AGUIRRE: "I NEED TO FIND 8 NEW PLAYERS FOR THE WORLD CUP"

Mexico's Head Coach & U.S. Soccer VP Gulati Spoke Today at the 4th Honda Symposium in L.A.

LOS ANGELES (December 11, 2001) - Javier Aguirre, Head Coach of Mexico's National Team spoke at length about the challenges he has faced thus far and offered a sense of what lies ahead for the Mexican National Team during the 4th Honda Symposium in Los Angeles, which is organized annually by Fútbol de Primera.

"When I got to the National Team I found tired players, without desire, and we came in and changed that and called up 18 new players," Aguirre stated during a presentation titled "Rebuilding Mexico's National Team Program."

When he took charge of the National Team in June, he faced a nearly impossible task of needing to win practically every remaining game in order to have a chance at World Cup qualification. Under Aguirre's leadership during their last five World Cup qualifying matches, the Mexican National Team won four and tied one, and as a result qualified for the 2002 FIFA World Cup.

He also offered a candid evaluation of the Mexican players, saying that they, "technically are good, but are not very strong mentally. Since I am not going to have a psychologist, I am the one that needs to do this job, because the players do not believe in psychologists. But this is the area in which I need to work the most."

He went on to point out that Mexican players "do not play the same at home in Estadio Azteca than when they are playing abroad."

"The reality is that Mexico did not play good soccer during the qualification process during my tenure as coach. But the important thing is that we did enough to qualify," said Aguirre.

Aguirre then discussed Mexico's prospects for the 2002 FIFA World Cup. "The group is not an easy group. We can beat Ecuador and Croatia, and with respect to Italy the history is not working in our favor. We don't have many players to choose from, and I already have eight players. During my preparations for the Gold Cup and the following 5-6 games, I hope to find another 8 players for the World Cup since the Mexican National Team is not a young team."

He then assessed Mexico's chances, saying, "We are not going to be champions in Korea. My goal is to make it to the round of 16."

In a question and answer session with Fútbol de Primera's Andrés Cantor, Aguirre commented on the recent withdrawal of Cuauhtemoc Blanco from the National Team, "The reality is that I do not have many players like Blanco, but the team is more important than one player. No one is indispensable. If Blanco is hungry enough and has the desire, he will be on the team. If not, that will be a sign that he has a full stomach, and that would not be useful for us. I will talk with him."

Aguirre then candidly discussed what lies ahead for Mexican soccer, saying, "The future of Mexican soccer does not look great. We really need to work very hard for many, many years to come. I have five months to work in the mentality of the Mexican player. If you consider that the players that are abroad are not key players on their own teams, and everyone needs to realize that only one player was sold to a team abroad, Rafa Marquez. We need that international experience a lot."

Aguirre said that he felt he had the assistance and support of Alejandro Burillo, the Chairman of the Mexican National Team Committee, and the other directors of Mexican soccer.

Aguirre concluded his presentation by discussing his forwards, saying, "It is an area where we need to improve. We need to score more at the international level. We have good local players but they need to take it to the next level internationally."

Also speaking at Tuesday's Honda Symposium was Sunil Gulati, currently the Executive Vice President of U.S. Soccer. Gulati, one of the most knowledgeable and experienced people in U.S. soccer, spoke on the topic "U.S. Soccer in the New Millennium."

Formerly Deputy Commissioner of Major League Soccer, Gulati stressed the importance of the U.S. professional league to the continued development of the game in the United States. Gulati, in a question and answer session with Andrés Cantor, said in response to the rumors currently surrounding Major League Soccer, that MLS is "clearly at a crossroads." He praised the level of commitment of Major League Soccer's investors, saying that people such as Phil Anschutz, Lamar Hunt, and the Kraft family have been there since the beginning and remain personally committed to the league.

Gulati also said that he believed that "The U.S. will win the World Cup. The question is when. But to say that the United Staets will never win the World Cup is just crazy." His expectations for the 2002 FIFA World Cup, however, are different. Gulati said that "I will be disappointed if we do not reach the round of 16, and my dream is to reach the quarterfinals. Is this unrealistic? No, I don't think it is." He also said that simply doing better than the 1998 World Cup, or finishing 31 out of 32 teams, would not be good enough in 2002.

Created in 1998 by Fútbol de Primera, the Honda Symposium features soccer's foremost executives, coaches and players leading an open forum on the major issues in soccer. Past participants include FIFA Senior Vice President Julio Grondona, FIFA executives Keith Cooper and Dr. Michel D'Hooghe, former U.S. Soccer President Alan Rothenberg, Argentina National Team Coach Marcelo Bielsa and World Cup coaches Bora Milutinovic and Steve Sampson.