Miguel Herrera weighs in on Juan Carlos Osorio's Gold Cup ban, Mexico's expectations

Mexico's national soccer team coach, Juan Carlos Osorio, has been effectively banned from the coming CONCACAF Gold Cup by FIFA for insulting match officials at the Confederations Cup.

FIFA banned Osorio on Friday for six matches for his behavior during the Confederations Cup third-place game last Sunday, when Mexico lost to Portugal, 2-1. Osorio grew irate when El Tri was not awarded a penalty late in that game. Hector Moreno was pushed in the back by Portuguese defender Pepe, and no call was made. Appeals by Mexican players to use FIFA's new video replay system were dismissed.

Earlier in the tournament, Osorio got upset about a call in the group stage game against New Zealand, and television cameras caught him shouting expletives in English toward the New Zealand bench. Osorio subsequently apologized for that.

FIFA's statement said the ban was handed down only for Osorio's actions during the Portugal game. The global soccer governing body said Osorio "used insulting words towards the match officials while displaying an aggressive attitude towards them."

Osorio was also fined 5,000 Swiss francs, approximately $5,200.

If Mexico reaches the Gold Cup final, that will be six games and the full length of Osorio's suspension. If Mexico is eliminated before the final, Osorio's suspension will carry over to subsequent games, which could include World Cup qualifiers in September at home vs. Panama and at Costa Rica.

In the interim, assistant coach Luis Pompilio Paez will lead the bench. He was in charge for a Gold Cup warmup game against Paraguay last Saturday, contested with players from the Gold Cup squad who weren't at the Confederations Cup. El Tri won the game 2-1.

By coincidence, Osorio's immediate predecessor in one of the hottest seats in global soccer is in Philadelphia at the moment. Miguel Herrera is now the head coach of Mexican club juggernaut Club América, which will face fellow Liga MX team Puebla at Talen Energy Stadium on Saturday at 6 p.m.

Herrera met with local media at a pre-game press conference Friday afternoon. He's renowned for being a great and honest talker, so it was no surprise that he was asked his opinion of the Osorio suspension.

"Have a good afternoon and thanks," he answered with a laugh.

Fortunately, he didn't quite leave it there.

"As managers, if we aren't working under pressure, then there's no motivation," he said. "Obviously it has an impact on the group when the manager isn't there on the bench, but Pompilio has already been managing this group."

Of course, Herrera expects Mexico to win the Gold Cup, even though the squad doesn't have all of its stars. Big names like Javier "Chicharito" Hernandez, Andrés Guardado and Carlos Vela are taking this tournament off after playing in the Confederations Cup.

(So is Club América forward Oribe Peralta, who has also been given some time off by Herrera. That means you won't see him in Chester on Saturday.)

"Mexico has the esteem of being the favorite, so they have to work with the intent to win," he said. "It is an alternate team and there are young players with a lot of quality, but Mexico's obligation in the Gold Cup is to win."

Herrera was joined on the press conference podium by Alberto Garcia Aspe, a Mexican national team legend who played for América and Puebla during an 18-year career on the field. Garcia Aspe made 109 appearances for El Tri and won the Gold Cup in 1996.

As with Herrera, Garcia Aspe set the bar for Mexico at winning the championship. But a moment later, he lowered it somewhat.

"In the Gold Cup, Mexico always has the obligation to win the tournament," he said. "We know they are going with a 'B' team, but there are many good players on the team. … The expectation of a Mexican national team in the Gold Cup is to seek the title, but from my judgement, the most important thing for the coaching staff is the how the players perform at this level, and to see how many players you can take from this Gold Cup and incorporate them for what is coming with the 2018 World Cup."

So does that make it a failure if Mexico doesn't win the tournament? It would be in most circumstances, after all. (Especially if the United States lifts the trophy instead.)

"No, the objective is the World Cup in Russia, and the priority [this summer] was the Confederations Cup, so we shouldn't put major pressure on these young players," Garcia Aspe said. "Obviously we should demand and expect that they win. They are representing the Mexican national team in the Gold Cup and in the history books, people won't say it was a 'B' team – so Mexico has to seek the Gold Cup title. But, if Mexico doesn't win – I'll repeat it, the most important thing for me is the performance and seeing how many of these players can make the jump to the A team."

This article contains information from the Associated Press. Thanks to Sebastian Salazar for help with translation.