Hugone

Hugo Sánchez has been relieved of his position as the manager of the Mexican national team.

For English speakers, here are press reports from Reuters and the Associated Press, and commentary from Steven Goff, Bernardo Fallas and Ives Galarcep.  I'm sure it's being discussed on BigSoccer.com as well.    For the Spanish speakers, ESTO has an update on their website and a long piece written earlier today by Carlos Trápaga, editor of ESTO, appealing for Sánchez to stay in his post.  Medio Tiempo has lots of coverage, including press reports, reactions within and without Mexico, and a blog that covered the FMF meeting.

So, briefly:  by a unanimous vote the board of directors of the FMF, comprised of the owners of the first division clubs, terminated Sánchez's contract.  Jesús "Chucho" Ramírez, who coached the Mexican U-17 team that won the world championships three years ago, will be the interim coach.  Names being bandied around as a permanent replacement include Enrique Meza, Javier Aguirre, and Ricardo LaVolpe.  Ramírez, of course, could make the position his if Mexico get better results under his command.

Well that's it for Hugo Sánchez, who found out that being in the arena is very different from sniping from the sidelines.  I expected more from Sánchez based on his achievements with UNAM, but his hubris got the best of him in the end.  His best effort was the 3rd place at the Copa América, but the failure to even reach the semifinals of what was a very mediocre CONCACAF Olympic qualifying tournament was unforgivable.  You just know that Ricardo LaVolpe has to be laughing to himself from his home in Buenos Aires.

One question: if this failure is to be shared by the Mexican federation and the rest of Mexican football, as Trápaga claimed and Compeán admitted, why is Compeán still in charge?