Tuesday, April 1, 2008

Hugo, we hardly knew ye (though here in the US, we liked what we saw)



So I wake up this morning and what do I see,
Hugo Sanchez' mug staring back at me.
Is he on the sideline? Is he scoring a goal?
Nope, that's him lining up now for the dole.

Is anybody really surprised by the fact that Sanchez was fired yesterday? El Tri under Sanchez was known for lofty expectations, solid, sometimes spectacular, midfield play, and finishing that looked like my son's 8-year-old team over at the YMCA.

Chalk this one up to yet one more example of an immensely talented athlete who is a washout as a coach (except for his time with Pumas, I'll grant). How many times have we seen this, almost too many to count. And yet, how many times have we seen the exact opposite? So few that the few who do stand out (Preki? too early to tell I suppose but the results are promising. And Jason Kreis, we'll have a book on you soon enough.)

I've read a few snarky comments about maybe an MLS team will land Sanchez as a coach, and truly, my main thought on that is you Galaxy fans are damn lucky that this did not happen last fall (as it could have) or he'd be over there presiding over your nightmare instead of Ruud Gullit. You laugh, but with Lalas at the controls, you know all too well that it's possible.

Now, not to just pile on a bad situation for a guy, my heart goes out to anyone who's been fired. So Hugo, even though I have thoroughly enjoyed our US Rattlers taking you down to the tune of a 2-0-1 mark (and one disputed offsides call from being 3-0-0), I think you'd really want to be remembered more for the following.

2 comments:

The Manly Ferry said...

Ha! The bit about LA is funny 'cause it's true!

Sad thing is, it could still happen - somewhere around the day when Ruud shouts "F$#% it!" and walks away.

Martin Hajovsky said...

Hmmm, maybe CHI and Nutmegged should hold a contest on which one leaves first, Lalas or Gullit, and then a sider on by what date the first one will be gone.

I'll tell you what, if they lose to the Quakes Thursday night looking as bad as they did in Denver, the long knives will be drawn.

My favorite moment of the game was before it when Beckham shook Phil Anschutz' hand. I wonder how deep into the game ol' Phil stayed.