This has been a hectic year for El Tri. From losing to the United States Dos a Cero in the beginning of the year, to redemption in their Gold Cup Final win over Jamaica, there have been plenty of highs to a few lows. 2015 will be a year to remember for Mexico’s Men’s National team. Let’s reflect on El Tri 2015!
Dos a Cero loss against the U.S.A. in April
Mexico started the year off with two consecutive wins but in their third match of the new year, they were completely owned by the United States men’s national team.
Mexico’s 2-1 Loss to Ecuador in the Copa America
El Tri 2015 started poorly, with El Piojo making the decision to take an experimental side to the Copa America. That decision proved to be a bust with Mexico failing to make it out of the group stage. Their final match in the tournament was a must win against Ecuador. They went on to lose it 2-1 and in doing so got knocked out.
Mexico’s Gold Cup Penalty Controversies against Costa Rica and Panama
The Gold Cup started on a good note for El Tri, with a 6-0 win over Cuba kicking off their campaign. That was followed by a period of unconvincing ties and wins for the Mexicans: two draws against Guatemala and Trinidad and Tobago, and two wins against Panama and Costa Rica courtesy of controversial penalty calls. Thus Mexico earned a ticket to the Gold Cup final against Jamaica.
Mexico’s Gold Cup win over Jamaica
There was a lot of pressure on Mexico after making it to the final of the Gold Cup in such a controversial fashion. El Tri had to step up and dominate this last game. They did just that, with Andres Guardado, Jesus Corona and Oribe Peralta scoring in a 3-1 win over Jamaica. Mexico won their 7th Gold Cup title.
Miguel “El Pijo” Herrera’s sacking for punching a reporter
All the celebrations and excitement over El Tri winning their 7th Gold Cup title soon turned into chaos and uncertainty when El Piojo punched a reporter as El Tri were boarding their plane to head home.There was bad blood between the two and Herrera did not hold back when he saw Christian Martinoli at the airport. Soon afterwards he was dismissed by the Mexican Soccer Federation. Leaving El Tri in a state of embarrassment and uncertainty.
This man has been missed. Photo: @SunTimesMas | Twitter
“Tuca” Ferretti becoming interim El Tri Coach
With a crucial Confederation Cup qualifying playoff match four months after losing their head coach, the Mexican Soccer Federation had to act quickly in appointing an interim successor. The man they turned to reluctantly decided to take the helm. Ricardo “Tuca” Ferretti took the job on an interim basis and promised to leave the position at the end of the CONCACAF Cup match against the U.S.A., regardless of the outcome.
Tuca Ferreti once said he would never coach El Tri. Photo: @Contenido_Net | Twitter
Mexico’s win over the U.S.A. in the CONCACAF Cup
In a rematch of their Dos a Cero loss. Mexico trumped the United States in the CONCACAF Cup with a 3-2 win in extra time, earning themselves a ticket to the Confederations Cup. Definitely one of the best moments of their 2015.
Juan Carlos Osorio selected as El Tri Coach
Ricardo “Tuca” Ferretti kept to his promise and left the El Tri post after successfully leading the team to their win over the U.S.A. in the CONCACAF Cup. Once again the Mexican Soccer Federation had to find a solution to being without a coach. This time they turned to a candidate that no one saw coming: Juan Carlos Osorio. The former Sao Paulo coach was selected to lead El Tri into 2016.
The new face of El Tri. Photo: @GolGana_ | Twitter
2nd World Cup Qualifier win over Honduras
Osorio kicked off his El Tri reign with a 3-0 World Cup Qualifier win over El Salvador and followed that up with another win over Honduras in El Tri’s last match of 2015. This match was especially important partly because Honduras has always been a thorn in Mexico’s side but also because they boasted an impressive record at home. El Tri hadn’t won at the Olimpico Metropolitano Stadium in 22 years. Mexico won 2-0 and with that, ended El Tri 2015 on a high note.
El Tri have had a productive year. Even though they struggled in competitions that they should have done better in, they ended the year at the pinnacle of CONCACAF. Their regional status is apparent and other teams have catching up to do. Mexico is in a moment of building and must take advantage of the progress that they have made. What will 2016 bring for Osorio and El Tri?
