Double Dutch for Mexico
(FIFA.com) Tuesday 20 April 2010
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Over the years, the career paths of Carlos Salcido and Francisco Rodriguez have never diverged for too long. Together the pair formed a very effective defensive partnership for four seasons at Guadalajara. The former then played a starring role for Mexico at the 2006 FIFA World Cup™ in Germany, while the latter looked on approvingly from the bench, snatching just 45 minutes of the final group match against Portugal. Upon the tournament’s conclusion, Salcido left to ply his particularly robust trade in Europe, leaving Rodriguez behind in Mexico. But not for long.
Two years down the line, Rodriguez would join forces with his compatriot once again at PSV Eindhoven, where coach Fred Rutten proceeded to build a new-look team on the foundations provided by the Salcido-Rodriguez central defensive pairing, lifting the club back into the upper echelons of the Eredivisie. At national team level, however, coach Javier Aguirre has made considerably less use of Rodriguez, preferring to align Rafael Marquez alongside Salcido at the back.
But neither of PSV’s Mexican stars would ever criticise El Vasco (‘The Basque’), who, since returning to the helm of the national team after their disastrous start to the qualifying campaign for South Africa, has now got the whole country behind him. “He talks a lot with his players; he’s always pushing us that little bit further, motivating us with just the right words,” explained Rodriguez, called up twice last June by the former Atletico Madrid tactician. “His communication within the group is second to none – it’s one of the secrets of his success with the national team,
(FIFA.com) Tuesday 20 April 2010
Getty Images
Over the years, the career paths of Carlos Salcido and Francisco Rodriguez have never diverged for too long. Together the pair formed a very effective defensive partnership for four seasons at Guadalajara. The former then played a starring role for Mexico at the 2006 FIFA World Cup™ in Germany, while the latter looked on approvingly from the bench, snatching just 45 minutes of the final group match against Portugal. Upon the tournament’s conclusion, Salcido left to ply his particularly robust trade in Europe, leaving Rodriguez behind in Mexico. But not for long.
Two years down the line, Rodriguez would join forces with his compatriot once again at PSV Eindhoven, where coach Fred Rutten proceeded to build a new-look team on the foundations provided by the Salcido-Rodriguez central defensive pairing, lifting the club back into the upper echelons of the Eredivisie. At national team level, however, coach Javier Aguirre has made considerably less use of Rodriguez, preferring to align Rafael Marquez alongside Salcido at the back.
But neither of PSV’s Mexican stars would ever criticise El Vasco (‘The Basque’), who, since returning to the helm of the national team after their disastrous start to the qualifying campaign for South Africa, has now got the whole country behind him. “He talks a lot with his players; he’s always pushing us that little bit further, motivating us with just the right words,” explained Rodriguez, called up twice last June by the former Atletico Madrid tactician. “His communication within the group is second to none – it’s one of the secrets of his success with the national team,
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