Mexican soccer star Hugo Sanchez, one of the sport's most popular and successful players, is in Tucson this week training and playing with FC Linz of Austria, his European club team.

Linz, leader of the Austrian first division, are in town for "spring training" to prepare for the second half of their season. Sunday, Sanchez and Linz will be part of the first soccer game played in Arizona Stadium since 1978 as they take on Atlante, a Mexican team. Atlante is Sanchez' former squad.

Linz will play a warm-up match today at 4 p.m. against the Tucson Amigos, a local semi-pro team, at Arizona Stadium. The match is closed to the public.

Sanchez, a veteran of five World Cups, has played for several clubs in Mexico and Spain before transferring last year to his Austrian club.

At a press conference on Wednesday, Sanchez, speaking in Spanish, said he decided to play for Linz because of the European game's faster pace and the city of Linz itself. Last year, Sanchez and Atlante travelled to Linz for an exhibition match. He said that's when he decided to play in the "marvelous country" of Austria.

Sanchez touched briefly on many areas of soccer, including the sport's second-class status in America and how Major League Soccer (the new professional league starting in April) might change that.

He called the new league "very important" to the game's progress here and said American youth players need role models - and a system to progress in - before they can catch up to the rest of the world.

Sanchez characterized the U.S. as the king of all sports € except soccer. Only after a viable pro league is in place, he said, can American soccer hope to compete with the rest of the world.

By signing on with Dallas of the MLS, Sanchez said, he hopes to help American soccer turn the corner.

Organizers of Sunday's game are urging fans to purchase tickets prior to the event to prevent traffic problems. Advance tickets, priced lower than game-day tickets, are on sale at numerous businesses around town. Call 621-CATS for more information.