Mexico's History Against Germany
Cuauhtemoc Blanco evades the marking of the nearest rival and filters for Luis Hernandez, who with two moves gets rid of his opponents, to define with his right foot the 1-0 against the late exit of Andreas Koepke...Mexico vibrated in Montpellier, France. Just a few moments later, the Matador himself would miss the key play to extend the score, after a cross by Jesus Arellano, who connected again with Cuau. This attack is perfectly remembered by Manuel Lapuente, who experienced all the drama on the edge of the technical area: "It was the one for the victory," emphasizes the former coach.
On June 29, 1998, Jurgen Klinsmann and Oliver Bierhoff took care of ending the Mexican dream; at 74' and 86', the pressure exerted by the Germans resulted in defensive errors by the national defense, starting with Raul Rodrigo Lara and even Jorge Campos, which gave the possibility for the Germans to take the lead: "It was a very fierce Mexican team, which had its limitations, but brave. We analyzed the opponent well, we knew we could hurt them and we did it...We succumbed to the insistence of a powerful enemy, who never tired or gave up," says Manolo over the phone.
Now, soccer and coincidence bring these two teams together again, facing the enemy that has always eliminated Mexico just when it is believed that a step forward is about to be taken; it has happened three times in the World Cup (1978, 1986 and the aforementioned 98'), as well as in the Confederations Cup in 2005, so Lapuente analyzes the possibilities of the national team, the probabilities that the team led by Juan Carlos Osorio will prevail against an alternative German formation, although not lacking in talent and discipline.
"It is a different German team, they have many young players who play in the Bundesliga, and others with the quality to be part of the starting lineup, it is a very organized team, which has no weak points; Mexico and Osorio must be consistent, go out with the best they have and think that it is possible to defeat the opponent in front. There is a big difference to all the previous encounters in this series: every time we faced them, we had an inferior lineup, not in quality or commitment, but in names. Today things are different, we are the ones with experience in elite teams."
To defeat Germany, a situation that Manolo sees as feasible, thanks in large part to the talent of the Mexican team, the only thing he asks Juan Carlos Osorio is consistency and to maintain the most competitive starting eleven possible: "I can't understand all his changes, I don't see great coaches doing the same as him, and the thing is that to achieve success there is no other way than repetition, than consolidating your backbone...Against the Germans, you can't afford these types of luxuries, you can't speculate against teams of this caliber."
On the field, Mexico will have the absence of Andres Guardado, the captain and one of the references of this team, and in his position, Lapuente expects the national coach to take the time to analyze the pros and cons of the alternatives in this position; for Manolo, these types of dilemmas are more about the confidence of the potential substitute than anything else: "As a coach, you perceive it, you know who is the right one to replace such and such; I know Andres has a lot of quality, but we should think about the variations in the system. Hopefully, he doesn't make a mistake."
About the performance of El Tri in the Confederations Cup, Lapuente warns of the national team's inconsistency, of the different images that Osorio's team has shown against opponents of different levels; for the experienced manager, this is not a positive sign to succeed in the tournament: "There have been many versions, both favorable and negative, but too many different faces of the team and that, in the long run, ends up generating doubts as a coach and even more so, within the squad and not to mention for the fans or the press. It is not a style that I share."
HE IS THE MOST EFFECTIVE
Beyond the criticism that Osorio's playing system has generated, the numbers support him, not only when it comes to seeing the results of a match, but also when measuring the effectiveness of his actions: 80 percent. The Colombian coach is the highest among the last five coaches of the national team, followed by Jose Manuel de la Torre (66 percent), Ricardo La Volpe (60 percent), Javier Aguirre (59 percent) and Hugo Sanchez (58 percent). Within his record, it is worth mentioning that only two opponents have defeated him: Croatia and Chile, the latter with the overwhelming score of 7-0 in an official match.