TIJUANA.- Antonio Mohamed is convinced that the Xolos have what's needed to compete in Mexico's premier soccer league.
On Wednesday afternoon, the team's ownership presented Mohamed as the new coach.
He made it clear is that his goal is to save the team from descending into the minor leagues.
"First, we will earn enough points to make sure we remain in the First Division," he said at a press conference at Estadio Caliente.
Mohamed said he was in Spain when the Xolos first contacted him. Without thinking it over twice, he said he accepted the coach's job.
"It's a good team, a team that plays soccer well although it's had bad luck."
Mohamed, 41, reminisced about his great seasons as a player for the Mexican First Division team Toros Neza.
And on the three occasions he led teams in that division Morelia, Jaguares and Veracruz.
In all of those stints, he said, he did not produce the desired results. Now, he sees an opportunity to "avenge" those outcomes.
Most recently, he was the coach of the Argentinian team Independiente, whose season ended earlier this month.
He praised the Xolos' players, many of whom he knows personally. He was even the teammate of midfielder Fernando Arce when they both played for Irapuato.
"El Turco," as he is nicknamed, stressed that he plans to field a team that is always trying to win games.
Regarding the current season, he said, it's going to be "very difficult to move up to the top eight places," considering that the team has only earned six points out of a possible 27. It's currently in 17th place out of a possible 18 teams, with eight games to go.
After another loss at home last Sunday, the team fired coach Joaquín del Olmo.
Mohamed called the current season "complicated," adding, "We're sure to win in the next one."
For his part, Jorgealberto Hank Inzunza, the team's president, said Mohamed
was selected on the basis of a thorough analysis, and that he ranked high "by a lot" among the other candidates being considered.
"We're convinced that he's the right person to take this team where it should be," he concluded.
At the end of the press conference, the new coach directed his first training at Estadio Caliente.
He will debut on Sunday, when the Xoloitzcuintles visit the storied Águilas del América at Estadio Azteca.
Alexandra.mendoza@sandiegored.com
