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 News Around the Republic of Mexico | January 2005 
Pumas Start Mexican Hattrick Quest
 Associated Press
 Mexico City - UNAM begin their quest for a third successive title as the Mexican Clausura championship kicks off at the weekend while Cuauhtemoc Blanco may have to wait for his America comeback because of injury.
The Pumas travel to Guadalajara to face UAG where they begin the defence of their crown while the Eagles, who have brought back the fiery Blanco six months after kicking him out of the club for indiscipline, are away to Sinaloa.
Blanco, who was off-loaded to Veracruz for his part in an astonishing brawl following a Libertadores Cup tie last May, has a slight thigh strain and faces a late fitness test.
Latin America's richest domestic championship, which attracts players from all over the region, will see some changes including a controversial modification to the foreigners rule.
The Mexican Football Federation (FMF) ruled last week that teams could field five foreigners in all matches, overturning a rule based on a 1945 presidential decree which placed a limit of four per team for matches in Mexico City's federal district.
The move brought protests from the Mexican Players' Union, which was already unhappy at the number of foreigners, as well as controversy over whether the decision was legal.
The FMF has also reduced the number of fixtures to allow time for a crowded international calendar which includes World Cup qualifiers and South American Libertadores Cup matches for Pachuca, Guadalajara and UNL.
As usual, the 18 teams will play each other once in the qualifying stage but are divided into three groups.
This time, however, the top two in each group qualify for the quarter-finals, followed by the two teams with the best overall records regardless of group. This replaces the complicated repechage system used previously.
Two championships, the Apertura and Clausura, are played in the Mexican season and UNAM, coached by former Real Madrid and Mexico striker Hugo Sanchez, have won the last two.
Sanchez has set his team the target of winning five championships in a row while his personal aim is equally ambitious. He wants to be recognised as the best coach in Latin America. "If we can win two in a row, we can win five," he said recently.
Argentine striker Bruno Mariano, who spearheaded the attack in last year's Clausura, has rejoined the club from Spain's Tenerife, replacing Mexican international Francisco Fonseca, who has gone to local rivals Cruz Azul.
America and Cruz Azul, the other two big Mexico City clubs, have under-achieved in the last year and are desperate to improve.
Cruz Azul, who host Puebla on Saturday, have made five new signings as they attempt to improve on a dismal display in the Apertura, when they finished bottom of their group. Newcomers include Honduras striker Carlos Pavon and Mexico defender Salvador Carmona.
Another team looking to do better are Guadalajara, who have so far failed to live up to the brash promises of their flamboyant president Jorge Vergara. Guadalajara, the country's most popular club and the only one with a Mexicans-only policy, were beaten by their smaller neighbours Atlas in the Apertura quarter-finals, a far cry from Vergara's promise to turn them into the biggest club in Latin America. |
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