Pumas seeks a coach

Because until the pact with Tuca Ferretti is closed, any situation can arise. And many university fans immediately think of Hugo Sánchez Márquez, the current ESPN commentator who won the bicentennial in 2004 and who is always in the minds of the blue and gold fans.

But some remember that incident that both Mejía Barón and Hugo starred in during the 1994 World Cup and that led them to distance themselves. It is July 5, 1994, Mexico faces Bulgaria in the round of 16. At Giants Stadium, Miguel Mejía Barón's team tied the match in regular time with one goal, and in extra time there is an exchange of ideas with Hugo Sánchez, who is on the bench.

The changes of '94

The coach knows Hugo Sánchez perfectly well, both were formed at Pumas' La Cantera, Miguel values the striker's hunger for victory, but the game demands intelligence. Miguel's intention is to give Hugo access to enter, but he has the idea that the "Pentapichichi" collaborates more in some defensive tasks, something that does not convince the forward.

"The fans, when they saw me in the stadium when a goal was missed or a difficult situation arose and they shouted my name, Mexico was superior to Bulgaria, and with the expulsion of Luis García there were no forwards and we needed attack; Hermosillo and I were on the bench and we could have entered perfectly," Hugo recalled years ago in an interview with Clío.

While Mejía Barón explained, years ago, on Televisa what happened in that match when he approached Hugo. "He told me 'Miguel, I wouldn't like that (defensive tasks) there, I want to play forward' and I said 'I know you would like to play forward, but I think that at this moment if we play like this we are going to give facilities in midfield and we can suffer.'"

"Then Hugo didn't tell me no, he told me 'Miguel, I think you should take the risk and put me there' and I said 'ok Hugo, keep warming up', at that internal moment I said 'I don't sub in Hugo', because at that moment as a coach you have a panorama and it's very difficult for someone, whoever it is, to tell you how to do it, otherwise what are you there for. At that moment, I said 'I'm going to wait until the minutes of extra time are over and we're going to win with penalties', that's where I was wrong."

The "Pentapichichi" assimilated Mejía Barón's decision better and over time the relationship improved. If they are not great friends, at least cordiality was restored, buuut Hugo Sánchez would not be on Miguel Mejía Barón's agenda to take over Pumas.

AGB