Velez Sarsfield (Argentina) lost 3-0 against Chivas de Guadalajara (Mexico) in the first leg of the round of sixteen of the Copa Libertadores. The first goal was scored by the Hector Reynoso, the Mexican international had been suspended by the CONMEBOL and his ban had not been removed.

In a 2009 Copa Libertadores cup game against Everton from Chile, Hector Reynoso spat several times on the face of Sebastian Penco after threatening to pass him the swine flu virus (AH1N1), which was considered a pandemic disease last year. After the match Reynoso apologized for his actions, but that did not stop the suspension.

Reynoso played against Velez Sarsfield despite the suspension and this could cost Chivas the ticket to the next round, giving Velez Sarsfield an automatic go. This is sad considering the fact that Chivas outplayed Velez.

Hector Reynoso can cause Chivas elimination from the Copa Libertadores

The buzz in the Mexican media is evident and if one were to read all the headlines coming out of the Aztec media there is a sense of pride in the transfer of Javier Hernández to Manchester United.

For many, he might not have needed the Mexican media machine or his position at Chivas to really make a leap of this level. He is sincerely that good and his potential became reality very quickly in his first two years fresh out of the Sacred Flock's youth system.

There was a certain buzz all throughout the Manchester United camp as they signed a player that will have the possibility of replacing Dimitar Berbatov.

He is doing what only two other players have done in the history of Aztec ball- play for one of the biggest clubs in the world.  This is an honor held only by Hugo Sánchez (Real Madrid) and Rafael Márquez (Barcelona).  We all know what paths they have etched in world football.   Many expect him to do great things in England; a place that has seen players like Jared Borgetti fail miserably with much lesser clubs.

His talent was overshadowed by injury as well as the emergence of Carlos Vela and Giovani Dos Santos in the 2005 U-17 World Cup. Hernández was present two years later at the U-20 held in Canada. For the Aztecs he was a welcome addition to the nucleus of the U-17 side that won it all in Peru. That was the first "Chicharito"sighting.

For many, Hernández will be more like Márquez and Sánchez than Borgetti or Cuahtémoc Blanco (Valladolid).  He is one of the few Mexican players to have, literally, all of the tools to be successful on the pitch.

So what type of player exactly did Alex Ferguson sign and what are these tools I am talking about?

First of all, "Chicharito" Hernández is explosive off the dribble. He can blow by defenders from all angles and come at you from different positions if need be. Coming from the right, Hernández will give that support to Wayne Rooney and open even more space for the Premiership's leading scorer- that's a scary thought.

He has the potential to give the Manchester attack a semblance on offense of a consistent threat since Berbatov has failed to do so. 

He creates space with his dribble.  "Chicharito"can changed directions at the drop of a dime.  He can turn a tiny crease in the defense into a gaping hole with just one cutback.   He will be a huge beneficiary of the tough marking that Wayne Rooney endures to make a name for himself, and then feed Rooney after defenses adjust to him.

He is one of those players that plays for his team and that is something that can pay dividends.

"(Chicharito) has great human qualities and is a very good footballer as well."- Chivas coach José Luis Real

Physically, although he seems fragile, he has a low center of gravity which allows his to remain on his feet. This will neutralize the Premiership defenders that will try to out-body him. He has enough smarts 

He is very effective in the air as he can attack the ball. So if there are any taller defenders underestimating "Chicharito", they could be in for a big surprise.

Most importantly, they are getting a player that has the game in his DNA. His grandfather and father have fed him the game since he was in the womb and that does say a great deal. He will adapt well as his close circle has helped him remain focused in his young career.

This influence reflectos on the pitch in the way he carries himself.  Respectful, hard worker, but most of all... hungry for success.  

Accolades have come his way since he has stolen the spotlight in Mexico:

"A potent version of Hugo Sánchez... but without the prepotence."

"A good version of Borja"

"An improved Luis García"

For some those names might mean little, but to his game it is a roadmap that could guide him to success in a league that is as competitive as the Premiership.

Some might not think that is important, but it is. Having a grandfather that played in the 1954 World Cup as well as a father that played in 1986, that is enough help to help him overcome anything that Manchester can throw his way.

If United are patient with Hernández, like that have been with other talented youngsters that have stepped foot onto the Theatre of Dreams, they could witness a player that will accustom fans to be shocked. Of course, there will be a period of adaptation that he will have to endure, but if you know anything about this kid is that he is as mentally strong as they get.

For those of you who might doubt him taking the pressure of the expectations, well one thing is for sure... he handled the Mexican media quite well. Let's be honest the press there pick fights and try to chum the waters as good as any English reporter out there.

Still he was able to succeed and even excel in his humble and respectful ways. The media have actually become his best ally based on his merits on the pitch.

For Manchester fans this could be a refreshing site as he brings a sense of humility to the game. And that could be the first step in enamoring a group of fickle fans.

Manchester have Hernández... so what do they have?

If there was a jersey that had a great deal of secrecy and Chivas jersey was it. Finally the jersey came out Wednesday night and lots of fans of the Sacred Flock were quite disappointed with their new kit.


Reebok once again became the center of the design controversy for one of Mexico's most popular teams. Last year's design, to my humble taste was much better than this year's. The new kit sees the traditional vertical red and white stripes return- but with a twist. The red stripes are a bit thicker but in the lower part of the of the jersey Reebok has placed a "shredded look", not the best design in the world.
The stripe located in the middle of the jersey stops just short of the collar in order for the designers to place REEBOK logo.

But what has really irritated Chivas fans is the tinkering of the team's crest. That has fans of the team up in arms. So much so is the case that a petition has been started through Twitter as well as Facebook in order to get the attention of Chivas boss Jorge Vergara. In the meantime, Vergara stated that the change in the crest was a "symbol" of the "evolution of Chivas".

The second jersey seems to be overstock from last year's Indios Ciudad Juarez kit. It's reddish-orange color continues the theme of Vergara and Reebok's fascination with orange. In Mexico, Chivas fans are looking up north in order to see the other Chivas side looking more traditional uniform. Chivas USA, courtesy of Adidas, has maintained those values and patterns that fans in Mexico appreciate and long for at the Jalisco for the past three years. There is no doubt that they look much better. So after all of the hype and all
of the glitz and glamour that Chivas generated, there was very little fireworks generated by this new kit. Dissappointing by a ton.

Let us know what you think.

Chivas Jersey Comes Up Short

Amid the lack of cooperation from the rest of the federations in South America, Chivas and San Luis withdrew from South America's premiere club tournament. Brazilian club São Paulo and Uruguayan side Nacional's refusal to go and play in Mexican territory due to the H1N1 virus outbreak earlier that virtually paralyzed the the nation the past couple of weeks.

FeMexFut president Justino Compean and secretary Decio de María decided to withdraw both teams due to the lack of Fair Play on behalf of CONMEBOL. Both Chivas and San Luis were rejected venues from Colombia to Chile.

There is no doubt that this entire process will strain the relations between the Mexicans and the CONMEBOL for events such as Copa Lib, Copa Sudamericana, and even Copa América. Only time will tell, though. We will stay on top of this story.

Chivas And San Luis Withdraw From Copa Lib

Back in 2001, when Colombia was hosting the Copa América and both Argentina and Brazil decided to boycott the tournament because "they feared for their lives". Brazil ended up bringing a C side that eventually was beat by Honduras. For many in the international football scene the tournament was a disgrace with out a match being played. Guess who came to the rescue? Mexico.

El Tri gave the tournament very exciting and were able to reach the finals against a Colombia side that saw Francisco Maturana get a new lease on life in his coaching career.

Let's go back even further. Colombia was the host of the 1986 World Cup and then president Belisario Betancur said that there were "greater needs" in the country. That was why Colombia had to step down as host of the World Cup. Flash forward 23 years and those same "needs" that President Betancur talked about have not been met yet.

So then Mexico came to the rescue, despite still recovering from a devastating earthquake they suffered months before the tournament was scheduled to kickoff.

Even though the fixtures were set as of Thursday night, there was yet another monkeywrench thrown into CONMEBOL's plans to "accomodate" both Chivas and San Luis due to the outbreak of the Type A .

ESPN Deportes and Colombian daily El Tiempo confirmed that the government of the city of Bogota refused to allow CONMEBOL to use their facilities to play a doubleheader at El Campín.

CONMEBOL secretary Francisco Figueredo Britez stated that they are looking at the possibility of having both Chivas and San Luis face off in the knockout stages of the tournament. The city of Bogota came in and said that these teams were not allowed to play in Colombia. Now the ironic part of this all is that all flights as of May 1st coming in from Mexico were still allowed. So is this double-talk? They are following WHO recommendations yet, they still welcome people of the country of origin, so they aren't truly adhering to what was stated. If Bogota health director Juan Varela's knowledge of swine flu was the equivalent of HIV, then he would be telling everyone to avoid toilet seats, cooked pork, and kissing. Their decision was based mostly on what was being said on the news. Colombian Federation president Ramón Jesurúm mentioned that any type of preparations for the virus should be considered "terrorist acts". So now we see where the Colombian authorities stand as far as education of the disease.

Colombia left Mexico in the cold when they were needed most. Right now what the Mexican people need is to see their teams play. It is the least that can be done. I don't want Mad About Fútbol to become Mad About Swine Flu, but we have to talk about what is right and what is wrong. Where I think they are wrong is in the way they are treating this whole situation. The local government's health department knowledge on the subject has caused for this whole travesty.

Due to this decision, now CONMEBOL will look at the option of playing their home matches in Chile. The ball is now in Harold-Mayne Nicholls' court and if there is any indication of how they will be received, the Everton-Chivas match could be a good indicator. The final option in CONMEBOL's arsenal of solutions is to pair the two Mexican sides off and see what happens "over there".

Let's be honest, CONMEBOL is doing everything in their power to suffocate these two sides because no one will defend them. FeMexFut has no say and they do not want to get involved. So from all sides, the biggest losers are the players. They will have to go out on the pitch regardless of whether they play in Mexico City of Mumbai. Right now they will have to play in North Korea or Nicolás Leoz' backyard, they have no say.

This is why Mexico needs to be supported. This is why Colombia has dissappointed someone outside of their border for the first time in 23 years. Ironically, it's the nation that has bailed them out more than once.

It's Time To Support Mexico

CONMEBOL has just confirmed that both Chivas and San Luis will play the next round of the Copa Santander Libertadores in the Colombian capital of Bogota. This measure was taken until further notice due to the swine flu outbreak that began in the Aztec country. The measures will be reanalyzed once the quarterfinals of the tournament are in place.

The matches will take place at El Campín in a doubleheader on May 6th.

This was the measure taken by all of the ten Confederation presidents, the CONMEBOL board of directors as well as the heads of the Mexican Football Federation.

CONMEBOL will release the schedule of these matches soon.

This move might be a positive for Mexican sides in one aspect, but a negative in another. One can look at this a move made strictly lobbied by Argentine sides in particular. One of the biggest opponents have been Boca Juniors, who were analyzing this option because they were looking out for their interests.

They got their way as San Luis will be playing as the home side in a stadium that will most likely be very pro-Boca. Colombia has one of the biggest Boca Juniors followings in the world and Bogota will come out to follow fellow native Fabián Vargas. This is a golden opportunity for Colombians to check out players like Riquelme, Palermo, and the rest of the Xeneize.

Let's be honest, there are Colombian players on San Luis as well. Former River Plate and Banfield midfielder Jairo Patiño.

Too bad that this will be happening at the expense of a team like San Luis who have been among one of the most consistent in the tournament in their inaugural campaign in the hemisphere's most important club tournament.

CONMEBOL Confirms That Mexicans Will Play Home Matches in Bogota

CONMEBOL will decide on Friday what is the future of both San Luis and Chivas in the Copa Libertadores. In principle, it has been agreed that both Mexican sides would not play their home matches in Mexico due to the swine flu outbreak.

There is also the possibility of removing both sides from the tournament altogether because of the possiblity of there being outbreaks in South America due to having individuals exposed to the H1N1 virus.

FMF secretary Decio de María stated that they will also consider playing their home matches behind closed doors like they are currently doing in the Mexican league. There is also the possibility of both sides playing their matches in either the United States, Costa Rica, or Venezuela. But they are also considering the "worst case scenario" which is to be removed from the tournament. Regardless of the decision, De María stated in a communicae on Wednesday that the clubs and the federation would understand. This comes on the heels of a letter that CONMEBOL president Nicolás Leoz sent to Mexican federation president Justino Compean regarding the guarantees the they can offer in order to "safeguard" the health "of the players".

Meanwhile clubs like Boca Juniors have stated that there is no possibility of the club going to Mexico to play in any phase of the tournament. "We have to preserve the health of our players and our people. This is a serious problem and have to treat it as such," said Boca president Jorge Amor Ameal in an interview with ESPN. Estudiantes player Marcos Angeleri said that the idea of going to play in Mexico was "crazy".

"The players are worried. It's not easy for our families because of what can happen," said Angeleri during a radio interview with Radio La Red


CONCACAF cancelled the remainder of the U-17 qualifiers. They have also postponed the final leg of CONCACAF Champions League that was to be played in Acapulco this week. The region's beach soccer tournament was cancelled.

Let us know what you think about the current situation of the tournament.

Mexican Sides Waiting On CONMEBOL Decision

The recent outbreak of swine flu in Mexico City had its populace in hysteria and the US holding its baited breath. with well over 1,000 case reported in Mexico City and 68 deaths already confirmed, there is

Still the games go on. Earlier this evening, the Mexican Football decided that both América-Tecos and Pumas-Chivas will still be on but behind closed doors.

As of 10pm ET on Friday, Mexican Football Federation secretary Decio de María stated that Sunday's matches will be played at separate times. The Pumas-Chivas match is scheduled at noon local time at the Ciudad Universitaria. América-Tecos will be played in similar conditions at the Estadio Azteca at 4pm.

Swine Flu Throws Monkeywrench In Mexican Ball

Beginning this week we will award a Team Of The Week and scour the planet every week to find a team worthy of the award. It could be a team from anywhere. The Mad About Futbol World Team Of The Week is now official. The 1st Mad About Futbol World Team Of The Week made headlines and/or played matches during the calendar week of Feb. 23 - March 1. The winner is:

Club Deportivo Guadalajara (MEX)



We travelled to Mexico to get our 1st World Team Of The Week and gave it to Chivas because they scored goals like Brad Pitt scored girls. On Wednesday, the Mexican super club dropped 6 goals on Everton of Chile in their 6-2 victory in a Group 6 match of the Copa Libertadores. The depth of their squad was on display as 5 different players scored in the impressive win that put Chivas atop the group. The glut of goals did not stop there as on Saturday, Chivas blasted Pachuca 5-0 in the Mexican Clausura to move atop Group 2 in the Clausura. Check this: A total of 11 goals in 2 matches with 9 different goal scorers. In the 2 tournaments they are competing in, Chivas are on top of both groups, that's is FYAH!. Chivas Guadalajara get the TOW because they scored a lot of goals that took them to top of their groups, can't beat that. Club Deportivo Guadalajara of Mexico is the 1st Mad About Futbol World Football Team Of The Week.

MAF Team Of The Week #1: Feb.23 - March 1