Football – Mexico Football Fans

Mexico and United States is Football Rivalry

Mexico and United States have a football rivalry which began as early as the 1930’s when both national teams faced off in a game that would decide which squad was going to earn their qualification ticket to the 1934 World Cup and this match was eventually won by United States as the American outfit claimed a 4-2 triumph.

Even though there is a big rivalry between the Mexican and American teams, the manager of the Mexican national side Miguel Herrera does not believe that it’s going to be a problem to see many of his players joining the Major League Soccer.

“That’s a decision made only and exclusively by the player and his representatives. They should be looking for the best option possible, so long as the player is seeing the field.I’ve always said that MLS is growing, and every day it’s much more solid, much stronger and more competitive, so it’s an option for players, but it is they who have to decide in the end.” Mexico’s Miguel Herrera said.

The MLS has been experiencing an immense growth in the past few years, especially after the 2014 World Cup when United States managed to make it past the group stages which was a surprise as the American side was pitted in a tough group where Germany, Portugal and Ghana were competing.

The quality of the MLS has experienced a significant increase as players are getting better every season which is something that the Mexican players in the team of Miguel Herrera can take advantage of and specifically now in the year of 2015 for Mexico as they have a very busy year filled with a number of top tournaments.

Copa America, Gold Cup and qualifying for the 2017 Confederations Cup are some of the major competitions that Miguel Herrera and his players will be competing in this year and getting matches in a league which is growing at such a rapid pace such as the MLS is a good way for the squad of Herrera to prepare themselves.

Erick Torres Padilla future doubtful

After the demise of Chivas USA from the MLS, the future of striker Erick Torres Padilla has been in doubt with many linking him with a move to Europe.

The 21-year-old, though, has secured a stay in MLS after Houston Dynamo announced an agreement to keep him in the league. Mexico coach Miguel Herrera said that this was one of best decisions for the young striker since it would mean that he would get regular game time. Moving to Europe at this stage in his career would have severely impacted his international prospects, as Herrera says that he will pick up only players who play regularly for their clubs.

Since the MLS season does not begin in a few months, Erick Torres has currently moved to Mexican outfit Guadalajara on a loan spell in order to improve his fitness. Torres has signed a five-year contract with Houston Dynamo and he is one of clubs designated players. Last year was especially good for the 21-year-old has he managed to score 15 goals in 29 matches. This led to the call-up to the national team. He has scored one goal in three appearances for Mexico. Herrera recently signed a new long-term contract to keep him with the Mexican national team until 2018.

“Without a doubt, for his benefit and for me, [Cubo] should continue in MLS. It’s his decision and his agent’s and his family’s, and what he thinks is best for him. What we want is for him to have the same activity he had this year.

I try to talk to them, make them feel good and I want them to have enough competitiveness. I think, without a doubt, that Erick has done an outstanding job here in MLS. MLS is a growing league and very strong, with very good teams and players,” said Torres.

Mexican coach surprised with Klinsmann in Squad

The coach of the Mexican national football team Miguel Herrera is not sure why Jurgen Klinsmann was included in the shortlist of managers that have been nominated and have a chance of winning the FIFA Best Coach of the Year award of 2014.

“I don’t know why JurgenKlinsman is on the list of the best 10 managers of the year. Maybe because he’s German. That’s the only explanation we have, because he hasn’t done anything to be there. I’d say Jorge Luis Pinto did more with Costa Rica.” Miguel Herrera said as he does not agree with the decision of FIFA.

Jurgenklinsmann managed to push the USA team past the group stages of Group G which was considered to be one of the toughest groups out of the entire 2014 World Cup as it included nations such as: Portugal, Ghana and the current champions of the world Germany.

The American side was also able to win the CONCACAF Gold Cup of the previous year under the guidance of JurgenKlinsmann, it was a fairly impressive season for JurgenKlinsmann and his squad of player but Mexico’s Miguel Herrera is not confident as if the German coach should have been included in the list of coaches which includes some of the highest rated and paid managers in the world of football.

Carlo Ancelotti, Antonio Conte, Pep Guardiola, JurgenKlinsmann, Joachim Low, Jose Mourinho, Manuel Pellegrini, Alejandro Sabella, Diego Simeone and Louis van Gaal are the coaches that have been nominated to receive the award.

That list of 10 coaches will be cut down to only 3 finalists on December 1st and the official winner is going to be announced on January 15 in Zurich.

Mexico’s coach backed Hernandez

The Mexican forward of Real Madrid, Javier Hernandez has not played in the latest friendly matches of his country Mexico as they faced off with Bolivia and Chile earlier in September and according to the coach of the team Miguel Herrera said that it was due to the player wanting to focus on his club more than anything else.

When the summer transfer window was about to reach its end, Javier Hernandez signed a loan deal with Real Madrid.

After the transfer was officially completed and Hernandez made his arrival to the Santiago Bernabeu, Mexico’s coach has backed and supported the attacker as he said: “I’m pleased because Javier has gone to one of the most important clubs in the world. Before he was at United and now his arrival at Real Madrid is phenomenal. I think that he will see a lot more action with his new club. There is no striker like him. Not anybody can score as many goals in the Premier League from so few minutes as he did. He always does his job.”
The future of Javier Hernandez has been settled as he joined Real Madrid on a season long loan deal and Miguel Herrera has also penned a new contract with the head coach of Mexico deciding to renew his current deal with Mexico.
Miguel Herrera originally had penned a deal with Mexico which extends until December but now after a verbal agreement which was completed a few days ago will allow Herrera to be in charge of Mexico at least until the upcoming 2018 World Cup which will be held in Russia.
Mexico had a fairly impressive campaign in the 2014 edition of the World Cup as they claimed victories against Cameroon and Croatia as well as managing to force Brazil to a goalless draw but they were eventually knocked out of the tournament after facing off with Netherlands.

Ochoa Secures Move To Malaga

Mexican goalkeeper Guillermo Ochoa has managed to secure a high-profile move to Malaga following his impressive performances at the World Cup 2014. Ochoa was one of the best goalkeepers at the tournament after he made some stunning saves especially against Neymar of Brazil. It helped Mexico reached the last 16 of the competition. He was once again the standout performer in the last 16 against Netherlands and it almost helped saw Mexico in the quarter-finals. He was defeated only in the final five minutes of the encounter with one of the goals being a penalty.
It was widely speculated that Ochoa, who has been playing for French club Ajaccio since 2011, would move to a major European club. It has come in the form of a move to Malaga, who have been in the Champions League quarter-finals only a few years ago. Despite the financial troubles at the club, this move will help the 29-year-old goalkeeper to attract a lot of attention from the top of the pile clubs. It was speculated that Ajaccio may be set for offers from Arsenal and Real Madrid. However, it seems that Ochoa has decided to move to a club where he will get regular first-team football along with good coverage in the eyes of the media.
At just 29 years old, he still has a long way to go as a goalkeeper. “Malaga has reached an agreement to sign one of the best goalkeepers of the recent World Cup in Brazil, Francisco Guillermo Ochoa Magaña,” said a statement on the official site of the Spanish club. Ochoa has signed a three-year contract with the Spanish club. The 29-year-old has cost Malaga not a penny in transfer fees since he was available on a free transfer. Arsenal have since elected to sign Colombian goalkeeper David Ospina.

Van Gaal Wants New Club To Be Better Than The Dutch

New Manchester United manager Louis van Gaal has claimed that he wants his new club the better than the Dutch. The 62-year-old comes straight into the job after having finished with Netherlands. He left Netherlands with his head held high after managing to get the team into the semi-finals of the World Cup 2014. Many felt that they were quite unlucky to lose to Argentina on penalties. Still, as a consolation, van Gaal ensured that Netherlands finished third in the World Cup by winning the play-off against Brazil.

Van Gaal will have a tough job on his hands to sustain his reputation as one of the top managers in club football. He has won league titles at all of his biggest clubs, but repeating the same at Manchester United is going to be difficult especially because there is a lot of rebuilding work left at the club. United have already signed a couple of players at more than £ 50 million. The number signings at United includes Luke Shaw, who has become the most expensive teenager at £ 30 million. Since there will be a mixture of players in the United team, van Gaal will have his work cut out in order to get them playing in the way he wants.

Still, he has set an ambitious target of making this United team as good as the Dutch national team. “I hope the group in Manchester will become like this one. We have to sing from the same hymn sheet. I have top staff. They are great people. My players were even better. It was a great group. I hope at Manchester United I can do my best. I will do my best. Whether that’s enough for the fans I will wait and see, but I genuinely hope that will be the case,” said Van Gaal.