Gerardo Martino
Argentinian set to take charge of new-look Mexico
The player who the whole country is dreaming about is Diego Lainez
S peculation has been mounting that Gerardo “Tata” Martino will take charge of Mexico after the former Barcelona and Argentina boss announced he would be stepping aside as coach of Atlanta United.
Martino was named MLS coach of the year for 2018 following a record-breaking season in which Atlanta reached the playoffs with 21 wins, a record points tally of 69 and an MLS high of 70 goals.
If he takes the Mexico job, Martino will inherit a team in transition after the World Cup.
For almost a decade, Mexicans could reel off the most important players of their national team: Guillermo Ochoa in goal; Hector Moreno, Rafa Marquez and Miguel Layun in defence; Andres Guardado, Hector Herrera, Giovani Dos Santos in midfield; Carlos Vela, Oribe Peralta and Javier Hernandez up front.
The generation that had started to excite the country by winning the 2005 Under-17 World Championship in Peru, reached its maximum splendour with a gold medal at the London 2012 Olympic Games and was supposed to reach maturity at Russia 2018.
The oldest team in the tournament this summer, Mexico had 13 players with more than 50 caps and 16 players who played in Brazil four years earlier. This was a team with unusual stability on the international scene.
Yet after getting off to a great start by beating Germany, El Tri ended up being eliminated in the round of 16 for the seventh World Cup finals in a row. And with the bitter taste of defeat came uncertainty. After the swansong of the “Golden Generation”, what now?
Martino is likely to build on the work of interim boss Ricardo Ferretti, who stepped in following the departure of Colombian coach Juan Carlos Osorio. Ferretti left the established stars at home and called up a group of young players for his six friendlies in charge, which resulted in a win against Costa Rica and five defeats – against the United States, Uruguay, Chile and Argentina (twice).
The first conclusion of these games – especially on the basis of a 4-1 loss to a very strong Uruguay side – was that Mexico will need their more experienced players if they want to remain competitive on the international scene but that the future might be bright.
In spite of his 33 years of age, Ochoa does not seem to have any competition in goal heading to Qatar 2022 – in fact, Mexico would have serious problems in the event of an injury to their starting keeper, given that their two alternatives in these games, Hugo Gonzalez and Gibran Lajud both made mistakes in their first matches with the national side.
In defence, the new team will be based around Celta Vigo’s Nestor Araujo, who was sorely missed in Russia due to injury but, at 27, seems to be at the right age to marshall the line.
Alongside Araujo in the backline, Carlos Salcedo, Jesus Gallardo and Diego Reyes should be good for a few more years because the options of younger players do not seem to be good enough.
The midfield is where more changes are expected under Martino but also where Mexico have higher hopes of new talent. At 32, captain Guardado has already hinted that his time is coming to an end and his heir is likely to be Herrera, who is entering the best stage of his career. The Porto skipper will also have the responsibility of leading a midfield with players who are as talented as they are inexperienced.
The defensive midfield spot should be taken by 19-year-old Jonathan Gonzalez, who chose Mexico after playing for USA youth teams and has established himself as one of the best in his position in Liga MX with Monterrey.
Marcel Ruiz, 18, has been a revelation with his technique and vision for Queretaro this season, while Roberto Alvarado, who recently turned 20, looked very good as a number 10 in his first game, against Uruguay, despite usually
playing closer to the wing with his team, league leaders Cruz Azul.
But the player who the whole country is dreaming about is Diego Lainez.
At 18, the diminutive playmaker was named the best player at this year’s Toulon tournament, and with his dribbling and pace he has more than a hint of a young Lionel Messi about him. Recognising interest from teams such as Roma, Lyon and PSV, his Mexican club side, America, have slapped a price tag on him of more than 20million.
And Mexico better hope that all those talented midfielders achieve their full potential, because in attack the outlook looks bleak for Martino. At 30 years and after two very difficult seasons with West Ham United, the national team’s all-time top scorer Hernandez is close to joining Vela and Giovani Dos Santos in their retirement in MLS and is unlikely to be part of Mexico’s future. Although Raul Jimenez is having a good season in England with Wolverhampton Wanderers, the most recent matches failed to unearth a single player from Liga MX who is remotely close to his level.
So the generational change in the Mexican national team is definitely a mixed bag. Luckily for Martino, the only moderately important tournament in the next two years will be the Gold Cup, so his young players will have time to gain experience. On the other hand, how will they manage that without competitive action against top teams?