2014: A Breakout Year for Mexican American Football
Mexico’s American football teams are outperforming the global competition on the gridiron!
[su_dropcap]T[/su_dropcap]his year – 2014 – has been one of the most exciting years for Mexico’s American football national teams since the country played its first game back in 1896. Let’s learn a little bit about the Mexican American Football.
U-19 World Championships – Kuwait City, Kuwait
Earlier this month Mexico won the bronze medal in the Under 19 IFAF World Championships beating Austria 31 – 30 in a thriller in the tough, hot and humid conditions of Kuwait.
Head coach Rafael Duk and his staff have worked hard over the years for this success, scouting and identifying players from all over Mexico with Duk acting the National Team Scout for the Mexican American football Federation.
The team battled against the United States but were beaten 49-14. They learned from that game and against Japan they came back to finish with a 24-24 tie. They then outclassed a powerful Team Germany 35-7 to make it to the bronze medal game against Austria.
World University Championship – Uppsala, Sweden
Back in May in Uppsala, Sweden, the inaugural World University Championship of American Football was a totally different story. A powerful Team Mexico dominated Finland, China and Sweden to qualify for the final against a tough Team Japan.
In the final, Japan gave Mexico all they could handle, with Mexico outlasting Japan in a 14-6 nail-biter. Mexican head coach Horacio Garcia and his staff did a marvelous job putting together Team Mexico, and coaching them to win the first World University Championship of American Football.
Mexican quarterback Alejandro Garcia Blancas was named the offensive MVP of the tournament and his teammate, linebacker Mauricio Salazar Cavazos, was recognized as the defensive MVP.
Cavazos after the gold medal game:
“It is amazing. It is like a dream come true to us. It was a real tough game since Japan is a great team and there were some details in this game that became deciding to our advantage. … I think we played at the best level in all of our games. This gold medal is a result of a great team effort and I think we were the best team of them all.”
Mexico’s national team organizers are aware that the next tournament, the 2015 Stockholm World Championships, will be far more difficult as it will include teams like the USA and Canada. But the tournament will be played in Mexico in Monterrey in 2016 giving Mexico extra incentive to defend its title. It has been a busy and exciting year for Team Mexico and the success of the national team will only lead to greater interest, and much more success.
Ahead in 2015 lies the 2o15 Stockholm IFAF World Championships in Stockholm, Sweden. Expect the team from Mexico to bring a strong squad and passion to spare.
