ANDl former director of the Mexico national team Ricardo Antonio La Volpe assured that he sees the current goalkeeper of the Aztec team Guillermo Ochoa with the conditions to become a starter at the 2026 World Cup and that despite some doubts that may arise due to the age of the goalkeeper of Salernitana of Italy, considers that it can be a clear option to defend the national goal in the FIFA universal tournament that will be played in Mexico, the United States and Canada.
“As a goalkeeper, with vision and experience, yes. It gave me a doubt, for example, that Jimmy Lozano has not, because we already know who Guillermo Ochoa is. The risk is in injury or age. Because you start to lose speed. You have experience, but you lose speed, you lose power, so be careful,” he highlighted.
La Volpe beyond his great experience as a technical director that led him to win a title with Atlante in the 1992-93 season and then put together a team as spectacular as Atlas in the Verano 1999 tournament, as well as Toluca in the Apertura 2002 tournament. who could not coach in the coronation match due to accepting the position as strategist of the Mexican national team, spoke with knowledge of the Ochoa matter due to his experience as World Cup goalkeeper for champion Argentina in the 1978 tournament.
“I think that’s what friendly matches are for, when I was talking about it being a process, I didn’t understand what it was, where I have to see this one and I have to see the other one. That’s why I’m surprised that we don’t know who the second one could be,” he said.
La Volpe knows Guillermo Ochoa well, as it is worth remembering that he was the first coach who gave him the opportunity to be part of a final list for a World Cup tournament in Germany 2006 where he was part of the group of goalkeepers for the national team that participated in said FIFA event together with holder Oswaldo Sánchez and Jesús Corona.
Later, Memo repeated in South Africa 2010, but coach Javier Aguirre opted for the experience of Óscar Pérez until in Brazil 2014 he took over the title and in Russia 2018 he had to reaffirm his excellent moment and what to say about Qatar 2022, where he had his great moment when he stopped a penalty against Poland’s Robert Lewandowski.
So we will see what happens in the 24 months remaining until the 2026 World Cup, where Memo, according to the analysis, must maintain the same conditions that currently keep him as a starter in the fight with Luis Malagón, Carlos Acevedo and Rodolfo Cota, among the most experienced and committed to taking the position of the current goalkeeper of Salernitana in Italy.
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