Juninho, Mexico, and a failure in youth development

Depending where you get your information, you might have seen a piece of news floating around regarding Hector Gonzalez Iñarritu's visit to the Tigres training ground midweek of last week. This generated rumors that Iñarritu, director of Mexico's national teams, is actively having discussions with future scouting options for Miguel Herrera. Now it isn't unusual to have Iñarritu visit different team training grounds to speak in person with national team prospects. What is rare, however, is the elevated level of attention that was produced by this particular meeting. This is because one of the players rumored to be on Miguel Herrera's scouting list is Tigres center back Juninho.

Juninho was born in Brazil, but his inclusion into the Mexican national team has been gathering momentum for some time now. After a league title run with Tigres in 2011, Juninho decided to obtain his Mexican citizenship, opening the possibility for him to play for the Mexican national team. As it pertains to situations like these, this tends to ignite feelings of unfound nationalism from El Tri aficionados and media everywhere.

For starters, the only fact here is that being on the national team radar doesn't necessarily translate to an actual call-up. But Miguel Herrera has the unique problem of having to name two different squads for two different competitions. If Miguel Herrera takes any inspiration from his 2014 World Cup squad assemblage, then we can assume that he will take anywhere from a total of 8 to 10 center backs for 2015's summer competitions. Juninho's main role, that of a left sided center back, is one position where Mexico look particularly bleak.

Hector Moreno will most likely be the first name on the teamsheet in that left center back role. In a time when Louis Van Gaal pick-pocketed Moreno away from Pumas UNAM, I thought it would be a good time to use this as a catalyst for Mexico to showcase one of its strengths. Tall left footed players could be transformed into center backs, and they could develop good technique, vision, and a well balanced defensive aptitude. I hoped at the very least this would be the case for players like Nestor Araujo, Victor Perales, and Erik Pimentel. Unfortunately, some player's developments have stalled more than others, and Mexico just isn't producing the talent necessary in key defensive positions.

From the left footed center backs Miguel Herrera has tried, Osvaldo Alanis has looked the most sharp. Despite his struggles early against a very talented Chilean side, Alanis gradually settled in and even scored a goal versus Honduras.

Gerardo Venegas hasn't had the same luck. He looked timid with the ball at his feet. At most, it is his polyfunctionality Miguel Herrera is probably most fond of.

Then there is the option to play a right footed player in that left center back role. While Diego Reyes is one player that flourished in that role, he is expected to occupy other positions on the field with Hector Moreno in the same lineup.

But therein lies something Juninho does well at Tigres. Juninho can also play as a right footed left sided center back. This begs the question if Iñarritu and Herrera are willing to cope with the sensibilities of a Juninho decision due to the lack of options in the left center back positions.

Moreover, Juninho demonstrates a style of play the Mexico has failed to replicate in a player since Hector Moreno's departure to Dutch football. In addition to being a leader, he is one of the most complete players in the Liga MX. Under Ricardo Ferreti, Juninho is unafraid to move forward with the ball. He has good passing range and good technique. Like his namesake that grazed Ligue 1 pitches at the very peak of his prime, he is a good free kick taker with a powerful shot.

At 32 years of age, Juninho offers the versatily and skill set that many defensive minded youngsters in Mexico throw away at their developmental phase. This is a problem. Mexican physique isn't the strongest or most powerful. The technical traits that are there to exhibit the Mexican player's strengths are often ignored.

Like in most cases where a naturalized player is chosen to represent the Mexican national team, it then becomes less about nationalism and more about the shortcomings in producing talented players in a mold that best suits the national game. The problem with Leandro Augusto, Sinha, Guillermo Franco, and countless others is they were never worth the fuss about where they come from or why they shouldn't be there. It was Mexico's reluctance in acknowledging they fail to develop young players tailored towards their own style of play that was the problem. Juninho is a reflection of a center back that Mexico has failed to reproduce since Hector Moreno's ascendancy through Pumas UNAM's ranks.

At this point in his career and age, Juninho is unlikely to be in consideration for a spot at the 2018 World Cup. Nonetheless, a first experience in an international competition like the Copa America could prove difficult to reject before retirement. For now, everything is just speculation. But before we have any old discussions of naturalized players in the Mexican national team, we should take hard long look at youth development in Mexican football. Mexico's 2022 defensive line could use a hand.

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