Xenophobia in Mexican soccer

As far as expressions of national identity go, soccer touches some of Mexico's deepest nerves. The nation's greatest player, Hugo Sanchez, now a coach in the Mexican league, has consistently criticized the hiring of foreigners. He furiously attacked the coach of the national team that played in the 2002 World Cup for selecting, for the first-time ever, a naturalized Mexican, Argentine-born Gabriel Caballero.

The issue came up again this month, when the current national team coach, Ricardo la Volpe, himself Argentine, named a Brazilian-born naturalized Mexican, Antonio "Sinha" Naelson, to the under-23 team that will play in the Athens Olympics.

Three out of five Mexicans surveyed - in poll conducted by Mexico City daily newspaper Reforma after Sinha's selection - said that naturalized citizens should not be allowed to play on the Mexican national team, because "they rob playing opportunities from Mexican born players."

The sentiment extends to Mexico's players as well, many of whom complain that foreign players restrict their playing time.

"It's embarrassing that so many foreigners are permitted," says Rafael Marquez, a defenseman and member of the Mexican national team, who, ironically, plays professionally for the Barcelona club in the Spanish league. Mr. Marquez, like many, says that teams should be limited to two or three foreigners.

"I hope they realize this hurts Mexican soccer," says Marquez, who adds that he would never apply for Spanish citizenship.

Some Mexican fans put it more succinctly. "The next time we're lamenting another loss by the national team, let's not forget to mention the huge number of foreigners playing in Mexico as a factor," says Fernando Schwartz, who supports the Guadalajara Chivas team, which allows only Mexican-born players on its roster, unique in the league. He argues that foreign players take playing time away from Mexicans, thus diminishing their skills.

Foreign-born players in Mexico say that the case is just the opposite: high-quality foreign players improve the overall level of soccer here.

"I hear stupid ideas that they should lower the number of foreigners, that we're responsible for Mexico's failures, but if they got rid of foreign players, Mexico's soccer would be worse off," says Jose Cardozo, a Paraguayan-born forward for the Toluca team.

Indeed, some of the Mexican pro league's best players are not Mexican: in the season that concluded last month, eight of the top 10 goal scorers, and 14 of the top 20, were foreigners. Fully 80 percent of the goals scored in the league were by foreigners, according to Mexican soccer league statistics.

Critics of the rule say it's part of an emerging trend. Last month, a Mexican federal judge ruled that a naturalized Mexican from Spain with alleged ties to the Basque separatist group could be deported in apparent contradiction to Mexico's Constitution.

The case is being appealed. But some lawyers say that the new soccer rule could help bolster this kind of precedent.

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