2011 CONCACAF Gold Cup!

Today sees the start of the 2011 CONCACAF Gold Cup with defending champion Mexico looking for a record ninth title. In addition, just as the 2009 Gold Cup edition, the winner of the tournament will book its place for the 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup, which will take place in Brazil.

The tournament has a wacky format, with three groups consisting of four teams each. Teams will play each other once in round-robin format, with 3 points awarded for a win, 1 point for a tie and 0 points for a loss. The top two teams of each group will have an automatic place in the quarterfinals, followed with the two best-placed third teams in the groups.

Group A includes Mexico, Costa Rica, El Salvador and Cuba. Mexico is starting a new era with Jose Manuel de la Torre as the new head coach. De la Torre’s resume includes winning three league championships as a coach with Guadalajara and twice with Toluca.

On the other hand, Costa Rica is also new management with Argentinean coach Ricardo La Volpe. After reaching the 2002 and 2006 World Cup, the disappoint

ment of being left out of the 2010 edition pushed Costa Rica to look for international experience at the helm of the team. La Volpe coached Mexico from 2002 to 2006, and lead El Tri in 2005 Confederations Cup, the 2006 World Cup and even place the team fourth in the FIFA World Rankings.

I believe Mexico will take Group A and are my favorites to win the tournament. The continuing mixture of experienced players such as Rafael Marquez, Carlos Salcido and Gerardo Torrado and young talent such as Giovani Dos Santos, Javier Hernandez and Hector Moreno creates internal competition for a starting position in the team, which can only benefit the team.

I believe Costa Rica will take second place in the group with El Salvador taking one of the third-place quarterfinal positions.My player to follow in this group is Andres Guardado. Although Hernandez had a great season with Manchester United and Dos Santos had a great World Cup last year, Guardado had a disappointing World Cup and season with Deportivo La Coruna in Spain. He will be looking to regain his form after spending months injured and wants to make a claim that he still belongs in European football.

In Group B, we have Honduras, Guatemala, Jamaica and Grenada. My pick to take this group is Honduras, who enjoyed their first World Cup last year after missing out in the tournament in 28 years. Although they are in a two-game losing streak after an Asian tou

r against South Korea and China, Honduras has the experience and talent to see off all of the competition in their group.

After Honduras, a tight battle for the second and third place game will be interesting to follow. However, it is difficult to see Granada take any points home, and I believe Guatemala and Jamaica will advance to the quarterfinals, respectively.

My player to follow in this group is Wilson Palacios. The 26-year-old midfield plays for Tottenham Hotspur in the English Premi

er League and will try to lead his team to its first Gold Cup final since 1991 after a difficult World Cup.

Group C will feature the United States, Canada, Panama and Guadeloupe. The U.S. re-instated Bob Bradley as head coach after their disappointing exit at the World Cup last year. However, they have only won one game (against South Africa) in the past eight exhibition games, which includes opponents such as Brazil, Argentina and world champions Spain.

The U.S. does not come to the Gold Cup in good form, but an easy group will help them gain confidence heading into the finals stage of the tournament. Followed in second place will be Panama, who will try to reach the quarterfinals for the consecutive third time. I doubt Canada or Guadeloupe will get any points from the U.S. or Panama, and will book early flights back home.

My player to follow in this group is Juan Agudelo. The 18-year-old American currently plays for New York Red Bulls, and is getting mentored by the one and only, Thierry Henry. He has netted two goals in his five caps for the U.S., including the tying goal against Argentina. It will be interesting to follow Agudelo’s development leading up to the 2014 World Cup.