Ramon Raya has no doubt about its success: ?The combination of Cancun and Beach Soccer can only bring great things?
The Mexican National Team is already with their mind set on the upcoming Beach Soccer Worldwide Cancun Cup 2012, the international event taking place next February, 10th-12th, at the Hotel Royal Sunset’s Beach (Kukulkan Av., Cancun). Ramón Raya, the Azteca National Coach, is fully aware of this tournament’s importance and the value it can bring to his team, so he is saving no effort in the squad’s tuning up.
By hosting this Beach Soccer Worldwide Cancun Cup 2012, Mexico gets confirmed as one of the main Beach Soccer hotspots around the globe, since, besides this competition, the FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup – CONCACAF Qualifier has also been traditionally taking place in Puerto Vallarta (Jalisco). As the Technical Director of the Mexican Team himself assures, “this has a wonderful meaning, no doubt about it. There’s a great love for the sport here in Mexico, and the National Team is really followed by the fans, especially after our great performance in the 2007 World Cup”. Moreover, the level of the contenders in the Cancun festival adds value to the showpiece: “This Cup is going to be a great window for the sport, with such powerful teams involved, and I am sure this will help fans, organizers and promoters to realize the huge amount of things Beach Soccer can offer”.
In the same sense, Raya considers Cancun as the ideal stage for top-class international Beach Soccer events: “Cancun is a worldwide-known paradise, and it is undoubtedly an excellent resort to host this sport’s competitions. The combination between Cancun and Beach Soccer can only bring great things…”
Of course, by adding the best teams in the continent, the spectacle is more than guaranteed. El Salvador, USA and he European guest Spain will try their best to make the Cup flee from Mexican soil. Precisely about La Roja, the hosts coach highlights that “they will always be one of the biggest teams in this sport. It was only due to a mere accident that they got banned a take place in last FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup”. Dealing with the other two opponents, Raya points that “they are historical contenders of ours, and they will do their best. It is going to be a really beautiful, demanding competition, with everybody trying to beat the rest”.
It is absolutely going to be a high-voltage clash for the Mexican side, current holder of the continental crown after their brilliant victory in Puerto Vallarta in December 2010. Ramón Raya and his lads face then a big challenge, which they reach, according to the coach’s words “in the middle of our transition. We have been incorporating new players to our team, because in such a competitive environment as Beach Soccer’s, you need to keep refreshing yourself, keep looking for new weapons and things that make you stronger, new motivations, more competitiveness…”
Whatever it is, and as strongly written in their DNA, Mexico will field “a lot of heart, without saving any effort, and a lot of attitude. It is our hallmark, the spirit that defines us as a team. For the last five years, this is the way we have been playing. We feel we are representing our country, our people, and this makes us feel really proud.”
Precisely with these strengths, plus bravery and determination, Mexico made all the country’s citizens feel elated after the team’s performance in the last FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup 2011, held in Ravenna (Italy). There, after getting through a really difficult Group Stage, only crossing Russia’s path left them out of the Semi-finals. And the learning acquired in the great Beach Soccer showdown was the most valuable prize the Mexican side took from the Italian sands, as Raya explains: “We did really well in the World Cup. Being successful in the “Group of Death”, with the four-times World Champions Brazil, the European champions Ukraine and the Asian kings, Japan, was a great achievement by itself. After that, we had to face the tournament’s champions, Russia, who boasts a extremely talented squad. It was precisely this team the one lighting the way: you must never give up and, if you believe in yourself and in the sport, and you work hard to improve you can reach the top”.
