Jesús Ramirez, his coaching staff and a squad of 21 players, for many still infants, wrote the brightest and most important page in Mexican football by winning the Under 17 World Championship. Unlike other titles or important matches won by Mexico, this Mundial was a heavy, overwhelming tri and that did not end when time was asked so that the game would not be tied. The final in Peru ended with a goal by Ever Guzmán, the third of Brazil’s fair and spectacular defeats. The dream is over.
The championship took many by surprise, but not its protagonist, the ‘zero generation’ who had repeatedly billed themselves as the best team in the world long before they played their first game. The greatest example of this confidence was expressed by Jesús Ramírez who reiterated to the press that he would return with the cup; Few people believed him, but when he returned with the title, many people cheered in the streets.
But the World Cup was not won in Peru; For several months, ‘Chucho’ Ramirez, along with his entire coaching staff, took a group of players, most of them unknown, many even from the amateur field, and worked with them to build a group that would be the best. was on the level. Teams. Of the world This is not a lucky story, but a story where work is the moral.
The first step was taken in Culiacan, in the Premandial, which Mexico won without major setbacks, with a football that was beginning convincingly to show a change. In that instance, Giovanni dos Santos (Barcelona player) was not a starter and Carlos Vela went three games without a goal; The story will be very different in the World Cup.
In Peru, their appearances showed the team as a candidate for the title; The first was lost to Uruguay, whose coach said at the end of the match that “Mexico has to win this tournament”; His voice will be that of a prophet. Yet in the first leg, Australia would lose (3–0) and the only loss of the tournament would come against Turkey (1–2).
The World Cup had only a moment of urgency. In the quarterfinals, against Costa Rica, Mexico lost on an own goal two minutes before the end. Despite dominating, the youth trio were denied a reprieve, but a shot by Efrain Juarez, which was deflected by a Tico defender, gave them the tie. In overtime, Ever Guzmán and Carlos Vela were lethal to win the game.
The semi-finals and final against the Netherlands and Brazil were surprisingly easy; The Europeans were nailed to four (which could have easily been eight) and the South Americans clinched the title with a stunning 3–0 victory.
What does Carlos Vela have to do with it? almost nothing; He was a golden booty, with six goals, scoring the team’s first goal of the tournament and opening scoring in the final, where he tired of driving the Brazilians crazy on the left; Even the coach of the team had to take him out in the last few minutes because they were kicking him.
That performance also meant the striker’s jump to Europe. He learned that he can win everything with the national team and it is a habit that never dies.
In 10 years, we remember the zero generation, the golden one, the one that never stops shining, but 10 years on, that memory in Lima still makes our skin crawl.
