Imanol Ibarrondo, the guru who could help Mexico get to the “fifth game”

Who is Imanol Ibarrando? Rarely will you see Ibarrando show his face doing interviews or press conferences. At times, he shares inspirational quotes through his Twitter days before Mexico plays a match, but most of the time he is a silent figure in the Mexico national team background.

Ibarrando had a brief career as a professional soccer player with Spanish club Rayo Vallecano and later funded an institute in Bilbao. After getting the job with Mexico as a sort of mental health coach, his first big task was to regain the trust within the player’s mindset after the brutal 7-0 loss vs Chile in the Copa America Centenario, in which Mexico bounced back with a 2-1 victory over the United States in Columbus, Ohio.