Jaime Lozano, in the midst of doubts and questions, celebrates one year as coach of the Mexico national team

Precisely on June 19, 2023 Jaime Lozano He was called urgently to take over from the Argentine coach Diego Cocca, five days before the debut in the 2023 Gold Cup. From that moment on, the current strategist of the Mexico national team has lived 365 days full of uncertainty, doubts and questions about the viability of its project for the 2026 World Cup, which will be played in a tripartite manner in the territory of the United States, Mexico and Canada.

Thus, the call “Jimmy” Lozano will complete this Wednesday perhaps the hardest year of his career in football, as a player or coach, since he never expected to experience firsthand the pressure that leading the team in the middle of a situation on Aztec soil represents. football that lives a reality of its true capacity at the international level, especially at the level of its national team.

As a replacement for Diego Cocca, who was fired from the national team after the failure of the Nations League 2023 In the first turn of the helm by the High Commissioner for Football of Mexico Juan Carlos Rodríguez, Jaime Lozano came to the helm, almost at the express request of the players.

In his 12-month process, he has directed 19 games for the Mexican team, where he has 9 wins, four draws and six losses, with 33 goals for and 23 against. but where beyond the numbers, the functioning of the team is what generates many doubts, especially when it comes to modifying tactical schemes as happened in the final of the Nations League with the United States where they fell 2-0 and in the resounding 0 -4 with Uruguay in Denver.

Lozano, who did an excellent job at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, was practically called as a firefighter in the new project of the so-called “La Bomba” Rodríguez, to give Mexican football a structural change, who has not hesitated to reiterate his unrestricted support for the work of Jaime Lozano at times when the results have not been so favorable.

Jaime Lozano, leading the Mexican team, perhaps has the greatest merit of having won the 2023 Gold Cup title by defeating a decimated United States team in the semifinals and then winning in the grand final with a last-minute goal from Santiago Giménez.

But from that moment on, things have not gone the way everyone expected with Lozano at the helm, because in the 2024 edition of the Nations League last March the United States gained revenge 2-0. and from that moment on, doubts and questions arose about Jaime Lozano’s ability as a coach and, above all, the level of a coaching staff that was extensive in personnel, but short in experience.

Added to this, the resounding defeat against Uruguay in the preparation games for the Copa América 0-4 in Denver, has put the sword of Damocles on the head of the Mexico national team coach, with unusual pressure that not even the worthy defeat against Brazil 3-2 in Texas has managed to alleviate the bad omens of what may happen in Jaime’s future. Lozano, after these 12 months surrounded by criticism.

So instead of cake and candles, Lozano requires that this June 19, In truth, the high command of the Mexican Football Federation guarantees its continuity in the process for the 2026 World Cup, no matter what happens in the Copa América that is just around the corner to face, nestled in Group B, against Jamaica. , Ecuador and Venezuela.

Keep reading:
– Diego Cocca admitted how complicated it is to lead the Mexican team
– Mexico rescues third place in the 2023 Nations League by beating Panama
– Jaime Lozano does not appear among the ten highest paid technicians in the Copa América