The Mexican Soccer Federation held a press conference Monday afternoon to present Ricardo “Tuca” Ferretti as the new interim coach for El Tri, most notably the Confederation Cup playoff against the United States on October 10th.
There were the obvious questions regarding Miguel Herrera’s dismissal but both Ferretti and Decio De Maria brushed it off. Ferretti did well in taking the backseat when it came to this press conference while also appearing very assertive on the goals he wishes to complete as the interim coach. His primary objective being the October 10th match that will hopefully end with a win for the Aztec side and a ticket to the Confederations Cup.
The press conference has the feeling of someone who understood what was going on at the moment. To the many that have been following and are fans of the Mexican squad, time has been an enemy. The team’s first friendly in preparation for the playoff match is September 4th against Trinidad and Tobago. The second will be played on September 8th against Argentina.
Almost as if answering the prayers of so many who were stuck in limbo about who would be the new coach, “Tuca” made it known at the press conference that he offered his services for the team for these four games and will also continue coach his Mexican club, Tigres, during that time. (Ferretti will have two games with Tigres before the September 4th friendly, 6 games with Tigres after the Argentina match and then will take on the United States for the Confederations Cup playoff in October).
And despite all this crazy scheduling, “Tuca” still kept a very calm composure and gave reassurance that he will be a great interim coach. And onlyan interim coach.
His impression during that press conference sort of took the chip off my shoulder about the person replacing Herrera. There was so much hostility and media pandemonium with the dismall of Herrera that it almost felt as if I would never recover or even grow to want another coach for El Tri (yes, I wanted the players to coach themselves… haha).
He was calm. Funny. Straightforward. Very analytical about the process he is going to take for choosing the first squad he will lead in the match against Trinidad and Tobago.
He avoided any controversy surrounding Herrera and even made it clear that it was a necessity to get in contact with not just Herrera himself, but numerous past head coaches such as Chepo de La Torre and even LaVolpe.
He spoke vaguely about which players will be coming to play. Ferretti made it known that naturalized players also have the possibility of being called up to the next four matches he will be in charge of leading during his time. Players of all ages are open to a possible slot. The only direct statement he made was that Alan Pulido would not be called up. “He’s not even on the list,” he stated.
His approach was not to start from scratch and make his team but to cultivate the good things that came from Herrera’s time in charge that will help pave the foundation and create something positive for the person that will permanently be in charge of the team. He has great respect for the Mexican team as an outsider. He wants them to succeed. As he put it, to see Mexico advance farther in a World Cup is “an obsession” of his. If this is a choice from the federation to make more time to pick a permanent person, I believe they made a good choice.
He handled it well in front the media. Now it’s time to see how he handles it on the field.
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