In my last blog post, I focused on how things are never as good or bad as many fans think they are for El Tri. While I still subscribe to that thinking, the future is very cloudy for the National team. Unless the FMF start planning with an eye towards 2026, Mexico will be embarrassed on home soil. Not sure players want 90k at the Azteca booing them. How can the FMF avoid that? I have some ideas ….
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The 2018 World Cup is here and what better time than now to look back at Mexico’s previous World Cup kits. I recap El Tri’s kits since the 1994 World Cup and give you my favorite memory at each World Cup. I do try to avoid the traumatic ones but no promises.
Expected but the nature of CONCACAF’s Olympic Qualifying lends itself to upsets. Just ask the USMNT how it went for them…again. Mexico were able to avoid those pitfalls and clinch their spot in Tokyo.
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With both nations announcing their rosters, many were quick to point out the makeup of each side. It started a discussion about the leagues where the players are currently at. With twitter user @xGoalsMX pointing out that Mexico has more (4) MLS players in camp than the USMNT (3). A much larger discrepancy was evident in the number of players in the “Top 5 European Leagues” with US Soccer having 16 players to Mexico’s 5. The question has to be asked, do these numbers indicate Mexico is behind US Soccer in producing quality players for their national teams?
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Jon Arnold reached out about who is the best player in CONCACAF right now. With seasons all but over, I thought about who I would name the CONCACAF Player of the Year. This season has a couple of favorites but for me there is one player that is above the others: Raul Jimenez.
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Raul Jimenez had a bumpy start to his European career. It started with him receiving just 4 league starts in his first season with Atletico Madrid and scoring 1 goal. His estimated $12m transfer seemed like a bust for the Spanish giants. He was sent to Benfica and experienced some success but was never fully trusted to lead the line for the Portuguese giants. Jimenez never started more for than 8 league games or saw more than 1,000 league minutes in any of his 3 seasons in Portugal. Although he did reach double digit goal totals in 2 out of the 3 seasons, he wanted more responsibility than being a super sub. A Mexican striker in Europe in wanting to be more than a super sub, sound familiar?
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Coming into the season, there were a lot of questions whether Raul Jimenez could establish himself as a starter for the newly promoted Wolves. In his 3 seasons in Portugal, Raul only had 20 league starts while coming off the bench 60 times. He never reached 1,000 league minutes in any season or had more than 7 league goals. Many expected him to flop and end up back in Mexico by the summer of 2019. Fortunately for him, he has taken advantage of his opportunity.
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It’s nearly time for Mexico’s September friendlies but the FMF still hasn’t hired a coach. The current rumor is Tuca will coach the September friendlies and October if no coach is hired by then. If I was a Tigres fan, I would not be a fan of Tuca going on loan to El Tri again. But this post is not about the FMF struggling to fill the manager position. It’s about who should get a call for the upcoming friendlies versus Uruguay and the US. The next World Cup is still almost 4.5 years away but the road starts now and its good to keep in mind who can contribute then.
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“Mexico crashes out of the World Cup”
“¡Fracaso para Mexico”
“Round of 16 Curse Continues”
All headlines I’ve seen since Mexico lost to Brazil. This doesn’t include all the memes on social media. I’ve kind of grown numb to the over reactions around El Tri. It’s hard not to. EVERYTHING gets blown out of proportion with this team. Continue reading
With the US Men’s National Team heading to a summer off, what will their media partners cover?
