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Sven favourite for Mexico job
03/06/2008 09:10 - (SA)
Mexico City - Former England manager Sven-Goran Eriksson is expected to be named Mexico coach on Tuesday in a vote by the owners of the 18 first-division clubs.
Eriksson and Portugal coach Luiz Felipe Scolari were the only men considered by the Mexican Football Federation, and Eriksson was the lead candidate, federation president Justino Compean said last week in Australia.
Both men will be the only candidates voted on by the club owners, Compean said, and the pair have received a package of information about the job.
Eriksson's contract with Manchester City ended on Monday after only one season in charge, and with two years remaining.
The 60-year-old Swede and the club finished "by mutual consent" according to Manchester City.
Ironically, City owner Thaksin Shinawatra was interested in hiring Scolari, but the Brazilian coach didn't want to negotiate until after the European Championship.
Eriksson was in Mexico City but has not made any public comments.
If he becomes Mexico coach he will be the seventh from Europe in Mexico's history and the ninth foreigner. The last foreign coach was Serbian Bora Milutinovic, who resigned in 1997.
Before Milutinovic, Mexico was coached by two Spaniards, two Hungarians and an Englishman.
Hugo Sanchez was fired in March after failing to qualify the Under-23 team for the Beijing Olympics.
Federation officials have cautioned against assuming Eriksson will replace Sanchez.
"Don't make this into a soap opera," said Decio De Maria, the FMF general secretary. "Eriksson is not the only candidate. We can't rule out anyone."
If Eriksson is not picked, it would please several of Mexico's stars, including all-time leading goalscorer Jared Borgetti.
"This is not the time to hire a European coach, because if you do that, you are not thinking in soccer terms," Borgetti said.
He and Carlos Salcido of PSV Eindhoven and Ricardo Osorio of Stuttgart were against Eriksson. The trio was a favorite of former national coach Ricardo La Volpe, who led Mexico to the second round of the last World Cup, and who has expressed his desire to rejoin the team.
- AP
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