In his first tournament in charge, Lozano led Mexico to a Gold Cup title. (Photo by Michael Janosz/ISI Photos/Getty Images).
The Mexican Football Federation (FMF) is betting on Lozano’s close relationship with Mexico’s current group of players. The senior national team was under immense negative pressure in the final years of the Martino era. Even though a number of the players had backed Martino publicly, a rash of poor results, namely three consecutive losses to the U.S., plunged the program into despair. In Mexico, the press and the fans attacked Martino’s tactics, man-management, and his nationality.
Lozano spoke highly of Martino and the relationship that they had during the Argentine’s time as national team manager. On the surface, Martino’s run in Mexico is deemed a failure by almost every standard. But Lozano was behind the scenes as coach of Mexico’s U-23s. He met with Martino and his staff nearly every day at Mexico’s national team training facility in Mexico City. There was a lot of value in the conversations Lozano and Martino had regarding Mexico’s player pool, or on the rigors and responsibilities that a Mexico national team coach endures.
“I asked (Martino) about everything,” Lozano said. “I wanted to learn. I enjoy that. I want to learn from other people’s experiences and try to avoid committing the same mistakes. I also want to build upon all the positive things that Martino and his staff put in place.”
Lozano is past the honeymoon stage. Pundits in Mexico have begun to poke holes in his ability to lead the senior national team. His inexperience is an easy target. Lozano is widely well-liked by the Mexican media, but results rule in international football. He already looked that reality in the eye last fall. Mexico needed a penalty shootout win over Honduras in the Nations League quarterfinals to advance to this summer’s Copa América as one of six invited nations from CONCACAF.
Previously, Mexico’s dour 3-3 draw in a friendly versus Uzbekistan last September did little to convince Mexicans that the national team had recovered from the pain of the 2022 World Cup. This new edition of the Nations League competition has opened the door to the traditional hypotheticals that always surround the job of Mexico’s manager.
“Lozano is sitting on a barrel of fireworks,” said MedioTiempo columnist and TUDN analyst Paco Arredondo last week. “There’s a constant pondering about what Lozano can accomplish with Mexico. If he doesn’t win the (Nations League) final, his job will begin to teeter.”
(Photo by Omar Vega/Getty Images)
Barring a horrendously embarrassing result in Dallas, Lozano should be safe. Even a hard-fought loss to the U.S., if both teams advance to the final, won’t lead to Lozano’s dismissal. Lozano was signed to lead the squad toward the 2026 World Cup. It’s a long-term project that Lozano understands can be easily derailed if one listens or reads too much social media.
“I know that pressure existed before I got here and it will persist when it’s time for me to leave,” said Lozano. “I have to absorb and only listen to what’s necessary. If not, you’ll go crazy. It helps that I don’t use social media very often. You can hear things that are not convenient.”
The noise that Lozano is referring to, from both fans and sports reporters, are “just opinions” that come from an emotional place, he said. Lozano added that a deeper form of analysis is often missing from football punditry in Mexico.
“You’re going to be exposed to opinions and criticisms whenever the results do not meet the expectations of the press, or in this case, of the fans. People are going to be upset and that causes a natural bit of pressure on us. It’s not ideal but it’s normal. The way I see it, the scrutiny is focused on the position and not on the person. I want to win too, but it doesn’t always happen the way you want.”
In the meantime, the FMF looks to be fully behind Lozano. How Mexico fares at Nations League final four and this summer’s Copa América will determine the success and longevity of the Lozano experiment.
As a player, Lozano missed out on the 2006 World Cup with Mexico through injury, but he now stands as the nation’s unlikely leader when the tournament returns to North America. Mexico will co-host the 2026 World Cup with the U.S. and Canada.
But there’s no guarantee that Lozano will be wearing a Mexico track jacket in two years.
“Let’s hope that happens,” Lozano said. “That’s why we’re working so hard each day, so that 20 years later we can fulfill a dream and make all of Mexico happy
(Photo: Omar Vega/Getty Images)
Source link : https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/5356669/2024/03/20/mexico-nations-league-jaime-lozano/
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Publish date : 2024-03-20 03:00:00
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