Wednesday December 5, 2007
Mexico's Pachuca confident ahead of Club World Cup
TOKYO (AP) - Pachuca coach Enrique Meza is confident his players can overcome recent struggles in the Mexican league and the absence of key defender Aquivaldo Mosquera to make a big impact at the FIFA Club World Cup.
"We have great expectations as to what we can achieve here,'' Meza said in Tokyo on Wednesday. "We are a worthy team to represent CONCACAF and now we are here we want to be No. 1.''
The Dec. 7-16 Club World Cup features the champions of FIFA's continental club competitions. Italian giants AC Milan, South American champions Boca Juniors of Argentina, Asian winners Urawa Reds of Japan, Asian runner-up Sepahan of Iran and Oceania winner Waitakere United of New Zealand are the other clubs participating.
Pachuca defeated Chivas of Guadalajara in April after a penalty shootout to lift the CONCACAF Champions' Cup and qualify.
"We've not been at our best in the past few weeks, but we've played 90 matches in the last six months and that is too much, and tiring physically and mentally,'' said Meza, who added that the return from injury of veteran goalkeeper and captain Miguel Calero has come at the perfect time.
"We now have Calero back and he is a great player, and the whole team is happy he is back,'' said Meza.
Pachuca plays African Champion Etoile Sahel of Tunisia on Sunday in a quarterfinal match.
The winner from the match between Pachuca and Etoile faces Boca in the semifinals, with the final scheduled for Yokohama on Dec. 16. Brazil's Internacional beat European powerhouse Barcelona 1-0 in last year's final.
Pachuca beat David Beckham's Los Angeles Galaxy in the SuperLiga final in August for its fifth major title in less than two years, but the Mexicans have since hit a rough patch that has seen them drop to ninth place in their country's Primera Division.
Midfielder Jaime Correa said the loss of star defender Mosquera to Spanish League club Sevilla is not the reason for the drop in form, adding that overcoming jet lag is now Pachuca's biggest challenge.
"We are ready with or without Mosquera. You will soon see how well we have covered his loss,'' Correa said. "It was a very long trip (from Mexico) and we are jet lagged, but we are also highly motivated and there are a few more days before the match, so we have time to prepare ourselves for Etoile.''-AP
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