The Fish Stinks From the Head

When I asked some time ago what was the matter with Rafa Marquez after he had been ejected for a nasty foul against Tim Howard in a US-Mexico world cup qualifier, I never knew the answer was up a bit higher.

Here's Mexico's hotheaded coach, Javier Aguirre:





He should get a very lengthy suspension, assuming he even keeps his job,

Comments

[pc]

It's hard to know what went through el Vasco's head when he did that. He didn't offer much of an explanation. You could chalk it up to frustration, but Mexico was in the middle of its best stretch at that point, and the Aguirre thing sucked the air right out of the team. It seems like he just lost his head and forgot where he was. It was undeniably out-of-bounds, but it wasn't exactly agressive, and I don't see any intent to injure. The Panamanian initially seemed more confused by it than threatened or angry. I thought three games was fair. Four would have been alright, too. Given how well Mexico played in his absence, the players would probably have preferred to have him away from the field for the August qualifier against the US.

Also, hard to blame Vasco for Márquez's foul, since he was just hired in April.

[Randy Paul]

Also, hard to blame Vasco for Márquez's foul, since he was just hired in April.

Aguirre was coach of El Tri when Marquez tried to decapitate Cobi Jones in the WC 2002 quarterfinals.

[pc]

Good point, I just think that has more to do with Rafa than Aguirre. He had a really nasty run in the Jamaica qualifier right before the US game that didn't get called, but could have broken the guy's leg. And the Cobi Jones foul, and the Howard foul, and various others. He's just got a bit of a dirty streak, at least when he's playing for the national team.