Osorio stamping mark on Mexico in manner of the coaching greats
Student of Ferguson pits his wits against the world champions, Jeremy Wilson reports from Moscow
When Mexico kick off today against defending champions Germany, one Liverpool family will be taking a special interest. It is 21 years since a 35-year-old Colombian student by the name of Juan Carlos Osorio first knocked on the McManus family’s front door in Crown Road, just outside Liverpool’s Melwood training base.
Osorio initially asked to borrow a ladder or a table so he could gain a better view of Liverpool training and, having so impressed the family with his politeness, they ultimately agreed to his suggestion he should move in.
For the next two years, he would secretly watch Gerard Houllier and Roy Evans at work, making extensive notes about the practicalities and details of their training sessions.
Osorio had sold the small gym he owned in New York, a car and his watch to fund his move to England – an adventure that would go from studying science and football at John Moores University to jobs in Major League Soccer and at Manchester City as a fitness coach before stepping up to being a manager in Colombia, the United States, Honduras, Mexico and Brazil and then being appointed Mexico’s national coach in 2015.
Osorio duly led Mexico to the top of their Concacaf World Cup qualifying section for the first time since 1997 and, with 31 wins from 47 matches, hopes are high that they can finally get past the last 16 on foreign soil. Under
him, they have also reached the Copa America quarter-finals and the semi-finals of the Confederations Cup.
Yet he remains a polarising figure back in Mexico. The players are certainly behind him — all-time record scorer Javier Hernandez describes him as “like a genius because they live in a completely different world than ourselves” — but an overly analytical response to questions has created difficulties with fans.
One recent query about how often he runs apparently prompted a lengthy explanation about the precise details of the training zones he must reach in order to strengthen his heart for such a pressurised job.
It seems to work for him, though. In the 12 years Joachim Low has been managing Germany, Mexico have had as many coaches. To have lasted almost three years is already good going.
The biggest criticism relates to how frequently he rotates his team, which
he largely attributes to the time he spent observing Sir Alex Ferguson at Manchester United during his spell at City from 2001 to 2005.
Those who worked closely with Ferguson attest to his planning in terms of selection. Every preferred rotation, whether for tactical or physical reasons, would be scheduled weeks in advance.
During Osorio’s time with City, they were nothing like the superpower they have become, so Ferguson was relaxed about allowing such an enthusiastic personality to watch how he worked.
“The rotation and the tendency of
me to give everyone an opportunity came from Mr Ferguson,” said Osorio.
“He would say just a couple of things, but they were worth me waiting the whole two hours there.”
Shaun Wright-Phillips, who worked with Osorio at City, also recalled how, after he joined Chelsea under Jose Mourinho, Osorio would stay in contact to ask regular questions about the Portuguese’s methods.
Osorio is bullish about what Mexico can achieve over the next four weeks. “We have a right to shine and believe we can go to the final,” he said.
It would be some journey from those years studying in Liverpool but, whatever happens, Tom McManus believes he has already taught his family something precious.
“What he showed to me and I think to our two boys is that if you want to achieve anything in life, you’ve got to be single-minded and totally determined to go for it,” he said.