WORLD CUP ETC - LIVE: Mexico Returns to the Azteca

Paul Schmidt-Troschke & Jon Bonfiglio talk live on Mexico’s return to the Azteca, during the friendly match against Portugal. 

Transcript

SPEAKER_03 0:27

Hi everyone, welcome back to World Cup, etc., where tonight I'm joined by uh by Paul Schmidt Troschka here in uh Mexico, just towards the end of the um Mexico against Portugal, friendly at the Estadio Azteca, the first match back for the Mexican national side uh after the or during the refurbishment of the Estadio Azteca because it's not fully uh fully complete yet. Um, and I guess we're looking at three different things. On the one hand is of course the return to the sort of the iconic stadium, on the second hand, how is this uh Mexico national side shaping up? And then I also I think taking the sort of the temperature of the country a little bit as well, how everything is building up to um to the World Cup. Um Paul, let's start with the stadium. Um it's pretty full, but not completely full, uh, of course. Um have you always been aware of the Estadio Azteca as a sort of an emblematic international iconic stadium?

SPEAKER_04 1:26

Not really, I must admit. Um, because especially if you're from Europe, um you're very European football centric because um there's just so much going on, not only on the um on the national levels, but also on the international international levels, of course. Um but uh yeah, I was I was um quite surprised uh seeing um especially like old footage from the 17th uh 70s of of the Azteca. Um humongous building, um especially um um regarding the the construction um or its age basically, marvelous art architecture. Um and uh yeah, very very impressive building.

SPEAKER_03 2:08

Yeah, I mean amazing, and of course the its capacity as well, but also the fact that historically it's lived through such major moments um in in terms of the the World Cups and it and it definitely has its its place in sporting folklore. I mean as regards the Americas, I'd say not just Latin America, but you know, you've got you've got plenty more modern stadiums in the United States, but they don't have the heritage and the pedigree that the likes of the Maracaná, the Estadio Monumental, and the Estadio Esteca uh have here. Uh as far as we can see, everything's uh I mean there's again ongoing as uh as we experienced in the Estadio Akron in Guadalajara um a couple of days ago. There's still ongoing work and lots of last-minute details uh being being attended to, but it seems as though it's pretty well on the way. I mean, this is the acid test a couple of months out, and it's um it's gone without a hitch so far. Yes, um absolutely.

SPEAKER_04 3:02

I mean we uh we have to um to mention this very sad news which was um yeah just hours ago released that unfortunately an uh intoxicated individual died in the Azteca um while trying to climb over the fence and just uh fell to the ground um probably I don't know 10-20 meters. Um but apart from that, um also what what we can see on on the TV is that um everything looks looks quite solid. And I mean if if there still would be major construction issues, the game would not be um uh yeah happening as it is uh right there.

SPEAKER_03 3:37

Yeah, there's sections of the ground which are still empty, and a communique was issued about this particular individual who was apparently in a state of inebriation and tried to climb over one of the private balconies and fell uh right to ground floor and uh he was unable to be um revived. And in the second um uh topic, I guess, uh the Mexico side, how have they shaped up against what is fundamentally a pretty strong Portugal side?

SPEAKER_04 4:00

Yes, I'm I'm actually quite surprised, I would say, that they um that they hold up against Portugal that well. It's still uh 0-0. And um so far I would say that uh the Mexicans only uh gained confidence over the game and um yeah, give give the Portugal uh team a very very good fight. Um and uh yeah, not they could not crack yet.

SPEAKER_03 4:25

Yeah, Portugal could have especially in the first half could have had a couple of uh could have had a couple of goals, but Mexico definitely have sort of grown in strength and stature. I think through them through the game. Uh worth saying that um a couple of things. I think one is that Mexico going into this tournament have been in a kind of in a crisis, uh definitely not one of their sides of the pedigree. They had to bring in the um the returning coach Javier Aguirre, who's now managed Mexico on three separate occasions, on each occasion being brought in. He's he's known as a fireman, El Bombero, to try and put out fire. So there's no great expectations going into this World Cup, but pleasantly surprised so far to see that if they haven't quite held their own, I'd say Portugal have been a little in the ascendancy, they've definitely had their moments, they've definitely cut managed to cut Portugal open on occasion, and they've looked, I think, you know, relatively good on the ball, they've had a decent shape, and um and they're a side that if they get it right could threaten.

SPEAKER_04 5:21

Oh, definitely. Um there has there there were some uh some very nice combinations, um very quick uh on the Mexican side, and they rightly so um identified this tactic as a way they can um yeah they can overcome the Portuguese uh defense and and the the midfield because um the Portuguese are also um not playing static at all, and so you need to you need to play fast to um yeah to open up uh the space you need to then advance uh to towards the goal. And they've shown that they um that they can get to the goal um with with this method, but not successfully so far.

SPEAKER_03 6:04

Yeah, the Portuguese definitely are a side that look as though they know their business, they're very fluid, they have they have a shape, but they can easily break that shape and sort of play into broken play and have creativity and imagination and and look really good. And whilst Mexico haven't quite uh matched Portugal, they've uh certainly not been outclassed by any stretch of the imagination. And uh finally, Paul, your experience over the course of the last few days taking the temperature of where Mexico's at a couple of months outside of the uh the World Cup, how how are you feeling about it? How what's your sense of um the the sort of the the pulse of the nation as regards the upcoming World Cup? Um it's it's um twofold.

SPEAKER_04 6:47

So for one um one matter I was uh quite uh surprised that um when we visited the game uh in of the uh intercontinental playoffs uh between Jamaica and New Caledonia that the stadium was not full, even though the tickets um arguably were were very cheap. It was like about uh 10 euros, 15 or 12 dollars, something like this.

SPEAKER_03 7:09

But it ended up being quite I mean it wasn't full, full, but it ended up being it definitely felt full. Yeah, and it was uh at the time I said that it felt 40%, but I think it was a lot more than that.

SPEAKER_04 7:17

Yeah, it it was uh definitely above 50%. Um and uh yeah, so on on the one side I was I was a bit surprised to see that, but on the other side the um atmosphere in the stadium was uh was amazing. Um of course it was my first time being in uh in a stadium outside of Europe, but um I I loved it, I must say, and uh yeah, the Mexican waves going through the stadium in in such a still low-level game. Um and yeah, just the the fan engagement with uh with what's going uh on on the field, even though these were two teams honestly um for which uh the Mexicans don't have any connections and they still were uh very enthusiastic.

SPEAKER_03 8:00

You've actually just said uh quite a lot of what I said in my Sunday column for Bulso in Pulso newspaper in in uh San Luis Potosí that it it was really interesting to me that again two sides were really I mean certainly in New Caledonia, very unknown in in Mexico, well pretty much anywhere outside of Oceania. Jamaica is pretty well known in Mexico. Uh they were randomly booed every time that they uh they got the ball. There was some antipathy there because they're a regular um antagonist uh arrival to to uh to Mexico. But it seemed to me, given the fact that it was a match that was utterly inconsequential for Mexico, that what the Mexican crowd, the Jalisco crowd, were responding to was almost an imagined an i um a match which wasn't taking place in front of them. They were responding to a make-believe match. And to some extent, this is what I argue in the in the column, I think they were actually uh turning up and reacting to the events of a of a few weeks previously. I think they were I I said that they they they displayed an emotional intelligence in turning up and reacting in a particular way, knowing that this was the first time that the eyes of the world were going to be on them, and that it was their responsibility to demonstrate that what took place a few weeks ago with the so-called narco bloqueos, the blockades on the roads, the burnt buildings, um, and so on, that that does not represent them. So I thought it was a really interesting point of union and inter um intersection between football and actually something which doesn't have anything to do with football at all.

SPEAKER_04 9:36

Yes, um absolutely, and and one one thing um I uh I am very happy to see now is that the security or the yeah security situation and what people can take into the stadium with them is uh was um very tight, um Guadalajara specific. So um yeah I can see uh utensils I would uh expect in in a stadium now here on the TV um of the game in in Mexico City. Um and I'm I'm very happy to see that. So I think it will uh it will relax um to towards the um um yeah start of of the World Cup in Guadalajara as well, hopefully.

SPEAKER_03 10:16

Yeah, the security is strong, but as we've said many times before, it's also not in the interest of the of organized crime to actually destroy any of the or get involved with any of these events because of course they also have um uh a vested interest. But certainly uh today, oh, oh, here we go. No, a chance, late chance for for Mexico, but uh but but nothing going. Uh certainly um it does feel, I think for the first time for me at least over the course of the last few days, as though we're now fully on the pathway to the upcoming World Cup in a in a couple of months' time.

SPEAKER_04 10:47

Yes, absolutely, and if you um if you are in Mexico City, for example, um that so many people are selling uh selling the the Mexico um trickles all over all over the city, and um the people are definitely getting getting ready. Um but I mean it's still some weeks out, so uh the anticipation will will only build up.

SPEAKER_03 11:08

Yeah, although what's depressing me now is that it's um far too many urinals, men's urinals, already have a little uh goal and a little dangly ball inside them for you to to try and urinate on the ball. And obviously you can't get make it go in the goal, but anyway, I guess it concentrates the aim. Thanks everyone for uh for listening. As ever, if uh you know anybody else out there who's interested in um potentially uh listening, joining us on the journey, feel free to share information and uh talk soon.