Eriksson enjoys early success with Mexico in World Cup qualifying

New Mexican national team coach Sven-Göran Eriksson is trying to help El Tri qualify for the 2010 World Cup -- and then get into the quarterfinals or beyond. AP Luis Bueno's Mailbag Submit a comment or question for Luis. Name: Email: Hometown: Question: SEND

Until earlier this year, Sven-Göran Eriksson spoke five languages and had managed in four different countries. With the job with the Mexican national team open and his tenure with Manchester City over, he suddenly became the perfect candidate to take over El Tricolor. Never mind that Spanish wasn't among the languages he spoke or that he'd never stepped foot in Mexico.

Now, Eriksson is four months into his tenure as Mexican national team coach and is sitting in a rather comfortable spot. He's won three World Cup qualifiers and is poised to take Mexico to the final round of World Cup qualifying. Mexico will play at Jamaica on Saturday and at Canada on Wednesday.

With Mexico on the verge of advancing to the final round, Eriksson reflected on his brief tenure with El Tri. "I'm extremely happy," he says. "It's easy to enjoy it. There will come harder times I'm sure."

That Eriksson has El Tri on the brink of qualifying may seem natural; Mexico, after all, is by far the best of its four-team semifinal group. But Eriksson didn't know the domestic league or its players very well at all before June. He probably couldn't name which teams played home games at Estadio Jalisco or Estadio 3 de Marzo, let alone what cities they were in. But Eriksson did the only thing he could have done -- dive in feet first.

He knew little Spanish, but took daily language lessons lasting a couple of hours. He now insists on only speaking Spanish with federation officials, players and pretty much everyone in general. Eriksson also have traveled throughout Mexico and has been to Estadio 3 de Marzo in Zapopan as well as Estadio Jalisco in Guadalajara to scout players. In fact, he's been all over Mexico.

Eriksson also visited the Museo Nacional de Antropología, where he learned all about the Aztecs and the Mayans. Life in Mexico City these days is grand for Eriksson. "I don't like it. I love it," Eriksson says. "It's a nice life. It's a nice city and extremely nice people."

That Eriksson is so open-minded and easy to work with has eased his transition into perhaps one of the most challenging coaching jobs in the Western Hemisphere.

"He's very easy going, easy to please, but he wants the best and we want the best so we agree on a lot of things," Director of National Teams Guillermo Cantú says. "In Mexico we say there is a difference between a coach and manager. He's truly a manager but he's also a very good coach."

Eriksson's training sessions tend to be short because of their intensity level. "They have to be short," Cantú says. "I like that and I think the players like that."

Ultimately the players will determine Eriksson fate and legacy. Should they perform well, Eriksson will continue to reap the rewards of success. But should they fail to play up to their capabilities -- or even their perceived capabilities -- Eriksson will likely feel the wrath that is commonplace for the Mexican national team coach.

Eriksson's had some knowledge of the players, at least the ones who played in Europe. "Mexico has 14 or 15 players playing in Europe, and when they play for Barcelona or they play for Stuttgart or for PSV Eindhoven or for whoever it is, do they play Mexican football or do they play worldwide football?" Eriksson says. "I don't think it's that different."

Thus, incorporating the Mexico-based players with players from abroad has not been difficult. "Of course, I think it's important for me and the rest of the coaches that we try to build on what Mexico is good at," Eriksson says, "and that's technique. Mexican football is technically very good, with a lot of speed, and we try to use that as much as possible."

Figuring out which players have the speed and ability from the select group who plays abroad is one thing. Sorting through the rosters of the 18 Mexican First Division clubs is quite another. However, Eriksson wasted no time in scouting players.

"The only way to really scout someone is go and see him play," Cantú says. "That's something the technical staff and Sven do a lot. We cover 80 percent of the games every weekend so that's very good."

One stereotype Eriksson says he's discovered to be false is the perception about the mentality of Mexican players. After all, Mexico has improved by leaps and bounds from 1994 to 2006, El Tri has failed to win a single knockout game in the last four World Cups.

"People always told me that the mentality of the Mexican football player is not good," Eriksson says. "I can't confirm that because I can't see it. We played two of the qualification games and we didn't score in the beginning and we were losing, but mentally the players were very, very strong. They didn't panic. They didn't try to play football for themselves."

Should Eriksson guide Mexico to the Word Cup in 2010 and take El Tri into the quarterfinals or beyond, he will go down as one of the most successful coaches in Mexican history. For now, such lofty aspirations are not necessary for federation officials to feel comfortable with their choice of coach.

"There are awesome coaches in Mexico," Cantú says. "We've had some good coaches on the national team in the past, but I'm very impressed with Sven and I'm very proud of having him coach the national team."