Whichever way he turns, Mexico coach Sven-Goran Eriksson, whose team face his native Sweden in a friendly on Wednesday, runs into trouble.

If he looks to Europe for players, Eriksson will find most Mexicans either injured or warming the bench at their respective clubs. Previously seen as a chance to bring a more competitive and professional attitude to the national side, the export of Mexican players has become another headache for the national coach.

That leaves Eriksson with the Mexican championship — but here most of the top players are foreigners. Toluca won the most recent domestic title in December thanks largely to the exploits of their 39-year-old goalkeeper Hernan Cristante, born in Argentina, a stingy defence marshalled by Paraguayan Paulo da Silva and an attack led by Chilean Hector Mancilla, the championship’s top scorer (in previous championships, the topscorers were Humberto Suazo, another Chilean, and Alfredo Moreno, an Argentine).

Many of Mexico’s foreigners have enjoyed their stay so much that they have settled down, raised families and taken out Mexican nationality. But this has brought Eriksson yet another dilemma. Four members of his squad to face Sweden were born outside Mexico, bringing howls of protest from the Mexican media and even members of his own squad. (more…)

Has anything like this ever happened in football before?

Deportivo San Martin will win the Peruvian championship on Sunday if they lose their final game of the regular season. But if they win the match, they could have to face Universitario in a two-leg playoff.

This odd and unfortunate situation has arisen thanks to the weird and wonderful format used for the championship. (more…)

French politicians were outraged after the Marseillaise was booed by the large contingent of Tunisia fans before Tuesday’s friendly at the Stade de France.  

Sports minister Roselyne Bachelot said that France matches must be stopped if it happens again and French Football Federation chief Jean-Pierre Escalettes was summoned by President Nicolas Sarkozy for a meeting.  

Escalettes, however, warned of potential security problems if the threat was carried out.

“You can’t take a decision like that without having guarantees in terms of security,” he said. “You can’t throw 50,000 people out on the streets without having planned it in advance.”  

A much easier solution, perhaps, would be not to play national anthems at all. (more…)

South America’s Libertadores Cup has reached the quarter-finals and, for those lucky enough to see it (it’s sadly shunned by most tv networks outside the region), offers a refreshing change to the predictability of its richer European counterpart.  

Only three of the eight teams reached this stage last year, there are no clear favourites for the title and all four ties remain wide open after last week’s first legs.  

Titleholders Boca Juniors face a tough battle after being held 2-2 at home by Mexico’s Atlas but are far from dead and buried, especially if the mercurial Juan Roman Riquelme can hit form. They were in a similar situation last year after drawing at home with Libertad in the first leg, but hit back for a 2-0 win in Asuncion.  

Boca’s fellow Argentines San Lorenzo also drew at home last week, 1-1 against Ecuadorean champions LDU, but have already shown they are the last team you would want to write off.  

In the group stage, Ramon Diaz’s team somehow came from 2-0 behind to beat Real Potosi 3-2 away — at nearly 4,000 metres above sea level — and in the last sixteen they fought back from 2-0 behind with nine men against River Plate to draw 2-2 and win 4-3 on aggregate.  

LDU, on the other hand, remain a good bet to take the trophy to Ecuador for the first time.  

Sao Paulo, where Adriano is enjoying a revival after being loaned from Inter Milan, take a slender 1-0 lead to Fluminense in the all-Brazilian tie while Santos, Pele’s former club, are still confident they can overcome a 2-0 deficit against America, the other Mexican side.  

America have already pulled off the tournament’s biggest upset, winning 3-0 away to Flamengo in the last round after losing 4-2 in the first leg, and their Paraguayan striker Salvador Cabanas, ridiculed by the Brazilian media as “fat”, is joint top scorer with eight goals.  

Although it is ignored elsewhere and despite the continued exodus of top players, the Libertadores is flourishing.  

There were full houses for all four ties last week with 90,000 watching America at the Azteca stadium.  

And, whoever eventually reaches the final, their supporters won’t be forced to travel thousands of kilometres to watch as the tie is played over two legs.

Brian Homewood, Rio

Mexico make a rare visit to Europe when they face Ghana at Craven Cottage on Wednesday in what could be their last game under coach Hugo Sanchez.

The former Real Madrid striker is widely regarded as the finest player Mexico has produced and seemed the obvious choice to replace Ricardo La Volpe following the 2006 World Cup.

Sanchez had been lobbying for the job for a long time, brashly promising to win the World Cup and claiming that his winning mentality would rub off on a team long been regarded as underachievers.

Yet, barely 18 months after taking over, Sanchez’s job is on the line. Defeat against the United States in last year’s CONCACAF Gold Cup final went down very badly, especially after Mexico also lost to Honduras in the group stage and struggled to 1-0 wins over Panama and Guadeloupe in the same tournament.

Things looked much better in the Copa America shortly afterwards as Mexico beat Brazil 2-0 in the group stage and thumped Paraguay 6-0 in the last eight before going down to a Lionel Messi-inspired Argentina in the semi-finals.

But last week’s failure of the under-23 team, which Sanchez also coaches, to qualify for the Olympic Games has put him firmly back in the firing line.

On the plus side, Sanchez has secured the services of Nery Castillo and Giovani dos Santos when other national teams had been after after them.

But critics say his 4-4-2 system is too predictable and he does not have the tactical know-how to change the course of the game with substitutions.

The under-23 team were in poor physical shape and their preparations for the CONCACAF Olympic qualifiers in the United States took them to no fewer than five cities in the U.S. and Mexico.

Sanchez is also criticised for refusing to recognise his mistakes and for what some see as a failure to practice what he preaches. Before taking over as Mexico coach, he had complained about the team playing too many friendlies in the United States — but this has continued under his leadership with games in Phoenix, San Diego, Oakland, Denver, Los Angeles and Houston. The Ghana game will be the first time Mexico have ventured outside the Americas under him.

And, having criticised La Volpe for fielding naturalised players, he has done the same thing himself.

As a club coach, Sanchez won back to back Mexican championships with Pumas UNAM in 2004. But, when they lost form the following year, he was unable to halt the decline and was eventually fired.

The Mexican FA’s national teams committee is due to meet on March 31 to discuss Sanchez’s future.  Should they allow him to carry on?

FILE PHOTO: Hugo Sanchez gestures during Mexico’s Copa America game against  Argentina, July 11, 2007. REUTERS/Jorge Silva