Eddie Munster / Aguirre's Demands

Resilient Tudela Finally Getting Noticed

There's a pretty cool piece on Josh Tudela at lagalaxy.com. The kid (I guess not so much of a kid if you consider that he's already 25) has stuck around for 3 seasons and is apparently ready to break through.

Tudela is a very physical player, and I can see why he'd be an ideal understudy of sorts to Dema Kovalenko (though with a 2 man holding midfield, that "understudy" role includes playing time.)

Tudela may prove to be a heck of a ball winner but he's going to have to become a good distributor too if he hopes to earn a long-term spot in this team or another. After a good tackle, his eyes should be scanning the field primarily, for Donovan, Lewis or Klein, and if none of those are available, Buddle or Gordon.

I get the feeling that he's not guaranteed the spot though. From what I've seen and heard, Tudela will have to contend with another pesky "Get me the ball Brian" (obsure 'The Replacements' reference) type player in Bryan Jordan who has apparently made the move from forward to midfielder. With that level of hustle, I can't blame Bruce.




Aguirre Making His Demands

Yesterday, a number of rumors began to circulate regarding Javier Aguirre and his list of demands to join the national team. In ESPNDeportes' Futbol Picante, Jose Ramon Fernandez criticized Aguirre and attributed a million demands to El Vasco, but given JoseRa's recent spat with Pachuca President Jesus Martinez, it's hard to differentiate between objective and yellow journalism.

What seems to be true enough though is Aguirre's desire to have greater control of all things national team. He wants Mario Carrillo as his assistant to replace the plant that FMF had imposed on Sven, Paco Ramirez, and he wants Ignacio Ambriz, his assistant in Spain, to take over coaching of the youth sides.

Color me optimistic, but I get the feeling that Aguirre is making sure that he sets camp at FMF for a long tenure. I would be absolutely ecstatic if Aguirre took the job, took the team to the WC, and (unless there was an unforeseen tragedy) continued his work after the World Cup heading toward 2014.