Eight Mexicans who have played every minute of the Clausura 2023

Led by goalkeepers from Chivas, Santos, Tijuana, Juárez, Querétaro, Necaxa and León, eight Mexican players are among the 13 players who so far, have yet to miss a single second of the Clausura 2023 tournament in its regular phase. Chivas goalkeeper Miguel Jiménez has played all of the 16 games his team has played during the regular season, totaling 1440 minutes.

The same can be said for fellow keepers Carlos Acevedo, Alfredo Talavera, Antonio Rodríguez, Gil Alcalá, Hugo González and Rodolfo Cota, who along with Necaxa centre-back, Alexis Peña are the eight Mexicans who have shown an amazing regularity since the season started - consistency that has allowed them to tot up 1440 minutes of playing time each. They are now one step away from registering 1530 minutes of action - the total amount possible in the Clausura 2023.

Understandably, two of the five non-Mexican players that make up the list are also goalkeepers: Brazilian Tiago Volpi and Argentinean Nahuel Guzmán. Joining them are Toluca defensive pair - Chilean Valber Huerta and Colombian Andrés Mosquera, as well as Cruz Azul’s Uruguayan midfielder Ignacio Rivero.

It may sounds very easy to have played every possible minute of playing time in the same tournament, but in reality, a host of factors must be combined - avoiding injuries and suspensions, having the faith of the coach and performing well and consistently from the opening game to the last.

Querétaro goalkeeper, Gil Alcalá deserves a special mention. He had to leave Pumas after a couple of poor performances meant he only played two games in the Apertura 2022. However, since his move to Querétaro, he seems to have found his feet again and has completed 16 of the 17 regular season games so far. If he starts and completes Sunday’s game against Pachuca, he will have played every second of the Clausura 2023.