The key to success in a team is to sign the best players out there. Combine Messi’s ability to get around any defender with Ronaldo’s speed an accuracy and make sure to sign all of the best defenders out there: from Sergio Ramos to Gerard Pique and you’ll be set for a trophy. Right? Wrong.
I could easily set up my ideal 11 men that I would like to put on the field but I cannot guarantee success. Signing a super star may not be as simple as a solution as many coaches seem to believe. The prime example seen this season is the recent Concachampions winners, Monterrey FC also known as the Rayados.
Coach Victor Manuel Vucetich is one of the best that has step foot onto Rayados territory and will no doubt be remembered that way such as recent River Plate coach Daniel Passarella is still remembered as. Vucetich has lead the Rayados to win two league championships in Apertura 2009 and Apertura 2010 followed by an honorary Concachampions title snag. Needless to say, Vucetich and his men were a clear threat this season as they had had strong previous seasons and were seen as one of the top contenders for this year’s 2011 Apertura in the Mexican League. The threat rose as Paraguayan midfielder Osvaldo Martinez was sold to Atlante in order to be able to purchase the former Lyon striker, Cesar ‘Chelito’ Delgado.
Delgado had left his mark with Lyon having scored consistently with the French and successfully launched his career as a European threat. The Argentine striker expressed his interest to return to Mexico as he had previously made an impact with Cruz Azul FC. Monterrey did not let the opportunity pass them by and signed the striker for the upcoming Apertura 2011. Fans and critics in Mexico were now more focused on this seemingly strong Monterrey team, which had now seemed to become even stronger.
This Cinderella like story did not unravel as expected, however. Monterrey suffered with injuries from the beginning of the season, which included their main strikers Aldo De Nigris and Humberto ‘Chupete’ Suazo. With two important men down it is obvious that the team’s psychological state was thrown off to say the least. However, injuries were not the team’s problem this season. Something was missing or something was intruding. Noticeably throughout the season, the team seemed to have lost heart or “amor a la camiseta” (love for the shirt). What was really wrong was how the team’s chemistry had been thrown off by the departure of their important midfielder Osvaldo Martinez and the arrival of Delgado. The arrival of Delgado seemingly changed the team’s style of play.
Delgado’s presence on the field was obvious but something was missing from him. His speed an accuracy for the goal were not enough as he did not seem to create enough plays to give any of his teammates options. Neri Cardozo, the unstoppable right wing, seemed to be participating less since Delgado’s arrival. Usually the core to every created play, Cardozo seemed to be less of an option this season for Vucetich. What was mostly wrong with Delgado is that he had to switch back to the style of play seen in Mexico. French soccer is quicker and non-stop, while Mexican soccer is slower and more focused on techniques. This also seemed to be a problem that Delgado had brought to the team since he seemed to be more rushed than anyone else on the field, which threw the team chemistry a bit to the negative side.
It was not all because of Delgado, as it seems to be. Head coach Vucetich also had a part in the team’s psychological discomfort. At the beginning of the season after having either lost or tied a couple of games in a row, Vucetich mentioned that he had been receiving offers from other teams to coach. This, in addition to the problems that the team was already having, added to the team’s psychological distress as not even their own coach was sure of staying. Vucetich stayed the whole season with the team and has no further plans for leaving the team but no doubt has he stopped receiving attractive offers.
Monterrey ended the season in 11th place, which placed them out of the running for the title. Having had the worst season in the past 4 seasons, the Rayados are looking to bounce back from an unfortunate season as they recently officially qualified to the 2011 Japan World Cup of Clubs. Hopefully through further training and hard work, the team chemistry will be able to improve and certain problems will be able to be reversed for this honorary tournament.
Back to the Soccer Newsfeed