Jesús Gallardo, with that style so his own of saying things between seriousness and joke, made a revelation hours before the 80th duel between Mexico and the United States that, in other conditions, could burn the Tricolor environment: he assured that the staff is totally accustomed to Rafa Marquez’s style because it was he who really directed the training during Javier Aguirre’s process.
The goalkeeper of the Toluca explained that, in the past World Cup stage, the only real difference was the formal position. Who did the heavy work on the pitch was the ‘Kaiser of Michoacán’ and not the current coach of Valencia of Spain, precising that the vast majority of the practices ran on behalf of Márquez.
"The difference was only the charge" ?? I look at Jesus Gallardo's words about Rafa Marquez's role when he was with Javier Aguirre. pic.twitter.com/3ISgZFPRWt
According to Gallardo, Rafa commanded from the wheels of passes to the outgoing exercises, so the current transition has been natural and without complications, discarding that the work is to start from scratch, as in other processes, that each technician has its tactical booklet.
Although the revelation may seem surprising, the numbers support it. The fact that Mexico did not score goals in five of its six World Cup games proved that Rafael Marquez’s defensive method worked and gave him an unprecedented solidity.
Without proclaiming it to the four winds, Márquez took charge of the tactical order and the ball stopped, driving the evolution of zagueros such as Jorge Sánchez, César Montes and Johan Vásquez, as well as the midfielder Luis Romo.
Betting on the continuity of that base — including the own side of the scarlet picture — has favored understanding in the start of this new process, facilitating the integration of new faces such as ‘Toro’ Guzmán and Everardo López.
Gallardo is confident that the evolution of the Mexican back guard will be consolidated this Saturday against the United States. The Tricolor will jump to the pitch with the mission of summing up the 39th victory in the 80th confrontation of a historic rivalry between Mexicans and Americans that began 92 years ago.
The Toluca player also preferred not to avive the controversy prior to the duel against the United States and refused to compare which team is better. Gallardo was limited to highlighting that in Mexico there are young people with a lot of talent like Obed Vargas, Mateo Chávez, Santiago Sandoval, Everardo López and Hugo Camberos; therefore, instead of stopping to think if the squad of Uncle Sam is superior, he prefers to focus fully on the growth of the Aztec picture.
