Eriksson's Mexican adventure faces early end

Defeat in a crucial World Cup qualifier tonight could see the Swede sacked, writes Guy Adams in Los Angeles

(REUTERS)

Sven Goran Eriksson will lead Mexico's national side out at the Estadio Azteca tonight knowing that defeat may very well subject his career to one of the ritual public sacrifices that the vast stadium's famous name portends. The former England manager, whose reign in charge of El Tri has left the football-mad nation struggling to qualify for the 2010 World Cup finals, admits that he will be sacked if he fails to secure victory against Costa Rica.

"I know perfectly well that it is not possible for me to lose this game," Eriksson said recently. "We must win, or life will be very difficult for me. I will probably be out of work."

Even if he avoids the Costa Rican banana skin, a poor result in a second World Cup qualifier in Honduras on Wednesday will also threaten Eriksson's Mexican adventure, which began with great fanfare last summer but now sees his team bottom of the final six-team Concacaf qualifying group and winless in competitive fixtures since September.

Any sacking would free the 61-year-old Swede up for a lucrative return to the Premier League, where he is still thought to be on Portsmouth's wish-list to succeed Tony Adams. But whether Eriksson would rush to trade his luxury apartment in Mexico City for the English provinces remains to be seen. Commentators say that off the field, he has made great efforts to achieve popularity in his newest adopted country.

"From the start, he learned Spanish, and by the first game in charge knew enough to get by. He never used a translator, and now he's fluent. In Mexico, that counts for a lot," said Luis Bueno, a football columnist for Sports Illustrated. "Sven also went to museums and learned Mexican history, and has been to an incredible number of games. He has worked hard. It's not unusual for him to go to one game on a Friday, another on a Saturday, and another on Sunday."

On the pitch, however, his reign is so far disappointing. A 2-0 defeat by the United States last month means a country accustomed to being the most successful in Central American football has won less than half his 11 games in charge. The problem is goals, or at least a failure to score them. Mexico last found the net in anger in October and lack a superstar to break down defences. Some pundits have criticised Eriksson's decision to play a European 4-4-2 formation, as opposed to the attacking 3-5-2 line-up Mexico's recent coaches have favoured.

His team selections have also been criticised. Jose de la Torre, coach of Mexico's top club side Toluca, spoke out this month after none of his players was selected for the 24-man squad. Instead, Eriksson has built his side around European-based players like Giovani dos Santos and Carlos Vela, who play in England, and Rafael Márquez, and Guillermo Franco, who ply their trade in Spain.

"It's the first time in the history of Mexican soccer that so many players are based in Europe, so Eriksson's facing the dilemma that the powerhouses of South American soccer have being facing for the decades: he doesn't have enough time to practice with the players" says German Fernandez-Moores, author of The Houston Chronicle's influential Spanish-language football blog, La Voz.

"In addition, when he arrived from Europe he was unfamiliar with Mexican soccer, the players and some of the coaching staff, and, more importantly, with the opposition he is now facing. He was used to a different environment in Europe. The mentality and the skills in Latin American soccer is completely different."

Only the top three teams in the group qualify for South Africa, with a fourth going into a play-off. Though Costa Rica will be marginal underdogs today, they won a similar game at the Azteca in 2001, resulting in the removal of Mexico's then manager Enrique Meza.

Globe trotter: Sven's CV

*Degerfors 1977-78

*IFK Gothenburg 1979-82

W51 D32 L17; Swedish Cup 1979, 1982; Swedish League 1982; Uefa Cup 1982

*Benfica 1982-84

W46 D11 L3; Portuguese League 1983, 1984; Porutguese Cup 1983

*Roma 1984-87

W41 D26 L23; Italian Cup 1986

*Fiorentina 1987-89

W21 D20 L23

*Benfica 1989-92

W72 D26 L8; Portuguese Super Cup 1989; Portuguese League 1991

*Sampdoria 1992-97

W71 D52 L47; Italian Cup 1994

*Lazio 1997-2001

W78 D32 L26; Italian Cup 1998, 2000; Super Cup 1998, 2000; Cup Winners Cup 1999; European Super Cup 1999; Italian League 2000

*England 2001-06;

W40 D17 L10

*Manchester City 2007-08

W19 D11 L15

*Mexico 2008-present; W5 D1 L5