Miguel Herrera announced as interim Mexico coach

Club America boss Miguel Herrera will take charge of Mexico for the intercontinental playoff against New Zealand, but nothing is guaranteed beyond November 20.

Mexico have introduced Miguel Herrera as the new manager of their men's senior national team, but he's only guaranteed to have the job for two games, and thus will not be leaving his post at Club America. Mexican federation director Justino Compean announced that Herrera's entire staff will join him, and that he and the club presidents will reconvene following the playoff against New Zealand to decide on a full-time manager.

Also joining the national team is Club America sporting director Ricardo Pelaez, though he will also be evaluated between his appointment and November 20. Héctor González Iñárritu has been retained as the director of national teams for the time being.

The press conference was delayed by 50 minutes, reportedly due to a dispute between the club presidents. All of the owners are supposed to have a say in national team managers, but many say they were not consulted about the firing of Victor Manuel Vucetich -- who lasted just two games -- and the hiring of Herrera. The representative of the clubs owned by multi-billionaire Carlos Slim, in particular, was opposed to the coaching change.

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Mexico Faces Must-Win Match Against Panama to Qualify for 2014 World Cup

Friday, October 11, 2013 is going to be a monumentally important day for Mexico’sNational Soccer Team. As World Cup Qualifiers are coming to an end, Mexico finds themselves in fifth place in the CONCACAF table. The United States and Costa Rica have both mathematically qualified, leaving only one guaranteed slot and one intercontinental playoff slot in which CONCACAF’s 4th place team will face New Zealand in a home and away playoff. 

Mexico’s most likely chance of qualification will come through the intercontinental playoff. However, for them to even have a chance to reach this playoff, Mexico must first beat Panama on Friday at Estadio Azteca in Mexico City. In the past, Azteca has been a fortress for Mexico in which they were usually guaranteed a win or at least a tie. But the reason the find themselves in this current predicament is that their form at Azteca has been off, only securing 3 points in their last four matches at Azteca with three ties and a loss.

As they approach this crucial match, Mexico is looking at their European based players to have a major impact on the game. This list includes Javier “Chicharito” Hernandez, Giovanni Dos Santos and Javier Aquino but unfortunately does not include Héctor Moreno (injury) and Andrés Guardado (form). Another notable inclusion into Mexico’s roster is Rafael Marquez. The Mexican veteran and previous captain had retired from international duty but head coach Victor Manuel Vucetich has called him back in the hope that the team will benefit of his experience and veteran presence. 

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Sergio Perez: “Mexican Grand Prix will be huge for F1”

Sergio Perez reckons Formula 1 will be blown away by the reception it gets in his homeland if the planned Mexican Grand Prix gets the green light for 2014. After a trying first season following his move to McLaren, Sergio Perez admits that he is already looking forward to leading the team to the Mexican Grand Prix. A draft calendar circulated to teams before the Monza race had a record 21 rounds, with Mexico listed for November 9, 2014, the week before the US Grand Prix in Austin, Texas.

Perez said: "I'm very excited. It's not confirmed yet, it's just a pre-calendar but I feel there are very big chances now of this happening. It will be great for my country, great for the sport. F1 will be amazed how popular this grand prix can become...it will be huge for F1 as a sport to go there."

Mexican businessman Carlos Slim Domit: "I believe there is potential to do more races in the Americas and I believe that Mexico is in the right spot to do it. It's a stable country, our economy is doing quite well and we have drivers people can identify with. All of the pieces are coming together and I believe the potential promoters are doing a good job in trying to secure something."

Mexico last hosted a grand prix in 1992, when Nigel Mansell triumphed for Williams en route to his world championship title. That race also took place at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez, which is on course to return to the calendar despite rumors that Mexico was seeking alternative venues, such as the resort of Cancun, to stage its comeback.

As expected, the Mexican race is featured towards the end of the 2014 schedule, but was listed before the USGP rather than after it was anticipated. The November 9th slot ensures a three-race swing through the Americas to end the campaign, with Brazil continuing to stage the season finale.

The Mexican reckoned a few flat-out months of work would be required to upgrade the pit and paddock facilities but the layout was good. "I know how good the racetrack is," Perez stated, "Obviously, they need to rebuild it, but there is time enough. They have to change the pits to make them proper for F1, and improve a few corners but, apart from that, it's just a matter of time what they can do. They don't have to do big things for the racetrack to be ready so I really hope - for the good of the sport and my country - that it happens."

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Will Canelo Alvarez Be “The One” to Finally Defeat Floyd Mayweather?

The super welterweight world championship pay-per-view showdown between Canelo Alvarez and the undefeated Floyd Mayweather will take place on Saturday, September 14 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. In spite of facing the most important fight of his career, Alvarez displays the collectedness of a man who is never worried.

Canelo, a redhead with matinee idol looks, is the No. 1 boxing attraction in Mexico. He is on the cusp of joining the same club as Mexican boxing legends like Carlos Zarate, Julio Cesar Chavez Sr., Marco Antonio Barrera and Erik Morales.

What’s at stake? A victory over Mayweather would cement Canelo’s legacy as one of the all-time greats in Mexican boxing history.

Alvarez received advice from fellow Mexican boxer and mentor, Oscar De La Hoya, who lost to Mayweather in 2007, could give Alvarez the edge to defeat Mayweather. “Floyd is a different kind of fighter and this is a different kind of fight,” Alvarez said. “For every fight there’s a game plan. But that game plan can go out the window in the first round. So you have to have a Plan B and a Plan C. And that is what we’ll work on.”

“For one thing, youth is on his side,” De La Hoya said of the 23-year-old Canelo, who hails from Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico. “But the real advantage will be the intelligence. People will also be surprised with his speed.”

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Mexico to play Trinidad and Tobago in Gold Cup Quarterfinal Match

Mexico will play Trinidad and Tobago on July 20 at 6:35 pm Eastern Time at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta in the second quarterfinal match of the 2013 CONCACAF Gold Cup. The match will be televised live in the United States on Fox Soccer.

Mexico advanced to the quarterfinal after going 2-1 in group stage play. After losing to Panama 2-1, El Tri rebounded by defeating Canada 2-0 and Martinique 3-1. Trinidad and Tobago drew with El Salvador 2-2, lost to Haiti 2-0, and then beat Honduras 2-0 to advance out of Group B.

The winner of Mexico versus Trinidad and Tobago will face the winner of the Panama-Cuba match. Mexico is seeking its third straight Gold Cup title, having won the tournament in 2009 and 2011 by defeating the United States. Mexico has won more Gold Cup titles than any other CONCACAF nation (6 wins) and has had more tournament appearances (with 20).

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Taekwondo World Opens in Central Mexico's City of Puebla

The 2013 World Taekwondo Championships began in Central Mexico’s city of Puebla this weekend. This year marks the 21st annual Championships for men’s events, and the 14th annual for women. Over 800 athletes from 134 countries and regions will be competing for seven days for an audience of over 5,000 locals.

The opening ceremony was held on Saturday, with a folk dance performance depicting the traditional Mexican legend of Popocatepetl – an active volcano in the Puebla region. Also, Puebla’s governor Rafael Moreno Valle and the World Taekwondo Federation’s president Choue Chung-won spoke and opened the biennial Championships, which are scheduled for July 15-21st. They expressed their hopes for the best championships in the Federation’s history and thanked Puebla’s local government for hosting the tournament.

"Dear athletes please train hard and compete fairly, to show the audience of Puebla, Mexico and the whole world how wonderful is taekwondo," Choue Chung-won said.

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