New “era” for Martino and Mexico begins vs Venezuela

It might be an understatement to say that fans of the Mexican National team have been spoiled under new skipper Gerardo “Tata” Martino. In his first match with the national team, we could immediately see his footprint and how quickly they bought into his system.

They went on to convincingly defeat the Chilean National team, who had El Tri’s number the last several years, with a dominant 3-1 win in San Diego, California. Only a few days after, Martino and his men flew up to the Bay Area to face a familiar opponent and “Tata’s” former squad Paraguay. It was clear that the Paraguayan National team was is in rebuild mode after going down 3-0 within the first 24 minutes of the match. That partial result allowed the Mexican skipper to test different line up’s throughout the match, but allowed Paraguay to cut the deficit to a goal but a late goal in the 90th minute by Luis Montes gave them a convincing 4-2 win.  

Since their last game in late March, Martino has been under pressure upon many of his notable players declining to be called up for the Gold Cup this summer. The leading goal scorer in Mexico National team history, Javier “Chicharito” Hernandez, declined to be a part of the tournament due to becoming a father for the first time. Major League Soccer MVP front runner Carlos Vela who recently scored his 16th goal in as just many games has been adamant about focusing on his club and leaves many in doubt wether he will ever make a return to the Seleccion. Jesus “Tecatito” Corona was up in the air wether he would report to the team this summer but at the end decided not to join the team as well as veteran Hector Herrera. Captain Andres Guardado spoke recently with TV Azteca where he stated “There is something inside of me that tells me no, you have to continue [with the national team] while they keep you in mind …you have to continue till the end” via TV Azteca. Many hoped prodigy Diego Lainez would be a part of this roster but was selected for the U-20 World Cup where he saw little to no playing time. Miguel Layun left the team with an injury; Hirving “Chucky” Lozano and Marco Fabian who were unable to make full recoveries will miss the tournament as well.

The Gold Cup’s new format of selecting teams and making modifications may be an issue for Martino and company. Previously they were able to make six different changes after the group stage but now have to pick a 23 man roster and rely on that for the whole tournament. One thing La Seleccion has going for them is their depth. They can still count on veteran players who will most likely sit out these two friendlies i.e Guillermo Ochoa, Andres Guardado, but can count on the call up of the new generation of Mexican players. Raul Jimenez is coming off a historic season for a Mexican National in the Premier League leading the Wolves to the seventh position in the standings. Some may argue Jonatan Dos Santos is having one of the best outing as a player for his LA Galaxy even being hailed as the motor for the team by Zatlan Ibrahimovic, even scored his first goal for La Seleccion under Tata. Uriel Antuna is making his presence known for LA Galaxy. Currently, on a loan from Manchester City, Antuna will most likely make his debut and bring a sense of urgency to Martino’s playing style. 

In a way, it has been a long off season for El Tri filled with many headlines. All that will be put to rest when they face Venezuela this Wednesday in Atlanta. With many new faces in his roster, many are seeing this as Martino’s true test of wether or not the new call-ups can buy into his system. For their part, Venezuela who is 2-4-0 dating back to the World Cup qualifiers with one of those victories being over power house Argentina with a 3-1 final score, looks to get ready for their Copa America tournament this summer. There is a bright future with this generation of players for Venezuela who are counting on current Major League Soccer MVP Josef Martinez as well as up and coming defender Rolf Feltscher from the LA Galaxy. Needless to say a victory for both teams will give them a much needed confidence heading into their respective tournaments this summer.