![]() ![]() Guillermo Ochoa, the current Mexican national football team captain, idolises former Manchester United goalkeeper Peter Schmeichel. Ochoa played for various teams across Europe between 2011 to 2019, making a name for himself before returning to his boyhood club in 2019 and continues to feature for them to date. Having spent seven years at Club America, he played a staggering 291 matches across all competitions before he decided to move on for a fresh challenge. The Mexican football player has played for several clubs across the globe, but his first employer, Club America, a Mexican top-flight club, gave him the platform to become what he is today. However, his coaches believed that he would be better in goal, which proved to be decisive in shaping his career between the sticks. Guillermo Ochoa was unbreachable yet again as he made as many as nine saves to keep the 1-0 scoreline unchanged at the end of 90 mins, which played a crucial part in Germany failing to make it beyond the group stage.ĭespite becoming a folk hero in Mexico courtesy his performances wearing the goalkeeping gloves, Guillermo Ochoa never wanted to be a goalkeeper.Įarly on in his career, Ochoa preferred playing as a striker. Mexico faced Die Mannschaft in their opening game of the 2018 campaign. The 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia also saw Guillermo Ochoa shut out one of the finest teams in football, the then reigning champions Germany this time. Guillermo Ochoa made six crucial saves, including a couple of close-range headers from Neymar and Thiago Silva, to shut out a star-studded Selecao attack. In a World Cup 2014 group phase match against hosts Brazil, Guillermo Ochoa was unbeatable as he gave another stunning individual performance to salvage a 0-0 draw for Mexico. However, this is not the first instance where Ochoa has faced a litmus test on the biggest stage in football and passed with flying colours. The Mexican goalkeeper was, once again, the saviour for his national football team in a group stage match against Poland of the FIFA World Cup 2022, where he made several great saves, including a penalty from ace striker Robert Lewandowski, to keep a clean sheet and earn his team a point. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.If there’s one goalkeeper oppositions hate playing against in international games, especially at FIFA World Cups, it’s Guillermo Ochoa. It would be very nice to close my career with a World Cup in Mexico.” “Yes, I see myself playing professional soccer and I see myself available for the national team. In his nine starts there, his teammates have given him only eight goals, yet Mexico has lost only three of those games.Īnd that has Ochoa thinking of a sixth World Cup in 2026, when the tournament will be shared by Mexico, the U.S. Yet he shines brightest on the biggest stage, the World Cup. Ochoa, 37, has also aged well, giving up less than a goal a game over his last three seasons with Club América, the best stretch of his career, while winning an Olympic bronze medal last year in Tokyo. “It often happens that players who are very good in their clubs and in the national team are not the same and you have to try to bring them together and calm them.” “As one of the experienced players, the way to help them is to make them feel normal, give them peace of mind so that the stress does not work against them, so that the Mexican crest on their shirt does not weigh them down,” Ochoa said. That has proved important on a team that is the second oldest in Qatar, yet includes 16 players who are making their World Cup debuts. ![]() He and midfielder Andrés Guardado, who is also playing in his fifth World Cup, have become important assets for Tata Martino, Mexico’s Argentine-born coach, who relies on their advice when setting team policy, meting out discipline and building chemistry in the dressing room. “First with his play, but also with his behavior off the field.” He’s a great professional and that’s important for his teammates because they see that, and he becomes a good example. Memo’s a leader because of all the years he’s played a top level. “That’s reflected in the media, among his teammates, with the fans. ![]() “People have confidence in him,” said Pérez, who is in Qatar working as an analyst for Telemundo. Óscar Pérez, who started in goal ahead of Ochoa in the 2010 World Cup, says it’s that experience, which includes 12 seasons in Mexico’s La Liga MX and eight more in Europe, that makes Ochoa special. Ochoa, who was born in Guadalajara, made his professional debut with Club América in 2003, winning the Liga MX rookie-of-the-year award that season, then leading the club to the Clausura title in the next one. Those two coaches changed the direction of Mexican soccer since Ochoa has gone to start 132 games in goal for Mexico, most ever by a keeper. ![]()
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