Villaluz explains why life is harder for Mexican players in Liga MX
The worst enemy is to be considered a home player. Aztec players cannot speak because they are labeled crickets.
Questions have been raised about the state of Mexican soccer since the national team’s early exit from the recent World Cup in Qatar. A lot of commentators have voiced an opinion in the hope of contributing something to the debate and hopefully isolate what has gone wrong. The latest is César Villaluz, a former member of Mexico’s Under-17 side that was crowned world champions in Peru in 2005. Villaluz sat down with AS to chat about the current state of affairs in Mexican football and explained his own theory that homegrown players have a tougher time compared to foreign players in the domestic league.
“First of all, clubs tend to have more patience for foreign players than for Mexicans - there are more options open to foreign players. Here in Mexico, it is not a question of whether you take advantage of the opportunities you get, because I believe that is something you earn in training. The only thing you want is to reach the top flight to consolidate yourself there. You have dreams but then you see that there are a lot of obstacles in your way and that things aren’t equal for everyone,” Villaluz said.
Why are expectations different for one set of players?
Simply because when you get to the first team, it is almost forbidden for a Mexican player to make mistakes. Suddenly, you might be playing well, but just when things are starting to turn out well, they change the coach... If they don’t like your style or they don’t like working with young players, then you go back to the reserve team - that doesn’t happen with foreigners, because they are signed, expected to play and in the end they cost clubs less money.
Don’t you think that a few Mexican players lack awareness - the will to fight for a place in the team or to be more professional?
I don’t think so. Every player needs self-criticism and I assure you that all of us who were or went to Peru in 2005 had the same dreams of playing at least the majority of the 2010 or 2014 World Cup. But the options open to players at their respective Mexican clubs isn’t the same - every club has its own necessities, problems and ways of doing things.
So what should Mexican players do to have more of a chance with the national team?
Well, they need to fight with everything they have to get there, impose themselves. Everyone says that the generation of Peru 2005 failed and in some cases they could be right, but we see other teams and there are really few players who participated in that World Cup who went on to greater things. In the recent Mexico team were players like Vela, Giovanni, Moreno, Chicharito - players who, although they didn’t go to that World Cup, they were involved for almost the entire process.
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Why don’t Mexican players make their voices heard in their respective clubs?
Because if you do, if you start to complain, or want to talk about things, they call you a bigmouth, a troublemaker. As far as the clubs are concerned, it is often more comfortable for them to support foreigners because they consider that they have the personality and even if they aren’t fluent in the language, having a different tone of voice means that they they get more attention paid to them.
Why did you suddenly disappear from the map?
I was injured - I was recovering from an injury to my tibia and fibula. I was at San Luis, but suddenly they sold the team to Jaguares and I was in the process of recovery. They told me not to worry, that I was being considered, but when I returned to fitness, I was sent to play for the Under-20s. But I was playing with my INE (Federal ID) and not registered with the Liga MX. These things can happen, but I didn’t know and it meant that I wasn’t in the team for fear of the managers of not looking good. But that happens and it’s allowed, where the players are at a disadvantage.
Why do foreign players have more options and are listened to more than Mexican players?
Because, as I say, they are cheaper. They can talk, complain and are listened to. If not, they go back to their country; and if they they return, they feel supported by FIFA, who listen to them and make sure their contracts are valid, which does not happen with Mexican players.
So this is not due to indolence, or a lack of desire of behalf the Mexican players?
Not at all, I don’t see it that way, there is the Expansion League, with a lot of talent but without the strong competition of promotion or relegation, simply because the teams do not dare to give it opportunities, but rather prefer to get out of trouble and bet on a foreigner