So far, Sven-Göran Eriksson (left) has found the right roster blend with Mexico, including recalling star veteran Cuauhtémoc Blanco. AP Luis Bueno's Mailbag Submit a comment or question for Luis. Name: Email: Hometown: Question: SEND

Mexico hardly looked like world beaters in a 2-1 win over Honduras on Aug. 20, Sven-Göran Eriksson's debut as coach. Honduras went up early and held a 1-0 lead for more than a half hour before Mexico answered with two late goals to win the World Cup qualifying match.

But there was one silver lining amid all the potential uncertainty: The roster looked good.

Eriksson may still have quite a bit of on-the-job learning to undergo -- there's nothing like starting a job with three consecutive World Cup qualifiers -- but he has laid the foundation for success. Despite likely not having much of a working knowledge of Mexico, Eriksson compiled an impressive roster for his first-ever match in charge of El Tri.

His latest roster is also along those lines as he's got useful links to the past (Oswaldo Sánchez, Cuauhtémoc Blanco, Pável Pardo), established stars (Rafael Márquez, Andrés Guardado) as well as potential future superstars (Carlos Vela, Giovani dos Santos).

Now, Eriksson and Mexico will prepare for a pair of key qualifiers that could all but give El Tri a spot in next year's Hexagonal. Mexico will play at Jamaica on Sept. 6 and host Canada on Sept. 10 in Chiapas. This time, however, Eriksson will have a lot more time to spend with his team -- the Mexican league will all but shut down following this weekend's matches. The squad will report on Sept. 2 and will have a full four days of training before the match in Jamaica.

Pachuca's decline and fall

Long ago, the luster started to fade on Pachuca's reign. This season, it may come off completely.

Even as late as this summer, when Pachuca reached the SuperLiga 2008 semifinals, Pachuca flexed some of the power that helped it collect trophies with relative ease for nearly two years. But the Apertura '08 season may finally end whatever sheen remained from the recent glory days.

Through six weeks, Pachuca has joined fully half of the Mexican league in a dubious collection of teams with one win each. Worse, los Tuzos were one of two teams that hadn't won in their first five games -- Indios also didn't win until their sixth try. But Indios just joined the First Division this season, a far cry from the two league titles and four international trophies Pachuca gathered over the past two years.

Perhaps losing several key players has finally caught up to them. Gone are players such as Aquivaldo Mosquera, Marvin Cabrera, Juan Carlos Cacho and Andrés Chitiva, talents who made Pachuca a major power. That sort of talent is difficult to replace, and the club is struggling with instability.

On paper, Pachuca should be accustomed to fighting through changes. A factor in its long-held success were a series of coaching changes. Though it would seem the opposite would hold true, los Tuzos were always a threat in league play while going through several different coaches. Indeed, Pachuca won five league titles from 1999 to 2007 with five different head coaches.

But after helping make Pachuca the first Mexican team to win a South American tournament (the '06 Copa Sudamericana title), two CONCACAF Champions' Cups and the SuperLiga '07 trophy, manager Enrique Meza has earned a bit of stability in a league where coaches move around just as much as the players.

If Pachuca continues losing games this season, though, even Meza may come under fire. Maybe then los Tuzos could start the long process of reconstructing their empire.

Mailbag

Why do youth programs in this country have a problem retaining young Latino players? Its not like Man U or Liverpool are swooping in and waving big checks at these players (big checks in both the literal or figurative sense). It seems these players have all been rejected by soccer programs in the U.S. To me, it is symbolic of the problems MLS and U.S. Soccer have in gaining the interest and respect of this country's soccer fans. As a Celtic supporter, I find it hard to take the league seriously, and the fact it lets quality young talent slip away is one of the reasons.
-- John, New York

There are probably many different theories why the Latino talent base has been virtually untapped in this country. But even when Latino players take the next step and get into some sort of youth development system, it isn't necessarily productive.

José Francisco Torres and Edgar Castillo were both standouts in high school and were both in the Olympic Development Program. Neither rose through the ranks of the American system, however, and both needed to go down to Mexico to further their development. But Castillo's national-team prospects with the U.S. are nonexistent, as he is Mexico's property. Torres still hasn't shut out the possibility of playing for the U.S. despite turning down an Olympic invite.

The American system, however, is badly broken. There are likely thousands of talented youngsters who either aren't given a chance or simply overlooked by coaches and/or scouts who would make valuable additions to MLS clubs and possibly the U.S. national team, and if they aren't scouted by Mexican teams, they will end up fading into obscurity.

Every time I read an article claiming that an MLS team is out of sorts, and these are frequent occurrences, it just reinforces the notion that MLS owners are too hamstrung by the league's salary rules to ever find any consistency. That's not to say that New England or Houston haven't been consistent, it's just that every team is always one or two broken parts away from disaster because clubs simply don't have the financial ability to fix things, or God forbid, try to improve above the current MLS-best level. It's a shame.
-- Adam, New York

It is a shame. MLS' rules only hurt its clubs, both within league play and internationally. MLS' salary cap is pathetically low and the roster limits are a hindrance. Developmental contracts should be done away with, and players should get raises across the board.

When the league's collective bargaining agreement runs out in early 2010, the first addition to a new CBA should be an increase in the salary structure. When teams such as Chivas USA and D.C. United are forced to play in league, SuperLiga and in CONCACAF Champions League, their rosters are put to tests that cannot be passed. It's difficult to acquire depth without having the ability to pay for it. New England and Houston, as you point out, are exceptions to the rule.