World Cup days smell of freshly watered grass. At the High Performance Center (CAR), home of the Mexican national team, there is a small football oasis hidden in the Dolores Tlali neighborhood, on the outskirts of Mexico City. The grass sweats on its own in this property that serves as a refuge for one of the three hosts of the largest World Cup in history. The sound peace is broken when the squawks of some birds and the water sprinklers sound. Then emerge the pam, pam, pam of the kicks to the ball, the crack that sounded with each ball crashed against the crossbar, the whistles of professor Rafael Márquez and the laughter of Javier Aguirre, the team’s head coach.
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The Mexican national team opened the doors of the CAR so that the media, including EL PAÍS, and a few dozen lucky fans, could watch the complete training session. Aguirre’s 26 chosen players were on the main field to get ready before the game against South Africa next Thursday, June 11 (13:00). “Good, good, good!” shouts Márquez, the team’s assistant coach. His shouts, instructions, and corrections dominate the training. “When I receive, I look for space,” he asks. He holds the whistle in his right hand, his gaze on the ball. Aguirre roams the perimeter of the field to watch his pupils and, when something he doesn’t like, he approaches the player in the bright green uniform to ask him something brief. The creativity in touching the ball of Julián Quiñones and Gilberto Mora, a lover of dominating the ball like a violin soloist, stands out.
The only ones who go their own way are the three goalkeepers. Raúl Rangel, called to be the starter in the tournament, shows off his white gloves, Micky Mouse style, for agility exercises. Next to him, he works with veteran Guillermo Ochoa and third goalkeeper Carlos Acevedo. Rangel not only works his wrists and palms, but also shows off his footwork, something that gives Aguirre peace of mind.
The small stands for some fans tried not to break the order that Aguirre’s coaching staff needs to work. Some children, timid in their euphoria, managed to shout at the players closest to them. “Mateo! Ant! Ochoa!” they said to try to get a greeting. The players began to recite the symphony of shots on goal to test their goalkeepers. Applause sounded with the goals they could score against Rangel in direct shots on goal.
For a moment, the cameras’ spotlights focused on Santiago Giménez, from AC Milan, and Mateo Chávez, from AZ Alkmaar, who instead of trying their luck in shots on goal preferred to undergo passing and movement training between lines. Then each player stayed to shoot or juggle the ball. The practice ended as soon as a faint but annoying rain began. The players, only some, raised their hands to the fans huddled under the roof. Hope for the Mexican team has increased as the days go by, and the advertising machinery also helps footballing faith grow.
From now on, the Mexican national team begins the most critical phase for the team to reach the best possible performance, with an attack plan to take over the leadership of Group A, something that would help them have one more match in front of their home crowd at the Azteca Stadium, in addition to avoiding a favorite opponent in the tournament.
