I'm going to have to split the news roundup into two parts. Today was a really long day at work and I don't have time to do much blogging before bedtime. The other news will come tomorrow.
The biggest news from the weekend's matches has to be Panama's shock elimination at the hands of El Salvador. After I completed the scoreboard updates of the second round, I stared for about 15 minutes at the El Salvador-Panama result, unable to believe what I had just witnessed. The word 'shock' appeared a lot in the news websites of both countries. While shock was combined with jubilation in El Salvador, it was mixed with sadness and recriminations in Panama.
Let's start with El Salvador. El Gráfico's main story about the comeback was titled "Hombrada!", which my Spanish dictionary tells me is an action corresponding to a valiant or manly effort. There are interviews with the heroes on the field and a longer chat with Carlos de los Cobos who never lost faith in his team even after Panama's early goal. Those themes of heart and faith appear again and again in the news reports. Prensa Gráfica called the result "Miraculous". El Mundo calls it "Historic". The support in the stands of the Cuscatlán was intense. And the Salvadoran president comes forward with cash prizes for the goal scorers.
The mood was very different in Panama, made even worse by that away goal that forced the Salvadorans to score a seemingly unlikely three times to advance. La Prensa described the match as the curse of Cuscatlán, as Panama was eliminated for the fifth time by El Salvador and the third time in the closing minutes. The Mexican official Marco Antonio Rodríguez was heavily criticized for the penalty that levelled the aggregate score, and when I watched the play on TV I felt that it wasn't a penalty. I felt the ejection of Adolfo Machado was an even worse decision; the sole replay was from a distant camera, but I couldn't see where the Salvadoran player was touched in the face (which drew the ejection). But would it have mattered had Blas Pérez scored the 0-2 at close range right in front of goal?
At any rate, the supporters suffered a deep disappointment which they took out on the players and coach when they returned to Panama this afternoon. And now the recriminations are beginning against Alexandre Guimaraes (here and here) for his questionable mid-game adjustments and the lack of quality preparation, and the federation president Ariel Alvarado for having this debacle occur under his watch (here's one from a columnist at El Siglo and another from La Estrella). Interesting to note that Julio Dely Valdes, who was the interim manager of the national team before Guimaraes, is currently an assistant coach at Málaga (recently promoted to the top flight in Spain). He said that he would never coach the Panamanian national team again, but it's possible that a change at the top of the federation could induce him to change his mind.
I appreciate the links. Thanksyou for your work
Posted by: steven Englert | June 24, 2008 at 09:32 AM
My view of the HEX I hope you do not mind the link
Posted by: James Lagrange | June 24, 2008 at 10:40 AM
My view of the HEX
http://concacaf-futball.blogspot.com/2008/06/hex.html
Posted by: JAmes LaGrange | June 24, 2008 at 10:42 AM