Copa América: The Mexican team faces generational change… A decade later | Copa América 2024 | Soccer

There is a meme that summarizes the behavior of the Mexican Football Federation (FMF). It is about a man who travels by bike, takes a stick and puts it in the front wheel. In other times, reference could be made to the commonplace “he shot himself in the foot.” That is what has happened among Mexican soccer directors who are desperate due to the irregular pace of the Mexican team. Faced with a decade of continuous failures, negligence and decisions, Mexican soccer is seeking to direct the path towards the World Cup at home, in 2026.

The owners of each of the Liga MX clubs are the ones who manage the present and future of the team. In the last decade they have limited the development of Mexican soccer players, of the new promises in the First Division. The limit for each team to have foreign soccer players has not benefited the Mexicans. In the 2020-21 season, each club could have 11 foreigners and up to nine of them in the lineup. In 2021-22 he was 10 on the roster and eight in the lineup. After Mexico’s failure at the World Cup in Qatar, where they did not make it past the group stage, the rule to date is nine foreigners per roster and seven in the lineup. Days before the start of the Copa América, the leaders announced in extremis a rule that forces clubs to give 1,000 minutes to young Mexicans.

In other Latin American leagues, the maximum limit of players not born in their countries is seven in Brazil, six in Argentina and five in Uruguay, countries that have gained a reputation for being great producers of soccer players. According to the FMF itself, 4 out of 10 young people who debut only play their debut match and 9 out of 10 do not play the next tournament.

Mexico has also seen its delegation of players abroad shrink. Just 10 years ago, he had eight players in Europe. In 2018, he had eleven in the main European leagues. In 2022, they had nine. Now, on the list for the Copa América, only seven.

The end of the ‘golden generation’

The Qatar World Cup hosted by Tata Martino revealed the hard truth: one of Mexico’s most splendid generations had run out of battery. Carlos Vela, Javier Chicharito Hernández, Andrés Guardado, Giovani Dos Santos, Héctor Moreno and Guillermo Ochoa had already given their best in 2018. A generational change was needed. Martino tried without much luck, explained by his cloudy game system and the lack of new talents on the horizon.

The FMF put on the board the goal of having its best World Cup in 2026, which will be organized by Mexicans, Americans and Canadians. To do this, they wanted to take the time for the ideal coach. Everything blew up when they elected Diego Cocca, who got the hot potato and was fired in four months. Before him, Marcelo Bielsa was a strong candidate, but the Mexican managers let him go. Today, the strategist directs the generational change in Uruguay.

Lozano looks in Scaloni’s mirror

There was a wave of changes in the federation that triggered a structure with a new power figure: Juan Carlos Rodríguez, appointed as president commissioner, in the style of the NFL. Rodríguez delegated the job to a young coach, Jaime Lozano, who had done a great job with the Olympic team that won a creditable bronze in Tokyo.

Lozano’s debut was good when he won the Gold Cup in the summer of 2023. He earned the trust of the federations and they gave him the position. They wanted to emulate, keeping their distance, the story of Lionel Scaloni with Argentina that began with an interim and ended with glory. Far from those desires, Lozano had to lose the final of the Concacaf Nations League against the United States. And he decided to bet everything on everything: pass scissors to the team. The FMF gave him all possible support.

He cut several moral leaders from his list for the Copa América, such as Guillermo Ochoa, a goalkeeper who revives and grows in each World Cup; Raúl Jiménez, a forward with increasingly wet powder and Hirving Lozano, the Mexican promise who wanted to define his future in American soccer. Coach Lozano made an aggressive bet, which raised eyebrows among fans and analysts.

Jaime Lozano, 45, has faith in the midfield with Edson Álvarez, a defensive midfielder who has been central to the team. He also has his bets focused on Santiago Giménez, the striker who cut his teeth at Feyenoord and who aspires to make the leap to another big club. Another attacker is Julián Quiñones, a Colombian who arrived in Mexico at the age of 18 and established himself as one of the great figures in Mexican soccer. He decided to play with the Mexican team and it is one of the strong cards, although he has not had his big moment yet.

The average age of the Mexican team is 25.7. In the World Cup in Qatar the average was 28.5. The Copa América is seen by Lozano as the battlefield for his squad to gain experience, understanding and take the real leap in the 2026 World Cup.

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