Uruguay exposed the true shortcomings of the Mexican National Team this Thursday in Phoenix. If there were doubts after the stormy classification of Mexico, in the Concacaf Qualifiers, now all the members of the soccer union of that country raise their hands to their heads due to the uncertainty that is generated.
Lo which at first was a duel to lay the foundations for the project led by Gerardo Martino for the Qatar World Cup 2022, ended up being a real nightmare. La Celeste thrashed Mexico 0-3 with a brace from Edinson Cavani and another goal from Matías Vecino in the first half of the match staged at the University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Arizona.
A Mexican team without game identity, without a clear idea or defined scheme (they played with a line of three central defenders), they have no game generation and the most serious thing: there are no goals or scorers.
There was no individual performance that stood out above the rest to try to counteract the non-existent collective game. Much of the blame lies with ‘Tata’ Martino for insisting on players who are not convincing and leaving out others who could resolve.
However, Martino is not entirely to blame. The final product of the bad moment that Mexican soccer is going through is its national team, but El Tri is talked about without diagnosing the real problems that are not seen on the screen.
No export players to the big leagues
Beyond Hirving Lozano, ‘Tecatito’ Corona, Raúl Jiménez, Erick Gutiérrez, Edson Álvarez, Johan Vásquez among a few others, there is no export of talented players from Liga MX to major leagues in Europe to play at another level and then transfer them to the national team.
The failed attempts of Diego Lainez and José Juan Macías in Spanish football confirm the true level of Mexican football. You may say that it is exaggerated, but there are other meters that confirm it.
Technicians are not exported
The The last three coaches of the Mexican National Team have been foreigners. Juan Carlos Osorio directed the process towards Russia 2018 and his constant rotations ended up tiring the guild. Then Luis Pompilio Páez arrived on an interim basis to prepare the way for Gerardo ‘Tata’ Martino who has already won the Gold Cup 2019, but lost that same tournament and also the Nations League against the United States in a gray 2021.
The directors of El Tri have tried to look abroad for what they cannot find inside Mexico. There is no coach in Liga MX who is Mexican and has the confidence to take on the tricolor. Proof of this is that Mexican strategists cannot shine outside their lands either, the only one who has always had that opportunity is Javier Aguirre.
Of the last seven Liga MX champions, only two Mexicans were champions once each: Miguel Herrera (América) and Ignacio Ambriz (León).
A short team without great figures won the Liga MX
Which is the real MX League level? That responds to seeing that Atlas is the current two-time champion of the tournament without being an overwhelming team or practicing soccer at the highest level. A club with a good strategist, the Argentine Diego Cocca, and whose great figure is the Colombian Julián Andrés Quiñones.
He does not have a great wardrobe, he just got to compete in the playoffs after being third in the regular season to 11 points from the leadership he obtained Pachuca. Not even the Tuzos, Tigres with their imports, Chivas with their apparent resurgence or the audacity of other clubs like Puebla were able to stop the Atlas.
New and good figures in Mexican soccer are urgently needed to nurture the elder.
The clubs are full of foreigners
We already mentioned a long list of great foreigners who shine in Mexico. Each team has as its top figure a soccer player who is of another nationality except for Chivas, which is the only one that competes with a total squad of natives.
Atlas, who is the current two-time champion, has as scorers an Argentine and a Colombian (Furch and Quiñones), their goalkeeper has been key and he is Colombian (Camilo Vargas). Their line of three central defenders is made up of two Argentines and one Peruvian (Aguilera, Nervo and Santamaría). Only Aldo Rocha and José Abella were the fundamental Mexicans of the Guadalajara team.
Don Julian Quiñones pic.twitter.com/3BLzXGZ8xU
—ATLAS PHRASES (@ AtlasPhrases) May 27, 2022
The America is moved by its foreigners, Tigres UANL has been full of imports for years, the Leon is managed by the Ecuadorian Ángel Mena and is supported in defense by the Colombians Bareiro and Tesillo. Cruz Azul has in its initial team the Paraguayans Escobar and Romero, the Uruguayans Tabo and Rivero, plus the Peruvian Abram in defense.
Rayados de Monterrey always moved well in the market and their last A great figure is the Argentinian Rogelio Funes Mori, who became so loved in Mexico that he ended up being naturalized and is now called up for the national team.
Why did we choose these teams? Simple, they were the last champions of Liga MX.
Chivas is the only one that competes with Mexicans and it is difficult
El Rebaño Sagrado maintains its team philosophy that respects its regional idiosyncrasy, very attached to the customs of Jalisco and remains the only club that does not allow foreign soccer players in its squad. That makes it one of the most beloved and respected sports organizations in all of Mexico.
However, it is difficult for him to compete like this. Since the championship achieved with the Argentine Matías Almeyda as coach in the Clausura 2017 they have not reached a final again even. Before that, the picture was even tougher: they had only won the Apertura 2006 since it started. The 21st century. On that journey they also won the MX Cup in 2015 and 2017.
🎙 @RPELAEZ9 clarified it here ⬇️https://t.co/1VGuwZ8WZi— CHIVAS (@Chivas) June 3, 2022
You work well in the lower categories and then the players are lost
Mexico has had important performances in youth tournaments and that is a sign of the good work that the clubs do in the so-called basic forces, the hotbed of Mexico. However, there is a kind of “block” that does not allow the youth to fully develop after completing their stages in these minor categories.
In the Liga MX teams it seems that they care about having more foreigners in their starting teams than players raised in their quarries. There are soccer players who do not have space in Argentina, Colombia, Uruguay and other countries. In addition to bringing Venezuelans, Paraguayans, Ecuadorians and even Peruvians, several of whom are regulars in the calls for their national teams.
What do those Mexicans who are forgotten do? Those displaced by foreigners choose to go to the MLS and other leagues in Central America to continue their careers. In the end, the vast majority get lost along the way after having left pleasant impressions on the basic forces.
What is an obsession for an entire country could become its worst nightmare. As of today, Mexico is closer to being eliminated in the Group Stage by Argentina, Poland and Saudi Arabia in Qatar 2022 to advance to the round of 16 and look for that long-awaited fifth game of the quarterfinals.
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