The Jamaica Star :: Sport :: Mixed reactions to Mexico hiring Eriksson as coach

Sweden's Sven-Goran Eriksson holds up a Mexican national football team jersey during a news conference in Mexico City, yesterday. - AP

MEXICO CITY (AP)

Mexico defender Ricardo Osorio continued to bash the appointment of Sven-Goran Eriksson as national coach, while the country's media generally applauded the decision.

Eriksson was elected on Tuesday by an unanimous vote of the owners of Mexico's 18 topflight clubs. The 60-year-old Swede became the ninth foreigner to coach Mexico, and the first in 11 years.

Jesus 'Chucho' Ramirez has been leading the team since Hugo Sanchez was fired on March 31, after failing to qualify the Under-23s for the Olympics, and will remain in charge until Eriksson takes over in July.

Preferred Ramirez

Defender Ricardo Osorio, who was among some senior internationals against Eriksson before the vote, said he would have preferred Ramirez to have become the official coach.

Ramirez coached Mexico to the Under-17 World Cup title in Peru in 2005.

Osorio, who spoke in San Diego before Mexico's friendly against Argentina yesterday, told the Record newspaper that Ramirez "is a winner, who has given us a lot of confidence, and it's not fair to play with a person's feelings like that."

He also complained that the Swede would be impeded by his lack of Spanish.

Win over skeptics

But Eriksson, who speaks five languages, has said he will learn Spanish and win over skeptics.

La Aficion, the sports section of Milenio newspaper, said it will hold him to that. La Aficion led with the headline: "I'm not stupid. The Swede showed diplomacy and warned that he will speak Spanish in a couple of months."

Eriksson, the former England manager, "could signal the start of a new era for Mexican soccer," the Ovaciones newspaper declared, yesterday.

He planned to fly to San Diego to watch the match against Argentina, and then to Chicago to observe Mexico play against Peru on Sunday.

Mexican Football Federation president, Justino Compean, said Eriksson's contract went up to 2010, but the economic terms were not disclosed.