Perhaps if we were to combine Giovani's legs with Chicharito's mentality and Carlos Vela's intelligence, we would find the perfect Mexican soccer player, the one that Mexican soccer has been waiting for...
SAN DIEGO, California.- The reality is that Mexican soccer has always dreamed of having a Messi, a CR7, a Maradona, or a Pelé. Instead, it has had to settle for Giovani Dos Santos and Carlos Vela.
I suppose this is more or less what the former coach of the Mexican National Team and Club America, Miguel Herrera, meant when he specifically referred to Giovani Dos Santos and his physical fragility, which can also be interpreted as a lack of mental strength, an insufficiency that Mexican players have historically been accused of. "El Piojo" hypothetically compares Dos Santos' personality to that of Javier "Chicharito" Hernandez. On one hand, a player full of abilities, and on the other hand, a player all-powerful in the cerebral part. If we could combine the qualities of both, we might find the player that Mexican fans have longed for.
The truth is that we have been waiting for many years for a player who can change the history of our game. That player has not arrived.
Giovani had everything to be that player. He started at the pinnacle of world football at a time when Barcelona dominated the game. And from there, he dramatically declined, regressing at Club America, where his seasons have been defined more by inconsistency and mediocrity than the glory that came with joining the club of his "loves" at an age (31) where he still had plenty of time to prove his abilities. So far, his time at Coapa has been forgettable.
Carlos Vela's situation is both comparable and incomparable to Dos Santos'. He also started at the top, at Arsenal, where Wenger saw him as a future star. It didn't go well there, and he ended up playing at a high level for Real Sociedad. Just when it seemed like he could sustain himself at the elite European level for a long time, he chose the comfort of the United States. Vela could have fought, as he once did, to get as close as possible to Lionel Messi. Instead, he decided to be "the Messi of MLS."
Everyone is free to make whatever decision they want in life and in this case, in their professional career. Giovani and Vela were the leaders of "the golden generation" that was supposed to bring about the change that Mexican soccer desires. But it didn't happen. It is incredible that a player like Chicharito Hernández, with fewer technical attributes than the two of them, was able to reach extraordinary levels and succeed in them. That is irrefutable proof that innate talent in soccer, and in life, is not enough if it is not accompanied by character and a mentality that can withstand anything. The head of "Chicharito" in the body of Giovani and the intelligence of Vela would have created the "perfect Mexican soccer player." We don't have that. We are still searching...
@Faitelson_ESPN