If El Salvador's footballing history had to be summed up as quickly as possible: Their best player was Jorge González, a man Diego Maradona called "El Mágico" or "The Magician".
They've qualified to two World Cups: Mexico 1970 and Spain 1982. In the '82 tournament, they set a record for most goals conceded in a single game, ten, against Hungary.
Despite never obtaining a single point in World Cup play and claiming a second place finish in the 1963 CONCACAF Championships as their biggest accomplishment, tiny El Salvador is now poised to make the final qualifying round for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.
At the head of this unexpected development is Mexican coach Carlos de los Cobos, a "homegrown" manager who found success at the helm of C.D. FAS, leading the club to two finals in 2006.
Following the removal of Argentinian manager Carlos Cavagnaro, de los Cobos became national team coach. Conscious of the result-driven position that managers are always in, he said of his team's aspirations: "Our work needs to be focused on being in South Africa 2010."
While his words might not have made waves outside of El Salvador, de los Cobos' team has certainly put the rest of CONCACAF on notice with the results they've obtained in World Cup qualifying.
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After an easy first round series against Anguilla, El Salvador knocked off 2005 Gold Cup runners-up Panama and acceeded to the third round group stage, being placed with Costa Rica, Haiti, and Suriname.
At the conclusion of the first leg, El Salvador sit in second place (two teams qualify from the group). With six points and two home games remaining on their schedule, qualification is almost a certainty, barring a truly horrendous second leg.
Whereas other relatively small footballing nations in CONCACAF rely on the odd star playing abroad, El Salvador's talent is almost entirely local (only one player de los Cobos called on to face Suriname plays outside of El Salvador—in Costa Rica).
While aging Salvadoran stars mostly ply their trade in MLS, de los Cobos' youth movement with local players has paid dividends.
El Salvador's offensive scheme has been likened to Carlos' old club as a player: Club América, which won five league titles in the 1980's, all with de los Cobos starting in the back line. He and many of his teammates represented Mexico in the 1986 World Cup, where El Tri reached their highest position in history.
His preference of strong, tactically fit defenders (much like he was) has netted him results: in the last game against Surinam, defender Shawn Martin struck the first goal home and then provoked the second, a Surinamese own goal.
Coupling CONCACAF's unpredictability and a lax schedule in the final round of qualifying could very well net El Salvador in their first World Cup since 1982, certainly delighting Salvadorian fans and also giving Mexican fans a supplemental bonus: de los Cobos would be the first Mexican manager to ever coach a foreign squad into the tournament.
With Sven-Goran Eriksson most likely keeping reins on the Mexican squad until 2010, he would also be the first Mexican manager period since 2002 to be in the World Cup, when Javier Aguirre did it.
Working wonders with the country's confidence level so far, de los Cobos has deflected questions about eventually working with Mexico's national team by saying that he is "very happy in El Salvador, the people treat me so well here."
For a football-mad country starved of any real success for more than two decades, redundancy be damned:
Carlos is El Salvador's savior.
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2 months ago
Five stars and a pick, Eric.
It's nice hearing about the smaller nations in CONCACAF. Too often it's just boiled down to US/Mexico. Trinidad gave the English a run for their money in the 2006 World Cup (and had they won, would have been given some very fine rum), and Costa Rica is one of the most difficult places in the region to play. Plus Paulo Wanchope was never fun for anybody to play against.
Based on how El Salvador has been playing so far, how much of a chance do you think they have of making it to the World Cup? They've only got to finish fourth out of six for a chance to get in.
from 2 months ago
Thanks for the accolades, Joe.
El Salvador has been putting on a show offensively. Costa Rica have been the only squad so far to hang a zero against them in the entire qualifying tournament.
Right now, there's really only one spot for grabs in the final hexagonal tournament (Guatemala and T&T are fighting it out; Mexico, USA, Costa Rica, El Salvador and Honduras are pretty much in) and I'd really have them fighting for that fourth spot with Honduras or Costa Rica at this point.
Carlos de los Cobos is a smart man who knows the region well, and will no doubt give Costa Rica a run for their money when they visit San Salvador in the second leg. I can see them besting Guatemala or T&T at least once, and a surprise draw here and there against either Mexico or USA could give them a huge boost.
They're a pretty good bet for that fourth playoff spot.
2 months ago
pretty good Eric. I also give this a pick and 5 starz. El Salvador is becoming a force to be reckoned with very quickly. If they fixed a few problems they have, they'd do pretty well. What say you?
from 2 months ago
I think their biggest enemy at this point is time.
Right now, they're doing a good job of sneaking up on people but as they keep winning and keep making the news, teams will certainly do a better job of scouting them and finding weaknesses.
De los Cobos knows American football well, and he knows Mexican football even better. Given the right breaks here and there, he could get a good result in the final stage, but it's doubtful. I'd concentrate on the other three opponents.
from 2 months ago
u seem to be a master with Latin American soccer. The BR could use it. great job.
I think Costa Rica is the biggest problem they have right now in the table.
2 months ago
Excellent piece Eric. Your comments and reasoning are very realistic. El Salvador is going from a pretty bad state to a good one pretty quickly. They have accomplished a lot already, and I have a feeling it's only going to get better for them.
This guy, De los Cobos seems to speak softly, but carries a big stick. I like that! El Salvador needed this.
from 2 months ago
Yeah, you definitely have to feel high about their chances. They're playing with confidence and adopting their manager's style of play with alacrity.
They're a lock to get into the hexagonal and beyond that it's a crap shoot considering how wide open CONCACAF is. Two of those spots are likely going to Mexico and the US, but that still leaves 1.5 spots for the remaining 4 teams.
I'll certainly be following them.
2 months ago
Nice article Eric. Nice to see someone bringing something different to the world football section. There is about 500 people on here writing about the premiership big 4! great read.
from 2 months ago
Yeah well, the Premiership is really popular and it is a brilliant league, but I think especially with football, which is a game played on every corner of the globe, you need to give a more global perspective on things. I'll try and do that with this feature.
2 months ago
Great work Eric. Keep it up mate.
2 months ago
good read, nice reporting, enjoyed the contrast to the usual stuff.
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