11 Thoughts on Tata Martino's Gold Cup list, Atleti's future and the Liguilla
What this new call-up means for the future of El Tri under Tata's watch
11 Thoughts
1. All the sides of the story are different. Understanding the absence of several of México’s top talents is tricky, especially for Gerardo “Tata” Martino who has seen it all in the world of football. I don’t know how harmful it is for Martino’s plans to deal with a variation of scenarios in which the absence of talented players should be explained and comprehended. Jesus Manuel “Tecatito” Corona’s absence can be explained as follows: he didn’t show much interest after Martino came out to declare that his communication with the Porto winger was confusing. One day, Corona told him something, and the next he told him something totally different, leaving Martino confused as to why the young winger decided not to come to El Tri’s only camp prior to the Gold Cup. With Chicharito, the arrival of a new family member can be understood as a reasonable excuse for missing the Gold Cup. With Carlos Vela, the likelihood of retiring from the national team is almost a given; we’re only waiting on him making it official. With Héctor Herrera, he seems more devoted to what’s coming next at his new club rather than anything that has to do with the national team this year. Herrera calls on “fatigue” as one of the main reasons he can’t play for El Tri this summer; he hasn’t missed a single summer tournament since 2012, so his reasoning on missing this Gold Cup does push all the right buttons.
2. These multiple cases could provoke a series of hypotheses, and they already have, one leaning toward the idea that these players are disrespecting the privilege of playing for El Tri. The common one. Another hypothesis is the one that has been blurted out several times by Hugo Sánchez, which suggests that the players are unhappy with the treatment they’ve received from the FMF. Sánchez bases a lot of his takes on the idea that the players deserve a better share from the millions of dollars the Federation makes from their TV and sponsorship deals in both the U.S. and México. There’s another one, that I think, has more to do with a sense of boredom to the continuous flatness that surrounds El Tri and Mexican football.
3. Ever since El Tri and Mexican football’s ties with CONMEBOL were ripped apart by the demands and interests required by CONCACAF, there’s a certain thrill in Mexican football that has faded out. Historically, there has always been that ultimate goal for Mexican national teams and clubs to always go head-to-head with the South American giants. It was a great barometer to measure where El Tri and Mexican football stood and where it was going. There were many final and semifinal appearances, which suggested an obvious degree of growth from Mexican footballers. They were getting closer to that day of finally winning a Copa América in South America, as they were close on winning a Copa Libertadores, but it has all stalled, leaving Mexican football in a state of dreariness. El Tri’s usual schedule is flat: several friendlies against South American sides in U.S. football stadiums, a Gold Cup tournament every two years, and now even qualifiers against national teams that don’t inspire much enthusiasm. Very rarely, as if a miracle took place, El Tri makes the trip to Europe to compete against teams of the caliber of Belgium or England. It just doesn’t happen, and when El Tri participates in the World Cup it’s expected to get results against the best sides in the world.
4. I wonder how much the attitude of national team players would change if this summer’s tournament was the Copa América not the Gold Cup. Maybe, Martino would still be facing the same uncomfortable circumstances, which would suggest that El Tri’s problems are rooted in how the Federation handles national team matters. But this is where Martino is currently at, about to lead a young El Tri side in the Gold Cup with names like Edson Álvarez, “Charly” Rodríguez, Rodolfo Pizarro, and hopefully “Chucky” Lozano captaining the ship. This Gold Cup will be similar to the 2017 edition, in which Juan Carlos Osorio selected a very young Mexican side to take on the tournament and couldn’t succeed in getting the best out of players like Orbelín Pineda, Erick Gutiérrez and Pizarro.
5. Although El Tri won the 2015 Gold Cup, its last two participations in this tournament have been rocky. One of the challenges Martino will face in the following weeks is the notion that El Tri must win the tournament, and that most of its performances should be filled with goals, with an excellent overall display. But is it correct to see it this way, especially when we consider that in the last Hexagonal the USMNT couldn’t win a ticket to the World Cup? This Gold Cup is an opportunity to see more growth from other CONCACAF nations; it will be enticing to the tournament and the region to see Canada give a great battle to México in Denver.
6. This Gold Cup will be an opportunity for Martino to build his El Tri. Seeing him work with a predominantly young team adds a lot of interest to the following weeks because with the players that he has available, there’s reason to believe that there’s a lot of potential and desire to demonstrate their worth. As noted before, there will be a lot of faces who played the last Gold Cup, and all eyes will be set on them to see how they will perform this time around. In March it was too early to make considerable conclusions on Tata’s influence on the national team’s play. This México team is a team of the future, with its eyes set on Qatar 2022. And hopefully, with Tata in charge.
7. Last week, I gave Atlético de Madrid two points in Spanish. This week we found out that Antoine Griezmann has decided to leave Atleti this summer, upping the rumors that he’ll probably play for Barça next season. So far, we know that Diego Godín, Juanfran and Griezmann are leaving the club. It’s presumed that Filipe Luís will follow, and we already know that earlier this year Lucas Hernández agreed to join Bayern Munich this summer. As reported by El País’ Ladislao J. Moñino, with the sales of Griezmann and Lucas, Atleti is reported to make around €200 million. And if Atleti agrees to let Rodri leave the club, it’ll probably get another €70 million, granting “Cholo” Simeone the necessary budget to build his new team. I’m wondering if “Chucky” Lozano could become one of those players Atleti will seriously think on bringing to Wanda Metropolitano? Talks between PSV and Atleti have been healthy in the past, just last summer Atleti brought in Colombian full-back, Santiago Arias, from PSV.
8. When I watched Wednesday night’s Monterrey 1-0 Tigres, I observed that Charly Rodríguez had a hard time releasing quick passes. He missed several easy ones, but what I take from his play is that many times the pitch didn’t help him. Monterrey should have taken a better lead than 1-0 from BBVA Bancomer because the game at El Volcán will be fierce. If Tigres score early on in that match, we’re going to have a heck of an ending to another Clásico Regio series.
9. Diego Ramírez’s coaching experience is interesting. He will be youngest coach to ever coach El Tri in a U-20 World Cup. He worked alongside “Piojo” Herrera many years. As Herrera’s assistant coach, he went to the 2014 World Cup and was also part of his coaching staff in that 2015 Gold Cup win. I feel that he’s prepared well for the U-20 World Cup that’s coming up. Hopefully, he can get a couple of positive results and get the best out of Diego Lainez and José Juan Macías. His dad, Jesús Ramírez, led El Tri’s U-20s to a quarterfinal finish in the 2007 World Cup. If he can match that mark, then we can consider his time as U-20 coach a success, but if this generation leaves between five and seven consistent national team players for years to come, I think the success would be greater even if the team doesn’t make it out the group stage.
10. These are América’s results after their first three matches during last season’s Liguilla: 2-2, 3-2 vs. Toluca and 1-1 vs. Pumas. Then the 6-1 vs. Pumas happened, and the road to the championship took a different feeling. Once again, América are set in a difficult moment, yet they’re still in the game. The last weeks have been filled with surprises in the world of football, and the reality is that León are playing at an impeccable level; a lot of things will have to go right for las águilas in order to reach the final.
11. Without Edson in the picture, América are struggling in the playoffs. What Álvarez offers is a lot of control of the midfield, allowing Guido Rodríguez to have more plays with the ball, as opposed to chasing down the opponents. Hopefully, he’ll be ready when the Gold Cup comes around because he has everything in his favor to be one of the tournament’s best players.