The Mexican side that will face the US on February 6th, has just been unveiled by the National Team coach, and has a couple of surprises for the Mexican public. The call-ups of Antonio de Nigris (Ankaraspor) and Antonio Naelson (Sinha), are the surprises to me.
Although there had been some expectation regarding de Nigris, given his goal scoring ways in the far away Turkey and his relationship with Hugo Sanchez. It seems to me that this is his golden chance to make a claim to a spot on the 2010 World Cup Squad. De Nigris has turned into an interesting player in my eyes, presenting much life experience, international experience, and has generally had to work hard in order no to disappear completely. He is has taken an unexpected path, but I think he may just have the right type of attitude on the personal side to contribute a lot to the national team, I will be awaiting a gritty and gutsy performance from him, if he shows any talent I would consider it a bonus.
On the Sinha situation I think it shows something about Hugo Sanchez, given his extense criticism on Ricardo Antonio Lavolpe, for calling him and Guillermo Franco to the past World Cup team. I think that this shows that Sanchez just tried to gain public support by appealing to a very populist and nationalist side of the Mexican public. They have always been talented players yet and Hugo knows this, but he just catered to his own interests instead of contributing to create a more positive environment for the team in the past World Cup.The list is the following:
Goalkeepers
Guillermo Ochoa (América); Luis Ernesto Michel (Guadalajara); Moisés Muñoz (Monarcas).
Defenders
Israel Castro (Pumas) ; Rafael Márquez (Barcelona) ; Carlos Salcido (PSV), Jonny Magallón (Guadalajara) ; Fauto Pinto (Pachuca) ; y Óscar Rojas (América).
Midfielders:
Fernando Arce (Santos); Pável Pardo (Stuttgart); Gerardo Torrado (Cruz Azul); Andrés Guardado (Deportivo La Coruña); Giovani Dos Santos (Barcelona) y Antonio Naelson Sinha (Toluca)
Forwards:
Adolfo Bautista (Jaguares de Chiapas); Juan Carlos Cacho (Pachuca); Carlos Vela (Osasuna) y Antonio de Nigris (Ankaraspor)
