Who should replace Juan Carlos Osorio?

Should he stay or should he go:

Whether Juan Carlos Osorio is staying with the National Team is up in the air, with rumors that other national teams wish to sign him. It doesn’t help that he recently rejected the Mexican National Team’s contract extension that was offered to him by the FMF. Osorio has been in the news now more than ever, and here we will take a closer look at what Juan Carlos Osorio has done for El Tri.

Photo by Hector Vivas/Getty Images

If Germany would have exited the 2018 World Cup in the group stage like they did without Osorio coaching Mexico to a 1-0 win is debatable, but that’s one positive he’s done. He also led Mexico to the top of the CONCACAF World Cup qualifying table for the first time since 1997 and erased the 2-0 (dos a cero) in Columbus, Ohio against the United States in November of 2016.

Although just earlier that year, in 2016, he was beat by Jorge Sampaoli’s Chile team 7-0 in the Copa America Centenario Quarterfinals, he got the team a mental health coach to help them get over the worst competitive defeat in Mexico National Team history. In the 2017 Confederations Cup, they were beaten 4-1 in the Semifinals by the eventual winners Germany, and this year they failed to advance to the “quinto partido” of the World Cup.

There’s positives and negatives to any coach, and Osorio has been no different. The one word that summarizes all of these past World Cup Cycles is ‘meh’. It’s not amazing, but not horrible either. It’s as if Mexico is the child in class that people are split on. One camp thinks that they are the dumb student who doesn’t do well cause they can’t, or Mexico is smart and underachieving just needing the proper leadership. With Osorio as ‘El Profe” or teacher, it’s hard to wonder if anyone else could do better with the selection of players at Osorio’s disposal. Whatever your opinion, we can all agree that not many national teams occupy the space that Mexico find themselves in constantly.

Osorio, being a student of the game, usually utilizes a 4-3-3 or 4-2-1-3, with players like Carlos Vela playing attacking midfielder, Lozano on the wings, and Gallardo coming up and down the left flank.

Wins:33

Draws:9

Losses:10

• Osorio has no trophies with the Mexico National team

Replacements:

Matias Almeyda

Imagine a picturesque countryside mountain. The sun at it’s highest point in the afternoon, shining down and cascading a shadow on half of the breathtaking scenery. Birds chirping with nothing else but peace and quiet in the area. You zoom in closer and try to hear a little better, and that’s when you hear me. I’m screaming Almeyda!

Who else is more qualified for this position? An Argentine coach that has been at Banfield and River Plate. A coach who took a young Chivas side that for the first time in their existence was starring down the barrel of relegation, flipped them around, and since 2015 won 5 titles for the club. Making the most with what was given to him, fulfilled expectations, and even surpassed what most thought he would be able to do with Chivas’s constantly feuding ownership. It would be his first National team coaching position but his numbers with Chivas looked good.

Playing a possession-based game, attacking wise Chivas looked beautiful, but at times, they lacked good attacking options. He managed Chivas, which is filled with nothing but Mexicans. Imagine him with Mexico’s best attacking options. If that doesn’t give you some excitement, I don’t know what will.

Wins:44

Draws:31

Losses:22

• Copa MX: Apertura 2015
• Supercopa MX: 2016
• Copa MX: Clausura 2017
• Liga MX: Clausura 2017
• Concacaf Champions League 2018

Miguel ‘El Piojo’ Herrera

Photo by Buda Mendes/Getty Images

Some may say Miguel ‘El Piojo’ Herrera deserves a second chance. If Mexico would have beaten the Netherlands in that round of 16 game and ‘No era penal’ didn’t occur. we wouldn’t even be having this conversation right now. The 7-0 against Chile that occurred under Juan Carlos Osorio wouldn’t have happened because ‘El Piojo ‘Herrera would have came onto the field, gone Super Saiyan 1 and dropkicked Eduardo Vargas.

All jokes aside, he did hit a reporter at an airport, which led to his firing. Since, he seems to have stagnated. His winning percentage has fallen by 10, back to around 40%. As of recently, he managed Xolos de Tijuana and went back to coaching America, always coming up short.

His run during the National Team era from late 2013 to mid 2015 was pretty good, with a winning percentage over 50%, employing a defensive 5-3-2 formation that utilized the main center back in Rafa Marquez as a “mediocentro”.

Wins: 19

Draws: 10

Losses: 7

• Liga MX: Clausura 2013
• Concacaf Gold Cup 2015

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If Mexico are to part ways with Osorio who would you like to see as their head coach?