In a matter of a week, Mexico has been dealt the two biggest blows their team could take. Last week Andres Guardado injured his ankle during his Champions League match against Manchester United, ruling him out for next month's CONCACAF Cup match against the United States. This weekend, captain and defensive anchor Rafael Marquez left Hellas Verona's game in the 70th minute with a right groin strain and looks to be out for a month, meaning he too will miss the match against the USA.
This leaves Mexico’s interim national team coach Ricardo "El Tuca" Ferretti with some big problems, along with tactical and coaching decisions. First, with Marquez being out, this leaves Mexico captain-less. Guardado was the captain during the Gold Cup and ran away with the leadership role as he lead Mexico to the championship. Marquez captained Mexico’s Copa America team over the summer and has captained Mexico for 14 years. Who will step up and lead Mexico from here? Will Hector Moreno lead Mexico from the defense? Carlos Vela was named the captain under Ferretti for the Trinidad and Tobago friendly when neither Guardado and Marquez played, will he captain Mexico again?
Finding a captain is one problem Ferretti will need to address and it will also fall on the shoulders of the players like Moreno, Vela, Javier Hernandez, and Hector Herrera to step up and take on leadership roles on their own as well.
A bigger problem with Marquez out is tactically what will Ferretti do? Against Argentina Ferretti played Mexico in a 5-3-2 that became the regular formation for El Tri under Miguel Herrera. Mexico in the 5-3-2 has looked far and away better when Marquez is on the field. His positioning on the field and ability to lead from the back is why he’s great for the five man defensive line. Marquez also has the ability to step into the midfield a bit when Mexico has the ball and his passing and vision on the field helps Mexico move the ball and change the point of attack.
Ferretti now has the major call: stick with a five man back line, or go down to four. If he sticks with the five its highly likely that two of the three guys in the middle will be Moreno and Diego Reyes, but who will join them? Oswaldo Alanis has played the most out of the other defensive options that Mexico has as a centerback, but he's been hit or miss for the national team. Arturo Rivas hasn’t made any appearances for Mexico but plays under Ferretti in Liga MX with Tigres.
When looking back at history its likely that the game against the USA will open up for Mexico to have the majority of the play, so Ferretti can opt for one defensive midfield and throw a more attacking midfield at the USA. With the likes of Javier Aquino, Jesus Corona, and Giovani Dos Santos playing either on the right wing or in attacking midfielder, Mexico should be able to be more dynamic and aggressive.
Mexico now find themselves without a captain, searching for a leader, and have a big question mark on how it will come out and attack the United States. Things will clear up a bit when the 23-man roster is released, but for right now things don’t look as great for Mexico as they did a week ago.