Know Thy Enemy......Honduras

[Winnipeg Fury]

Next match:

HONDURAS – ECUADOR

28.04.2004: Washington, D.C. USA; RFK Stadium

HONDURAS (v Ecuador, 28.04.2004)

GK: Hector Medina (Real CD España), Noel Valladares (CD Motagua);

DF: Victor Bernardez (CD Motagua), Maynor Figueroa (CD Olimpia), Junior Izaguirre (CD Motagua), Nery Medina (CD Motagua), Wilson Palacios (CD Olimpia), Roy Posas (CD Motagua);

MD: Elkin Gonzalez (Real CD España), Walter Lopez (CD Marathón), Elmer Marin (CD Olimpia), Emil Martinez (CD Marathón), Victor Mena (CD Motagua), José Luis Pineda (CD Olimpia), Mauricio Sabillon (CD Marathón);

AT: Denilson Costa (CD Marathón), Marcelo Ferreira (CD Olimpia), Wilmer Velásquez (CD Olimpia).

TD: Bora MILUTINOVIC

[Winnipeg Fury]

Correction:

28.04.2004: Fort Lauderdale, Florida USA; Lockhart Stadium

[Winnipeg Fury]

Ecuador 1, Honduras 1

April 28, 2004

AP - Apr 28, 10:12 pm EDT

More PhotosFORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) -- Substitute Evelio Ordonez scored with eight minutes remaining Wednesday night, rallying Ecuador to a 1-1 tie with Honduras in an international exhibition.

Ordonez, who entered the match in the 80th minute, picked up a loose ball in the Honduran goal area and beat goalkeeper Noel Valladares. In the 88th minute, a shot by Ordonez rolled just wide of the right post.

Ecuador had the best scoring chance in injury time when a header by Angel Fernandez sailed over the crossbar.

Honduras controlled play for most of the match, but Ecuador had few runs on goal in the second half as it worked to match Carlos Alberto Pavon's first-half goal.

Ecuador goalkeeper Jacinto Espinoza moved out from the goal area, cutting down the angle, but Pavon beat him with a shot from just inside the penalty area in the 32nd minute.

In the 17th minute, Honduras defender Maynor Figueroa headed a shot, which bounced off the right post.

A minute earlier, Ecuador's Franklin Salas had a shot bounce off the left post.

Ecuador resumes South American zone World Cup qualifying against Colombia on June 2. Honduras will play its next round CONCACAF World Cup qualifiers against Netherlands Antilles on June 12.

[Winnipeg Fury]

Catholic church criticises Honduras coach's salary

TEGUCIGALPA, May 10 (Reuters) - Honduras's leading Catholic cardinal has criticised the hefty salary earned by the national soccer team's coach Bora Milutinovic, saying it was a "slap in the face" for the country's poor majority.

"I don't think it's a good message for poor Hondurans," Cardinal Oscar Andres Rodriguez told a local newspaper over the weekend.

Amid growing controversy, Honduran soccer officials have declined to disclose the salary earned by Serbian Milutinovic, but local media put it anywhere between $30,000 and $75,000 per month.

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Search Nearly half of Honduras's seven million people get by on less than one dollar per day.

Honduran soccer officials have defended the coach's salary, saying it is paid by a local mobile phone company rather than state funds.

Soccer-mad Honduras, who have not made it to the World Cup finals since 1982, appointed Milutinovic in August hoping he could steer them into the 2006 tournament in Germany. His team have so far drawn three and lost four friendly internationals.

The Serbian is the only man to have coached five different teams at successive World Cup tournaments since 1986, Mexico, Costa Rica, the United States, Nigeria and China.

[Gian-Luca]

Rumours running amok on bigsoccer that Bora is leaving Honduras after the Netherlands Antilles series.

[sstackho]

http://fifaworldcup.yahoo.com/06/en/040706/1/1sa5.html

Doubts in Honduras after Bora's departure

6 July 2004

by FIFAworldcup.com

Despite their side comfortably progressing to the group stages of the CONCACAF qualifiers for Germany 2006, Honduran football is far from content. The abrupt departure of former coach Bora Milutinovic - just as he was beginning to win over the fans - has left a dark cloud hanging over the future of the national side.

The timing of the Serbian-born coach's resignation came as a particular surprise to Hondurans who had just witnessed their much improved national side beat the Netherlands Antilles 6-1 in a two-legged regional qualifier for Germany 2006. "The players performed notably. We have a very talented squad here, which is why I think we have a great future in these qualifiers," said Milutinovic, after the return leg. Ten days later, he would sing a very different tune.

Bad Atmosphere

The fact that Milutinovic had previously led five different teams to the finals of a FIFA World Cup™ counted for little in Honduras, where it seemed the Serb was embroiled in controversy almost from the first day. "Nowhere is the world have I been treated as badly as I have been here. Yes, there have always been demands put on me. Yes, there have always been people who criticised me or called me a bad coach, which was their right. But nowhere have I been treated like some kind of criminal, as I was here," the Serb lamented after resigning.

Some sections of the media gave Milutinovic a torrid time while at the helm, accusing him of earning between "US$35,000 and $75,000 a month" but "spending very little time preparing the team". In the face of such pressure, the coach who led China to Korea/Japan 2002 retorted: "all this talk about my salary and they still haven't even got their facts right. There were so many things said about me that it just became a miserable existence. I don't think anyone needs that sort of thing."

In terms of his side's performance, the former manager had to face a barrage of criticism after winning just one of the nine friendlies in the run-up to the regional qualifiers. In spite of that, the mood had begun to improve after Honduras successfully negotiated their first qualifying round and earned a place alongside Canada, Guatemala and Costa Rica in the group stages.

"A very complicated situation"

The President of Fedefut, Rafael Callejas, was swift to take action after the news broke. He immediately appointed Raúl Martínez Sambulá and Juan Carlos Espinoza as caretaker mangers given the proximity of the next round of FIFA World Cup™ qualifiers. The appointment raised eyebrows in the local media, who expressed doubts about the pair's experience.

"We accept that this has given rise to a very complicated situation in terms of the management of the team, but we have to stay positive and keep the faith. I would say to the fans that we can still qualify for Germany 2006, we have what it takes," said the Preisdent, attempting to calm worried Hondurans. He also offered his advice for the future: " Let's forget about the detractors who are not behind us and only get in our way. Let's build our own future."

The players and managers in Honduras expressed mixed opinions on the whole affair. Julio de León, currently on the books of Italian side Reggina, called the situation " a shame, but understandable given that Bora was a successful professional who refused to tolerate the questioning of his judgement and integrity before he had a chance to prove himself". Junior Izaguirre, from local side Motagua, shared the sentiment: "This is a big step backwards, especially with the next qualifying phase just around the corner. We had a good, all-encompassing process in place."

Meanwhile, José Herrera Uclés, the manager who led Honduras to the 1982 FIFA World Cup Spain™, felt that Milutinovic's departure should have come a lot sooner: "Why now after the team has just won through to the next qualifying round?" He also accused the Serbian of being "cowardly" and said he left because he had never managed to beat Costa Rica.

Honduras kick off their group qualifiers on 18 August against Costa Rica, who also recently parted company with their manager, the American Steve Sampson.