Mexico National Team Players with Points to Prove in 2015 Liga MX Clausura
The 2015 Clausura starts on January 9 and it will be the perfect opportunity for several Mexico national team footballers to make amends with their clubs.
Some of these footballers missed the 2014 Apertura due to injury, while others failed to meet the expectations.
In any case, the new Liga MX season gives them the chance to redeem themselves and hopefully secure a spot in El Tri's starting XI.
Can these players prove coach Miguel Herrera that they belong with the national team? Let's take a look.
Adrian Aldrete (Santos Laguna)
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Adrian Aldrete reappeared with the national team in 2014 after a 16-month hiatus.
The Santos Laguna defender played against Netherlands in November, but his performance was far from what was expected.
Aldrete earned his spot with Mexico after 14 appearances in the 2014 Apertura with Los Guerreros. Despite being a fast and silky left-back he only created nine goal opportunities.
His average pass accuracy was 74 percent; he missed 82 passes. His ball possession was one of his worse assets during the season.
In the upcoming season Santos Laguna will have a squad full of young blood, and Aldrete has to become a real leader for the squad.
Isaac Brizuela (Guadalajara)
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Isaac Brizuela's performance in the 2014 Clausura earned him a spot in Mexico World Cup squad, however he couldn't keep the momentum going in the 2014 Apertura.
Brizuela failed to become an undisputed starter last season. He started 12 matches and came on as a sub in eight more.
He scored twice, his lowest record since the 2013 Clausura tournament.
Now he will play for Guadalajara, hoping to help Chivas avoid relegation. The feat won't be easy though.
Marco Fabian (Guadalajara)
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Marco Fabian left Guadalajara in 2013 to join Cruz Azul in a one-year loan. His first season with La Maquina was very successful, as he put the ball away seven times.
However, the 2014 Apertura was a nightmare for the midfielder. He only scored once and had 36 percent of shot accuracy with Cruz Azul.
Meanwhile, he made Mexico 2014 World Cup squad, but only to come in from the bench in the three games he played.
Ultimately, we will see him with Guadalajara in the 2015 Clausura along other young promises, such as Miguel Ponce, Isaac Brizuela and Carlos Salcedo.
He needs to show that he has learned from his mistakes and that he has matured enough to become a Chivas' cornerstone.
Luis Montes (Leon)
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After missing the 2014 Apertura tournament and the World Cup due to a fracture, Luis Montes is set to make his comeback in the upcoming season, as per Mexican newspaper Milenio (Spanish).
Montes is expected to return to the pitch between Matchdays 3 and 4, if he continues in the same healing path.
Chapo is a key element in Leon's midfield, and now that Gustavo Matosas won't be the club's coach, the footballer will have to prove his worth to Juan Antonio Pizzi, the new boss.
Montes' ability to leave the defenders behind, combined with his powerful long-distance shots, set him as one of the most elusive and technical Mexicans in the league.
Enrique Perez (Atlas)
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Enrique Perez returned to Mexico national team in 2014, after missing out two years.
Despite his efforts to be a leader of Los Zorros' back line, he fell short. At age 26, Perez needs more technique, especially in duels.
In the 2014 Apertura he only won 41 percent of them, 17 percent less than in the 2014 Clausura. It wasn't the only department in which he failed to excel.
He also created 10 fewer goal opportunities compared to the Clausura tournament, with a total of nine.
Perez was particularly erratic in the second leg of the 2014 Apertura quarter-finals, in which he failed to create scoring chances, plus he only made two blocks and one clearance—Atlas lost and was eliminated from the Liguilla.
Rodolfo Pizarro (Pachuca)
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Rodolfo Pizarro's performance in the 2014 Apertura was far from what he showed a season before.
In the 2014 Clausura he was an undisputed starter, as he appeared from the beginning in all 23 games of Los Tuzos, including the final showdown.
The right-back struggled to make an impact with Pachuca, but he only started 11 matches (he appeared in a total of 14).
Pizarro didn't take advantage of his dribbling skills and speed, as he only created eight goal opportunities. Meanwhile, his average pass accuracy equaled 67 percent, as a result of two shots on target and one off the target.
There's a long way to go for the 20-year-old, but he has to prove that age is just a number and that he is ready to return to his old ways.
Erick Torres (Guadalajara)
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Erick Torres is ready to reappear with Guadalajara after spending one year with now extinct Chivas USA.
Cubo won't stay long in Mexico though. He will go back to the MLS as soon as the 2015 Clausura is over, as Houston Dynamo bought him in December.
The last time Torres played in the Liga MX he only started one game and spent 121 minutes on the pitch (2013 Clausura).
He hasn't scored in the Mexican league since 2012, when he put the ball away against Toluca in the Liguilla quarter-finals.
His best season with Chivas was in 2011, as he started 19 games, scored six times and made four assists, as per MedioTiempo.com (Spanish).
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