Colombian coach Juan Carlos Osorio was heavily criticized in Mexico before his debut in the 2018 World Cup. But all doubts about his work were dispelled last Sunday, after the 'Tri' debuted with a convincing 1-0 victory over Germany.
Following Mexico's victory over the reigning world champion, coach Ricardo La Volpe called for more credit to be given to Juan Carlos Osorio for the team's performance.
"When the results didn't come, they went against Osorio, much more than against the players. Now give more credit to Osorio than to the players. I always give credit to the players, the coach has 20 or 30 percent, neither of them has 100 percent," explained La Volpe to Récord newspaper about Mexico's debut in Russia 2018.
Osorio giving instructions in the match between Mexico and Germany. (Getty Images)
"Now, the players have to execute it (the game plan). For example, what Vela did is what made Germany look bad, but these strategic, tactical things are not seen," added La Volpe, referring to the movements made by the Mexican forward behind the German central midfielders.
Regarding Saturday's match against South Korea, the second one that Mexico will play in Russia 2018, La Volpe did not rule out the possibility of Osorio making changes. "Each match is a different plan. I would like them to play the same way, they have five days to recover, and already have a starting team that shows what they showed against Germany. If there are rotations, we don't know what will happen," he concluded.