Concacaf at Copa América: #4 Mexico (2007)
El Tri made some noise in Venezuela and earned a spot on the podium
Our countdown of the most memorable Concacaf performances at Copa América continues with the Mexican National Team at the 2007 tournament. Mexico arrived in Venezuela fresh off a disappointing runner-up finish in the Concacaf Gold Cup a few weeks prior and a heartbreaking loss in extra-time to Argentina in the previous summer’s World Cup. The team had talent and also had a history of good performances in this competition (as you’ll read about more in this series).
If you missed #5 in our countdown, feel free to check it out below:
4. Mexico 2007
Result: 3rd place
Summary
They faced a brutal test to begin the tournament against Brazil. While it wasn’t Brazil’s strongest team, beating the Seleção in South America is near impossible, but El Tri achieved it! Nery Castillo channeled some samba e ginga and opened the scoring with an incredible goal. Just a few minutes later Ramón Morales buried a free kick that silenced the Brazilians. Future legend, Memo Ochoa, began his trend of showing up in big games as he made several impressive saves to keep the clean sheet. Mexico was atop the group and looking for more!
In the next game against Ecuador, it was Castillo again who broke through the backline and opened the scoring. Late in the game, Cuauhtémoc Blanco played a pristine cross into the box and all Omar Bravo had to do was head it beyond the keeper. They gave up a late goal but grabbed all 3 points. In the group finale against Chile, Ochoa came up big again with multiple diving saves to secure the draw and help Mexico top the group!
El Tri kept the momentum rolling against Paraguay in the quarterfinals and ran them off the field 6-0. Nery Castillo bagged a brace and 4 others scored on the Paraguayans, who lost their keeper to a red card just minutes into the game and gave up multiple penalties. Mexico was flying high and ready to face Argentina (the team that always seems to have their number).
Looking back, Hugo Sánchez probably wishes he would’ve kept the hot hand of Ochoa between the posts, but it may not have made a difference. Argentina ended the tight first half with a goal that deflated El Tri. A young Leo Messi chipped the keeper beautifully for the second goal and then Mexico gave up a bad penalty minutes later that finished them off. It was a disappointing 0-3 loss.
The team showed great resilience as they beat Uruguay in the 3rd place game, even after giving up an early goal. Blanco converted a penalty before the half and El Tri dominated the rest of the game with two outside-the-box goals from Omar Bravo and a long-haired Andrés Guardado! They ended the tournament on a high note with a 3-1 win and proved once again that they were one of the best teams in the Americas!
Best Moment: Nery Castillo’s opening goal against Brazil!
While the whole game against Brazil could be the moment, this goal to open the game set the tone and sent a nation into a frenzy. As mentioned above, Castillo gave the Seleção a taste of their own feijoada as he gathered the ball on the bounce, played it over the defenders head, and flicked the ball in before it ever hit the ground. A moment of pure brilliance!
It’s wild to think that Castillo was only in this position due to an injury to starting forward, Jared Borgetti, but he made the most of the stage and the opportunity!
Best Player: Nery Castillo
When Mexican fans hear his name, some think “he’s the best that never was”. This tournament was supposed to be the beginning of a storied career for El Tri as he was brought in after deciding to play for Mexico instead of Uruguay, Greece or Italy (for which he was also eligible). Coming into the tournament, he had just finished his 7th season at Greek giant, Olympiacos, where he was lighting up the league and scoring Champions League goals!
Castillo was a standout in the 2007 tournament as he scored 4 goals and added an assist. Argentina was the only team that was able to slow him down. He was making some of the best defenders in the world look pedestrian and it was one of the best performances from a Mexican player in a tournament setting. The sky was the limit!
He was able to leverage his performance into a €20 million transfer to Shakhtar Donetsk. After some souring at that club, he was loaned to Manchester City (he even paid half the loan fee himself). Unfortunately, things continued to spiral as he broke his shoulder and only appeared in 9 matches with the club. He made a few more appearances with Mexico after this tournament but was out of the team by 2009. He continued to bounce from club to club and is more famous now for his rant against Mexican media. Fans will always wonder what could have been…but one thing was for sure, Nery Castillo lit up the 2007 Copa América!
Stay tuned for the rest of our countdown - I’ll give you all a hint, if you’re a fan of El Tri, you’ll enjoy the next few posts!