Amuse Productions

Now let’s not get too ahead of ourselves, its only been one game under Jaime “Jimmy” Lozano, yet it feels like both a pretty important and special one at that. This is not only the first time they score 4+ goals in a single game in a little over half a year, but its also the first time in almost 4 years that Mexico scores 4+ in a game against a CONCACAF side, but also an International Competition in a 5-1 victory over Bermuda in late 2019. Another reason why this feels a bit more important is because Lozano is the first Mexican coach taking the helms of the Mexican National Team since Miguel “El Piojo” Herrera in 2015. After 8 long years a Mexican coach who is also experienced and has worked his way up to this point is now in control. Although there were moments with their previous coaches, namely Juan Carlos Osorio and Gerardo “El Tata” Martino, Lozano seems perfect for the job.

Let’s take a look at his resume, Pumas was his first stop, academy training and was noticed by Queretaro to take control of their Sub-20 team. Lozano would lead them to their first ever title prompting him to be promoted to the senior team where he beat Club America in his first match as coach 2-0 for the Supercopa MX in 2017. However, his stint in Queretaro was short lived as he only got to coach 36 games in total winning barely 11 of those. After this he was appointed by Mexico in 2018 to be the head coach of the Sub-23 team, a big deal as this would also include their Olympic teams if he saw a tenure for that long. A 3rd place finish in the 2019 Toulon Tournament beating the Republic of Ireland, a Bronze medal at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, as well as a Bronze medal in the Pan-American games, saw Lozano gain another opportunity in coaching another Mexican club in Necaxa, as this time with the Sub-23 team Lozano in 24 matches would lead Mexico to 16 victories, which was a great sign, considering there were many strong young national teams out there. In Necaxa it seemed like the same story for him club wise, 10 wins in 29 matches seeing him get sacked and brought into Mexico’s coaching staff as an assistant. However, with the disaster that was Diego Cocca’s 10 games, Lozano was up next for the throne and starts off with a bang.

Mexico is in a very interesting era, as most of the players of their golden era of winning Gold Cups, going up against giants in friendlies and competing against anyone in the World Cup, seemed to have come to a close. 37-year old Goalkeeper Guillermo Ochoa is the last of his breed, and is of course their captain, but it seems this team in it’s transitional period was falling behind against a lot of competition. Mexico’s average age for this Gold Cup is 25. Normally a pro footballer is at a stage in their career where it is make or break. This squad seems pretty up to par with 8 of these players playing currently in Europe, and 3 of those 8 being in the top 5 leagues out there. Mexico’s main issue was a sense of passiveness in the side. Whenever they would score 1 or 2 on an opponent they would immediately try to hold the ball for the rest of the game and pass the clock down so to speak. Despite a good tactic in the 70th or 80th minute, it’ll only work well for so long until one error can have your opponent back in the game and shift the dynamic. This game against Honduras seemed almost like a 180 to that tactic. Although some holes were left in the defense, they seemed great on the ball, not just playing keep away, but also looking at the open man and going towards the ball, something they’ve lacked for a while. It always seemed like wingers never made sense in Mexico’s tactics, especially if they were to simply either take a few steps forward and pass it back, or cross it to absolutely nobody. In the USA game it seemed even more evident as no one wanted to attack the wings or well anything for that matter.

This game Mexico seemed tenacious, hungry, and passionate, again something they’ve lacked for a good while. This Gold Cup in particular will be pretty important for Mexico and deciding what direction to go in. Many players will have an opportunity to show out and reclaim why Mexico is a giant in football in the first place, as well as being able to shape the future and attract many opportunities to come, as well as impress the big buyers in Europe to show them how serious these players and this team can be of a threat. Good luck to Mexico, and it seems like we have an exciting Gold Cup on our hands.