Moments of 2008 And What To Look Forward To

“Dismal” is probably the best word to describe 2008. There were definitely ups and downs, but after this year us Mexicans are looking for more, more more.

Here’s a quick rundown of what happened in the world of the national team in the past year:

-Scrappy draw against the United States and victory over Ghana: Hugo Sanchez left in style, leading the senior national team to two not-so-bad results, but the team still playing like crap and accused of being lucky. Because they were. The match against the United States is one that won’t be forgotten, as Mexico netted twice and dominated the match after that. The match against Ghana was one that Mexico won without winning any hearts, with a 2-1 victory from a funny goal by Carlos Salcido and a penalty scored by Pavel Pardo.

Here are the golazos that Mexico scored against the US:

-Disqualification from the Olympics: If the senior team’s performance could be considered “good”, the U-23’s failure to progress in Olympic qualification cancels that out big time. The players forgot what the word “net” meant and Hugo wasn’t given another chance after this, leading to….

-Hugol sacked: Enough said. But it wasn’t his fault, it was the fault of the jerseys being green. They blend into the grass.

-Sven-Goran Eriksson takes over: The appointment of the Swede, voted the second-best England manager ever, gave much hope to Mexican football. Almost immediately after getting the job, he learned Spanish and hired men to monitor players at all corners of the world. The hope is still there, but so far Mexico has been “meh” under him.

-Qualification to the Hexagonal: It was ugly, but Mexico made it through to the next round through winning every home match, losing away to Jamaica and Honduras, and drawing with Canada. Unless we absolutely demolish the Hexagonal, the images of a fallen Mexican team in the nasty and wet Honduran pitch is something that won’t be forgotten.

Now, here are some things to look forward to in the new year that will hopefully happen:

-Qualification to the World Cup: The ultimate goal. The critics and the press won’t ever shut up but to qualify for the World Cup is the only way any hope can be kept.

-The “revival” of players: A few Mexican players, such as Nery “The Brow” Castillo and Giovani Dos Santos, are yet to make the impact that they were expected to make. Nery was supposed to be a solid signing (albeit from a loan) for Manchester City and ended up hitting the reserves. Gio had a decent season with Barcelona but was under the shadow of Bojan Krkic. After transferring to Tottenham and having a typical great pre-season, he failed to impress and then got injured. Hopefully both players will be back on top.

-Defeating the United States: I’m tired of being unable to defeat the United States. A win (at least) at the Azteca is all that I ask for.

-The match in Europe: The FEMEXFUT announced that at El Tri will play at least one match in Europe. Yeah, only one match seems like nothing but to see Mexico play at it’s best in a packed European stadium is always something to look forward to. Spain is the likely opponent. You jerks doing those sarcastic “ooooohs” can stop it now.

-Possibly more players to Europe: It’s very fortunate that teams around the world look at the Mexican league very often for players, not necessarily Mexicans. Exporting a few more players can help the team get that “ritmo Europeo” that does wonders for any national team.

Not too much to ask for, but if these new year resolutions can actually be kept, we’re in for a real treat.

¡Si se puede!