THE MEXICO TOP 25!

If you aren’t aware of my current project, I will be collaborating with other El Tri experts every month and rank who we deem to be the best Mexican players at the moment. It isn’t a “best of the month” list, but recent performances will of course influence our decisions. It should be fun.

Remember, these rankings are subjective. My main goal is to inspire discussion and conversations about our top players. Let us know any and all thoughts.

Collaborators from this month include: Jason Marquitz, Raul Barraza, Steve Graff, Tom Harrison, Tom Marshall and yours truly.

1. Javier Hernandez

Club: West Ham

Age: 29

Position: Striker

“One would think moving Chicharito off the wing and more centrally would help both the player and the club. One would think…” -Jason

2. Andres Guardado

Club: Real Betis

Age: 31

Position: Midfielder

“El Principito continues to have a significant hand in most of the Beticos’ goalscoring chances, and his La Liga-leading six assists in seven matches are a reflection of this.” -Steve

3. Hirving Lozano

Club: PSV Eindhoven

Age: 22

Position: Midfielder/Winger

“Chucky has been scaring Eredivisie since he arrived. Averaging a goal/assist every 59 minutes.” -Raul

4. Jesus Manuel Corona

Club: Porto

Age: 24

Position: Midfielder/Striker

“With a goal and an assist, Tecatito’s has a decent start to his Porto season. But as ever, holding down a place in the team has proven a challenge, with Corona averaging 54 minutes per game.” -Tom H

5. Hector Herrera

Club: Porto

Age: 27

Position: Midfielder

“After some ups and downs over the past few years, it’s now highly important for Herrera to hold onto some consistency before the World Cup.” -Cesar

6. Carlos Vela

Club: Real Sociedad

Age: 28

Position: Striker

“With his MLS move approaching, Vela is clearly being phased out at Sociedad.” -Jason

7. Hector Moreno

Club: Roma

Age: 29

Position: Defender

“Hector Moreno continues to find himself outside of AS Roma’s starting lineup, with manager Stefano Pioli preferring Federico Fazio and Kostas Manolas to the Culiacan native.” -Steve

8. Jonathan dos Santos

Club: LA Galaxy

Age: 27

Position: Midfielder

“Jona has been inconsistent since moving to MLS. He needs to improve his form, maybe a Liga MX loan in winter will help.” -Raul

9. Raul Jimenez

Club: Benfica

Age: 26

Position: Striker

“Raúl desperately needs more starts this season. If he gets them, Chicharito has competition for the starting spot up-front in Russia.” -Tom H

10. Miguel Layun

Club: Porto

Age: 29

Position: Defender

“No matter what happens in Porto, Layun is still an irreplaceable figure in Mexico’s roster.” -Cesar

11. Marco Fabian

Club: Eintracht Frankfurt

Age: 28

Position: Midfielder

“Both Frankfurt and El Tri fans will be hoping for a full return to form for a player that was on the top of his game pre-injury.” -Jason

12. Guillermo Ochoa

Club: Standard Liege

Age: 32

Position: Goalkeeper

“Guillermo Ochoa’s club struggles have apparently followed him to Belgium, as Standard Liege sit four points above the drop zone with the league’s second worst goal-differential. One has to ask as to whether Ochoa’s weaknesses are bad enough for Rouches’ manager Ricardo Sa Pinto to make a change between the sticks.” -Steve

13. Carlos Salcedo

Club: Eintracht Frankfurt

Age: 24

Position: Defender

“On the positive side, he has adapted well to Germany. Unfortunately, he needs to stay healthy.” -Raul

14. Javier Aquino

Club: Tigres

Age: 27

Position: Midfielder/Winger

“Aquino’s had to play deeper at times this season, but has still produced some high class displays for Tigres. Almost a certainty for the World Cup squad.” -Tom H

15. Diego Reyes

Club: Porto

Age: 25

Position: Defender

“Will he earn minutes as a defensive midfielder or central defender? Reyes has the capabilities to thrive in these roles, but has yet to truly shine for the national team. If not, a name like Edson Alvarez can easily replace him.” -Cesar

16. Erick Gutierrez

Club: Pachuca

Age: 22

Position: Midfielder

“His inclusion in the latest Mexico roster is a great sign for his future with the national team.” -Jason

17. Edson Alvarez

Club: America

Age: 19

Position: Defender/Midfielder

“Initially filling in for Paul Aguilar, the former Mexico U-20 international has relegated the once Mexico stalwart to a bench role for the second place team in the Apertura table. And with that has come a featured role for El Tri as an outside defender.” -Steve

18. Nestor Araujo

Club: Santos Laguna

Age: 26

Position: Defender

“A favorite of JCO has been steady for Santos and cemented his spot in Mexico’s defense.” -Raul

19. Orbelin Pineda

Club: Chivas

Age: 21

Position: Midfielder

“Harshly lost his spot in the Chivas team after sub-par displays out of position, in a more advanced ‘number ten’ role.” -Tom H

20. Rodolfo Pizarro

Club: Chivas

Age: 23

Position: Midfielder

“Although he was left out of the latest call-up, Pizarro has the talents to eventually sneak back into the squad before Russia 2018.” -Cesar

21. Giovani dos Santos

Club: LA Galaxy

Age: 28

Position: Striker

“The argument for his exclusion from the World Cup squad gets stronger with each Galaxy match.” -Jason

22. Cesar Montes

Club: Monterrey

Age: 20

Position: Defender

“‘Cachorro’ has been out of Monterrey’s squad with an injury since being pulled out of Monterrey’s Liga MX match against Atlas on September 16.” -Steve

23. Elias Hernandez

Club: Leon

Age: 29

Position: Winger

“Has had a solid season but has gone under the radar. One of Mexico’s better domestic based players.” -Raul

24. Oribe Peralta

Club: America

Age: 33

Position: Striker

“Surprisingly, not the top Mexican scorer in Liga MX right now. Alan Pulido could put pressure on his World Cup place if he regains form and fitness.” -Tom H

25. Omar Govea

Club: Royal Excel Mouscron

Age: 21

Position: Midfielder

“No surprise to see Govea make his debut in the Mex Top 25 this month. If he maintains his form abroad, a call-up for El Tri will become inevitable.” -Cesar

Honorable mentions: Jesus Gallardo, Jurgen Damm, Jesus Dueñas, Paul Aguilar, Jesus Molina, Jose de Jesus Corona.

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