PASADENA Mexico came out fast in the 2011 Gold Cup tournament, ultimately winning the team's sixth championship on Saturday.
And El Tri brought a circus of talent to the field. The team's coach, José Manuel de la Torre, has put together what many consider to be the best Mexican team in years.
This team is versatile, agile, strong and speedy, with a handful of young players who play club soccer in Europe.
Javier "Chicharito" Hernández, Andrés Guardado, Pablo Barrera, Giovani Dos Santos and Aldo De Nigris were some of the tournament's best players. They were integral to Mexico's 6-0 run through the Gold Cup. Mexico outscored opponents 22-4. That included two early goals given up against the United States in the final before Mexico erupted with four goals to beat the Americans 4-2.
"You have to give Mexico a lot of credit," said Landon Donovan. "They are a difficult team to play against. They have bunch of guys that can make special plays They just had too much for us."
United States goalkeeper Tim Howard also credited Mexico's young talent for an almost dominant performance in the final.
"They've got some special players," Howard said. "They did a good job of passing. You think of Mexico as one-two, touch-touch but they opened us up, they played us over the top and they hit us. Right now it all hurts. It sucks getting your (butt) kicked."
The United States wasn't the only team beat up by Mexico in the Gold Cup and in friendlies before the tournament.
Mexico is unbeaten in its last 11 matches with de la Torre at the helm.
That is the best start for any Mexico coach.
De la Torre played down the stat by quickly crediting his players and his coaching staff.
But for how long can "El Chepo" continue his success?
He will have time to analyze his squad further as he prepares Mexico for World Cup qualifiers, which begin next summer.
He doesn't have to worry about coaching the younger national teams. Luis Fernando Tena is coaching the Under-22 team in the Copa América tournament, which begins Friday in Argentina. He will also handle the pre-Olympic squad.
It is part of the Mexican soccer federation's plan to have two capable coaches. They want to prevent a repeat of the collapse that happened with two previous coaching experiments, Hugo Sanchez and Sven Goran Eriksson.
Many people in Mexico consider their leadership a failure. Sanchez failed to qualify to the 2008 Olympic Games while Eriksson could never earn the trust and respect of his players.
That is not the case with de la Torre. The Gold Cup Mexico team appears to be united despite turmoil during the tournament that involved the suspension of five of its players.
Mexico played as if it had something to prove. Perhaps it was because its coach had something to prove.
De la Torre was not the federation's first choice to lead the team. Another coach was asked but he declined. That's when de la Torre entered the picture. And for now, that picture is bright.
Ivan.orozco@sandiegored.com
