SOCCER Mexico has no problem coming north for match

The California field will host its first international contest.
By LUIS BUENO
THE PRESS-ENTERPRISE
When Mexico chooses sites for its matches, it usually ends up playing on U.S. soil.
Today will be no exception.
Mexico will play the first international match at the new Home Depot Center in Carson, Calif. -- on Fourth of July weekend, no less.
But while the decision to play matches at its home away from home makes financial sense, it doesn't make much soccer sense.
Playing in front of overwhelmingly pro-Mexican fans in the United States might line the Mexican Soccer Federation's pockets with dollars but it does nothing to mentally prepare the team for playing in hostile environments.
Hostile benefits
World Cup qualifying will start early next year for Mexico, and matches in hostile and downright frightening cities such as Mazatenango, Guatemala; San Jose, Costa Rica; and San Pedro Sula, Honduras, might loom large for El Tricolor.
Fans in Central America take their futbol mighty seriously. More often than not, visiting teams playing in Central America are protected by dozens of riot police.
Dilapidated yet ominous stadiums welcome visitors, with only police and barbed-wire fences keeping the players from thousands of rabid fans.
But El Tri chases El Dinero in El Norte.
Friendly preference
The last time Mexico played a friendly outside of the U.S. or Mexico was in November 2001. The match was anticlimactic, with Mexico losing to Spain just four days after qualifying for World Cup 2002. Since then, Mexico has played 13 friendlies -- 11 of them in U.S. cities and one each in Mexico City and Guadalajara, Mexico.
When you look at ticket prices, it is easy to see why Mexico likes to play in the U.S. Ticket prices for today's match against a weak El Salvador team range from $40 to $60.
But money cannot buy World Cup titles. Money does not help win tough World Cup qualifiers on the road.
In its 2002 World Cup qualifiers, Mexico had a 2-3-3 mark, hardly the mark of a champion.
Among its performances: a scoreless draw at Canada, a 1-0 loss at Trinidad and Tobago and a 2-0 loss at the U.S.
The story for friendlies in the U.S. is usually the same. Tens of thousands of Mexican transplants make their way to a stadium built for American football. There is a frenzied atmosphere with plenty of green-clad, Mexican-flag waving fans and a lackluster performance by El Tricolor -- and a handsome payday for the FMF.