azteca honoring him and his teammates for their victory in 1970.