Chivas loses Omar Bravo and Maza Rodriguez to Europe, Other Potential Changes in Store
On Friday, May 30, former Chivas defender, Francisco “Maza” Rodriguez signed a three year contract with PSV Eindhoven. He will now play with another former player for Guadalajara, Carlos Salcido on defense. It is not known what number he’ll wear or whether his jersey will say “Maza” or “Rodriguez” on the back. Omar Bravo, who became only the second player for Chivas to score one hundred goals, is also leaving. Bravo signed a contract with Deportivo La Coruña and will play with former Atlas player Andres Guardado.
Carlos Vela, winner of the Golden Boot in the 2005 U-17 World Cup is leaving Osasuna of Spain to join Arsenal after finally being granted a work permit to play in England. Arsenal signed Vela in November 2005 but work-permit restrictions prevented his playing in England until now. Arsenal manager Wenger has confirmed that Vela will play on the first team.
FC Barcelona is making some big changes and has put players like Ronaldinho and Samuel Eto’o on the market. Rumors have Thierry Henry leaving, Rafa Marquez to Javier Aguirre’s Atletico de Madrid, and Giovani Dos Santos signing with England’s Tottenham. Again, I’d like to note that these are all rumors but expect a completely different team.
The biggest rumor will be decided in the next couple of days, as the best player in the world, Cristiano Ronaldo will decided whether to stay with the Champions League Champions, Manchester United or sign with Real Madrid.
Mexico’s Potential New Coach, Sven Goran-Eriksson
Sven Goran-Eriksson was England’s manager in the 2006 World Cup. After only making the quarterfinals, he was fired. Eriksson is currently manager for Manchester City. Justino Compean; president on Mexico’s soccer federation told a radio station that Eriksson will be introduced as the new coach of the Mexican National team in the next couple of days. Eriksson of Sweden speaks five languages but does not speak Spanish. Many players do not feel he’s the right hire because there’s so little time before the World Cup and that the manager should understand Mexican soccer. Jared Borgetti has been the most vocal player against Eriksson.
The Mexican National Team will tune for the World Cup Qualifiers by playing Peru Sunday, June 8 in Chicago. We’re sending two reporters, Alvaro Macias and Nick Cunnigham to the event. See the exclusive coverage and pictures of the match in our next issue of Hola America.
EURO Cup 2008
The biggest event in soccer of the summer is not the Olympics but the Euro Cup in Austria and Switzerland from Saturday, June 7 to Sunday, June 29. Coach Luis Felipe Scolari and Manchester United’s Cristiano Ronaldo look to lead Portugal to the championship after finishing second in 2004. They are in Group A with one of the two hosts, Switzerland, Turkey, and the Czech Republic. The other host Austria is ranked 101 in the FIFA World Ranking and has never been in a Euro Cup before. They are in Group B with Germany, Croatia, and Poland.
The “Group of Death” is Group C with 2006 World Cup Champion Italy and runner up France in the same group. The Netherlands is another pretty good team is in this group. One of those three teams will be eliminated after the first round. Romania has no chance in Group C, I believe. Let’s not forget about the defending champion, Greece, as they look to defend their title but will have a hard time getting out of a tough Group D with Russia, Spain, and Sweden. If you’re wondering, where’s England? Well they did not qualify for the 2008 Euro Cup after losing to Croatia 3-2 at Wembley Stadium.
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