One of the goalkeepers that has certainly come under fire in the last few months is Memo Ochoa, Mexican goalie for Club America, and the Mexican national team. He’s been one of the most popular goalkeepers for almost two decades at this point on the left side of the Atlantic. Is he more hype than game? That’s what we want to go over in this article. If you’ve read some of the other articles on the site you know that I love taking topics where I can find teaching points for younger goalkeepers. The idea behind these types of articles on the series I have on goalkeeper errors isn’t just to point out who’s good and who’s not. Mainly because most times it’s not as black and white as people want it to be.
For starters Memo Ochoa mexican goalie is a very accomplished keeper. He is the only Mexican goalkeeper to ever play any significant time overseas. Yes, Chivas goalkeeper Raul Gudino was in Europe for a while, but his minutes in Portugal and Cyprus weren’t exactly anything to write home about. The main criticism for Ochoa by the local media is that he’s been anointed as the national team goalkeeper because of his marketability, and not necessarily his skills between the sticks. By the way, his skills, strictly speaking, between the sticks are certainly hard to match. I want to go over what he does well, and what he doesn’t do a great job at. To see the end, I can answer the question of whether or not he’s a good goalkeeper.
Ochoa Mexican Goalie – His Biggest Virtue – Playing Between The Sticks
We are going to get to Guillermo Ochoa’s flaws soon enough. The main reason though why he was able to make a name for himself at such a young age was the fact that he had tremendous reflexes between the sticks. Let’s just be honest here, he’s the type of goalkeeper that can make those saves that would seem impossible. The close range header, and the acrobatic free kick save are two main staples that have made him famous. How does he do it? For one, he still has great reflexes and quick feet. With Ochoa we have to say that this is his god given talent. He was making these saves at 18. The fact that he’s still able to make these saves in his late 30s is also a sign that he still works hard.
With goalkeepers that are getting up there close to their 40s those reflex saves become harder and harder. Particularly for taller goalkeepers who have to dive to low incoming shots. What we can see from Ochoa on a weekly basis is that he still doesn’t seem to have lost a step. That’s certainly something that is a total testament to the fact that he puts in the work to make sure he’s still in great physical shape. Although he’s not the tallest goalkeeper he feels like he has amazing length. As we mentioned in those close range shots between the sticks he may be right up there with some of the best to ever do it!
Ochoa Mexican Goalie – Biggest Flaw – Ball Security
There are a couple aspects of Ochoa Mexican goalie’s game that can be scrutinized. Really even some of his biggest supporters wouldn’t be able to refute most of these claims. For me, the biggest hole in his game has always been ball security. In looking back at his career I’ve been able to point out why I feel this is the case. Anyway, a quick peek at the qualifier matches for the Qatar World Cup will provide perfect evidence of this. He has a really tough time being able to pluck a ball out of the air cleanly. Particularly with situations where he has to dive to one side. Even if he gets two hands on the ball you can almost be 100% sure that he’ll give up a second chance opportunity off of a rebound.
I mentioned that I had a theory about why this is the biggest hole in his game. Basically what I think happened was that he was thrust into a starring role in one of Mexico’s biggest clubs with a lot of fanfare surrounding him. Ball security wasn’t a natural part of his game. Since he was starting at 18 he wasn’t really able to get enough time to develop the skill. You don’t want to be looking dumb in practice. You can’t afford to do so! Maybe it would have been better for his career long term to sit until he was 20, 21 years old. To allow him to develop this part of his game. Leo Benhacker started him at 18 though, and that forced him to rely on his god given talent a lot more.
Corner Kicks & Crosses
This is another part of his game that is subpar. Looking back at his days at Malaga it may very well be the reason why he was never able to beat out Carlos Kameni. In the preseason of his first season at Malaga he committed a massive blunder trying to catch a ball cleanly out of the air from a corner. The whole play just made him look really bad. That essentially cemented his place on the bench. Being able to really cut crosses effectively as a goalkeeper is without a doubt one of the most underrated skill sets that a goalkeeper can have. In fact around 80% of the goalkeepers in the world play with crosses.
Ochoa isn’t the tallest goalkeeper in the world. However, we saw on consecutive weeks in the Premier League this season that a much taller goalkeeper Brazil’s Alisson also has a lot of trouble with high balls from corners and crosses. These types of plays essentially highlight what Ochoa isn’t great at. Catching the ball cleanly is the main issue. What teams are doing these days is that they are putting crosses in right in front of the goal. They are counting on the fact that Ochoa will stay between the sticks and allow them to poach the ball in from close range. It took them long enough to figure that one out!
Playing With His Feet
This is an awkward part of Ochoa’s game. Here’s the deal he’s not terrible by any means with the ball in his feet per se. In fact, I couldn’t recall from memory a major blunder from him from a pass back. You know the typical mistake that ends up on a highlight reel where there was a pass back and the goalkeeper couldn’t control the ball and it ended up in the back of the net. I’m not saying he’s Manuel Neuer on his feet, but he can handle himself adequately in that part of his game. There’s is however an issue that’s become more and more evident. That’s the fact that he’s not terribly long on goal kicks or just with the live ball off the ground.
In that recent stint with the national team in both the USA and Canada games that were World Cup qualifiers he really exhibited the fact that he’s not a long ball hitter. You can more or less play around that fact. The problem is, he was being asked a lot to clear the ball and he wasn’t getting the ball past midfield. If you’re not a long ball hitter there’s no shame in doubt. Get help from the defense and let them know they can go with you as a last resort and you can put the ball in the third row of the sidelines if necessary. That doesn’t mean you can be the main thrust and make long passes like Ederson. Don’t have them force you to!
Ochoa Mexican Goalie – The Marketability Aspect of Things
Would Ochoa Mexican Goalie, have been able to have such a long career if he hadn’t been such a marketable player? The quick answer is no, and that’s not necessarily a knock on him. It’s not his fault after all that the ladies have found him attractive through his career. Also, there’s an argument to be made that he’s left some money on the table in that part of his career. For example, he never made an MLS move to try and exploit his image in the US market more. Which, in turn, could’ve represented a lot more money coming into his bank account.
Locally though, the main criticism that he’s gotten is that he’s only the national team goalkeeper because he plays for Club America. Also, because the brands that sponsor the national team want him in the starting role so that he stars in the commercials that those brands create around the national team. Again, saying that he isn’t more marketable than some of the other Mexican goalkeepers would be a lie. Has that helped with staying on board? That is probably a true statement. To his credit though, he’s been one of the few Mexican players ever to put his dreams of playing in bigger clubs before the money aspect of things. He certainly could’ve made a ton more money staying in Mexico through his whole career or playing in the MLS. Instead of making moves to Ajaccio, the failed Malaga era, and those stints in Granada and Standard de Liège.
Is There A Better Option For Mexico Today?
There’s a saying in boxing that styles make fights. For me the biggest problem with deciding which goalkeeper is the best, is the fact that it comes down to style. A head to head comparison of any two individuals is hard to make when they have different styles of play. For example Alfredo Talavera is a taller goalkeeper that certainly plays crosses and corners much better than Ochoa does. He also has a better long ball game. However, he’s traditionally shrunk when playing with the national team while Ochoa has flourished. When he was set to get his chance with Juan Carlos Osorio as coach for Russia 2018 he got hurt. Ochoa ultimately got the nod as the starter.
Some fans want to see the position rejuvenated in the form of Santos goalkeeper Carlos Acevedo. The step towards youth is one that the team has to take sooner or later. There’s no question that Acevedo is the best young goalkeeper in Liga Mx these days. That being said, his style of play is nearly identical to that of Ochoa. In fact some of Acevedo’s flaws are accentuated by his lack of experience compared to Ochoa. He too can’t catch a ball cleanly, and that leads to many second chance opportunities. Making a change to Acevedo may lead to even more trouble in the Mexican goal at the moment. Especially in the high pressure environment that the team seems to constantly live in!
Ochoa Mexican Goalie – Conclusion
If you look through this article you’ll probably say that my personal conclusion is that Ochoa isn’t a good goalkeeper. If I’m being honest, which I am, I would say it’s not that he isn’t good. The thing is he isn’t great. However, there’s a major teaching point in my opinion with his career path. Ochoa is a goalkeeper that has one amazing skill. From there, he’s either average or below average in virtually all other aspects of his game. Even some of his biggest supporters can’t really argue that Ochoa doesn’t have great hands. Plus, he’s not really great with crosses. The idea behind the article wasn’t just to create a 5 page criticism of Memo.
When you have one great skill as a goalkeeper you can make a career out of it. Ochoa for example has a similar skill set than what we saw from another great Iker Casillas. They are great shot stoppers with holes in other parts of their games. You could make the argument though that shot stopping is the most important skill set that goalkeepers should have. It’s true that being a marketable athlete, which is ironically another “virtue” that Ochoa and Casillas share doesn’t hurt. Ideally though if you’re a young goalkeeper who gets an opportunity to start on an important team at a very young age don’t hinder your own development for fear of messing up! That’s in my opinion the teaching point behind Ochoa’s career. On the positive side, he’s always been a keeper who tried to take the next big step in his career. He wasn’t someone who settled.
