🇲🇽🇺🇸 El Tri, USA learning that replacing a manager takes patience
PLUS: I jinxed Tigres & Central America drama in the Conca-catch-up!
It turns out replacing a manager is hard to do.
Mexico and the United States both return to competitive action in March, but neither has a long-term plan in place ahead of the 2026 World Cup. That tournament will take place in North America, with heightened expectations for both teams to excel on home soil.
El Tri is expected to name either former Tigres (and Mexico) manager Miguel Herrera or Pachuca coach Guillermo Almada as the new leader in the near future ahead of a Concacaf Nations League trip to Suriname and a home game against Jamaica, while the United States will keep rolling with interim manager Anthony Hudson for games vs. Grenada and El Salvador.
Mexico continues to look for a new senior men’s national team manager after Tata Martino’s contract ran out after the World Cup. The U.S. is mired in a different situation, waiting for the results of an investigation into what happened between Gregg Berhalter, his wife, the Reyna family and other involved parties (and seeming to hope Berhalter finds another job so it can hire a different boss and have a clean break from the leadership group in the 2022 cycle).
While the situations differ, there’s something directors on both sides of the border, and the fans along with them, are recognizing: Finding the right new national team manger requires a fair bit of patience.
In the past, flashy names like Pep Guardiola, Jose Mourinho and Mauricio Pochettino spoke about their willingness to take the challenge and lead one of the host teams into the 2026 World Cup.
Yet, while it seems like those types of candidates are intrigued by North American national teams, they’re not so intrigued as to want to work here now.
With the openings coming in the middle of the European club season and with many managers with international experience working out their own situations either coming off the World Cup in December or in the midst of building a project elsewhere, it’s not that the jobs aren’t appealing. It’s that the timing isn’t right.
Even Marcelo Bielsa, whose name has cropped up in the gossip surrounding both jobs, seems interested in evaluating club openings before returning to the international game for the first time since 2011.
That the owners of several Liga MX clubs are rumored to have torpedoed Bielsa’s candidacy moving forward is unsurprising. Even with “El Loco” seeming like the type of candidate who could be right to lift Mexico from its current situation, being neither a World Cup-contending dynamo nor a team in any danger of being knocked from Concacaf’s top three, a select group of owners can decide which candidate is really best.
The power those owners - and only some owners - wield over the national team, and the way they prioritize keeping players on their books for their own domestic success and marketing purposes, is something any worldly manager is award they’d have to fight against.
“In Mexico something unique happens: You have internal sales from club to club for players worth $8 million-$10 million,” Martino said last week. “I don’t imagine any (South American) player worth $10 million domestically who wouldn’t have interest on the international market.
“Mexico is a very strong country, there are really solid clubs that pay good money, so you see this situation where sales are important but at the same time there are players you say should go abroad and they don’t have the European market. That hurts because the player stays at home and doesn’t end up growing.”
How to overcome that without alienating the owners calling the shots is the biggest paradox Martino’s replacement will have to reconcile.
The U.S. hasn’t exactly made it easier on themselves either. With the sporting director and general manager both exiting, exactly who on the sporting side would be making this critical decision is somewhat opaque.
While both North American powers look toward the summer at earliest and 2026 at the latest, there will be an expectation for March’s Nations League matches to almost win themselves. And, to be fair, they probably will, with each traveling some distance to play a much lower-ranked team and then hosting the top competitors.
Even the most ardent fan of the Nations League (guilty) has to recognize that a blip in the Nations League - especially before it’s used as qualification for the 2024 Copa América - is preferable to rushing, hiring the first manager who takes the job and putting the program’s long-term success at risk.
Liga MX update
Tigres have two draws in two matches since I wrote that they were the team to beat and would have no trouble scoring. Instead, Tigres pumped a bunch of crosses into the box but didn’t score, settling for a point in a 0-0 draw.
That said, they will need time to integrate new forward Nico Ibañez and winger Diego Lainez, who is in Monterrey with his signing set to be announced today. Still, while we’ve seen positive early returns from Atletico San Luis, the scoreless draw wasn’t what anyone expected.América 6-0 Mazatlan: Remember last week when we asked if América should panic?
Las Aguilas got a hat trick from Henry Martin plus contributions from elsewhereThe challenge now will be to do it against a good opponent. A trip to Santos is ahead this weekend, but after there’s a three-match stretch where América will expect to earn some points.
Atlas 2-2 Santos Laguna Honors even in the ClasicOrlegi, which I picked as my top match of the weekend. It largely lived up to expectations, with an Atlas team I still haven’t entirely figured out able to rally twice to secure a point Thursday night.
Chivas bounced back from a loss to Toluca that had some fans sharpening the knives for new manager Veljko Paunović with a 2-1 victory in Juarez. Most encouraging in this one? How good Victor Guzman played. He’s supposed to be the heart and soul of the Goats with Alexis Vega injured and looked it Saturday, with a goal from the penalty spot, good passing and a decent sync
”We know that’s how it is. We’re at Chivas and we know the pressure that comes with that,” Guzman said after the game in response to criticism during the week. “I they enjoy this win. Sometimes you have a bitter drink, criticism during the week, now it’s about enjoying. I hope they enjoy this long week we have.”Puebla 1-2 Monterrey - Rayados quietly keep rolling on
Tijuana 0-0 Pumas
Toluca 0-0 León - What looks like a meh result for León actually is a huge coup, with La Fiera going down to 10 men in the 37th minute and to nine in the 63rd. Rodolfo Cota made eight saves.
Pachuca 2-1 Necaxa
Queretaro-Cruz Azul was set for this weekend but was postponed, largely to allow Queretaro to get gate receipts. The Gallos Blancos’ suspension levied after last year’s stadium violence is nearing its end, and the league is working to help the club get its financial footing, including moving a game vs. a grande back.
Vamos Conca-catch-up! Esta noche tenemos que informar!
🇸🇻 Remember the beef between INDES, the Salvadoran government’s sport wing headed by presidential brother Yamil Bukele, and the Salvadoran federation FESFUT?
It’s been a long back and forth, but what you should know is there have been long-running disputes with El Salvador risking FIFA suspension because of he government wants to run the sport. The federation isn’t exactly the good guy, with the former president hauled in on credible charges of fraud.
But things took another turn last week, with INDES announcing a deal that would run through this year and be renewable for up to five years providing millions of dollars in investment in exchange for the naming rights for the competition, now christened Liga INDES.
The deal ranges from funds for each first division team, $4,000 to each registered barra for instruments and money for the growth of women’s soccer and beach soccer (which is huge in El Salvador).
This, unsurprisingly, has drawn FIFA’s attention because of the governing body’s strict rules against direct government control of any elements of its member associations.
INDES claims that if further investigation shows the partnership does run afoul of FIFA regulations, it will “take a step aside”.
In league play, Alianza started the year with a win over Platense, but after scoring earlier in the game captain Rodolfo Zelaya was sent off and decided to have a go at Platense’s Ronald Padilla. He’ll be suspended, though the length of the suspension hasn’t been announced.
🏅 Related to drama between the federation switchover, Concacaf released a statement last week noting the timeline of events leading up to the Central America and Caribbean games, which will take place in San Salvador, El Salvador, in late June and early July.
Despite not qualifying through the agreed programs, (El Salvador would miss out on the men’s side based on U-20 Championship results and should play a playoff vs. Costa Rica on the women’s side), Concacaf granted El Salvador permission to participate as hosts.
At the last edition, six Concacaf teams and a pair of teams from CONMEBOL sent their U-20 men’s teams with the same number sending women’s teams. In Veracruz 2014, seven Concacaf men’s teams and Venezuela sent youth squads with six Concacaf teams plus Venezuela and Concacaf sending women’s teams.
Drama aside, it’s a net positive Concacaf is making its posture clear: That El Salvador isn’t going to get in trouble for sending a youth squad to this competition in a quest to get better.
🇩🇴 The Dominican Republic has filled its men’s national team managerial vacancy, hiring Marcelo Neveleff.
The Argentine joins the DR from the Orlando City academy, where he was the director. He also worked with youth squads for the U.S. national team, the New England Revolution and was the head coach of Orlando City B.
Neveleff replaces Iñaki Bea, who returned to his native Spain in November to manage third-tier Numancia.
🇵🇦 There are 20 days until Panama’s first Women’s World Cup playoff match against Papua New Guinea.
Panama manager Nacho Quintana named his squad for that game and, Panama hopes, the game four days later that would send the winner into the Women’s World Cup.
The usual suspects are all there, led by Pachuca midfielder Marta Cox, Sampdoria forward Lineth Cedeño and Spain-based midfielder Aldrith Quintero. Recent NWSL draft pick Riley Tanner, who scored a pair of goals in a friendly earlier this month against a Colombian club team, also is included.
Panama already is in camp, hoping to avoid the same pain it felt in 2019 when it missed out on a spot in France because of defeat to Argentina in the playoff.
🇭🇳 Fallout continues from last week’s shocking scenes at Real Sociedad when the club president’s brother went to physically confront the manager after a draw, only for the team’s player to defend the manager and fight the director.
The manager, Mauro Reyes, resigned but later had dinner with the club’s brass and agreed to continue in his role. The distractions didn’t help, with Sociedad conceding in the second minute and falling to Real España 3-1 on Sunday.
Neither Olimpia or Marathon could find a goal in Saturday’s big match, ending things scoreless and keeping Olimpia atop the table with seven points through three weeks.
Meanwhile, the FA president said last week the national team will announce a friendly match Tuesday. It will take place some time in March ahead of its Nations League match with Canada. Reading the tea leaves, it may be against Peru in Florida, but that’s all rumor until the announcement.
🇸🇽 Sint Maarten (the Dutch side of Saint Martin) was in action last week with friendly matches for both its men’s and women’s national teams.
The men’s side was in the Netherlands to play a youth squad from Telstar, which beat the Caribbean squad, 1-0.
And the women played against their counterparts from Saint Barthelemy, winning 4-1.
The committee for football on St. Barts, a non-Concacaf, non-FIFA member replied to a comment that it may have more games against Concacaf teams lined up in the future. Something to keep an eye on!
🇹🇹🇲🇫 Speaking of Saint Martins, Trinidad and Tobago and St. Martin played a friendly yesterday, with the Soca Warriors getting a pair of second-half goals to take the 2-0 win. The full match was streamed.
🇲🇶 Malo Gusto signed with Chelsea.
How is that Concacaf news? He apparently is eligible for Martinique! You wouldn’t expect him to chose Martinique since he’s 19 and going to Chelsea and already has played for the France U-21s, but hey. Maybe he’ll surprise us.
Back later this week!
Is Concacaf still using the same eligibility rules as in 2017 (l'affaire Malouda)? That is, if and when Malo Gusto reaches the threshold of games for France, he would be considered cap-tied - and thus ineligible for Martinique - for Concacaf tournaments as well, right?
any word on how WCQ will work for 2026 in concacaf? i know the 3 hosts are in but havent heard how the others will qualify to the fist 48 country WC.