La Volpe is very clear about one of the problems of Liga MX and the Mexican national team: there are no players who break systems

I f anyone knows about soccer and is very familiar with Mexican soccer, it is Ricardo Antonio La Volpe. He studies and analyzes it day after day. This can be seen in Lavolpismo, his YouTube channel, a space where he explains in detail tactical concepts and systems. Being an authoritative voice to talk about the present of the Mexican national team, the coach is very clear about a lack that Liga MX suffers from and harms the national team: the scarcity of players who play on the outside and break systems.

In an exclusive interview with MARCA MX by Dan Fridman, 'El Bigoton' was incisive in an observation he has been making for some time, that of a notorious absence of local talent that performs functionally on the flanks of the field. More than a criticism, it is a concern on his part in his formative conviction, because he sees that the problem is not being solved from the grassroots, that is, from recruitment and training.

He made an analogy with the work processes in Argentina, a country that is currently world champion and continuously exports players to different nations, and is also accustomed to appearing in youth World Cups

Do you think that (in Argentina) we don't see if (a boy) has the characteristics to play as a winger, as a wing, as a midfielder, or from defensive to offensive to be a full-back?! If now they come to tell me that the full-back must replace the ability of the midfielders who play outside... No!

To be more specific with his idea, La Volpe gave as an example what he knows best and what has made him an expert on the subject, the reading of systems. He said that in modern soccer you have to look for the width of the field, an intention for which it is essential to have a game plan with players who play and know the flanks.

As a coach, he put it this way: if the opposing team proposes a tactical system with full-backs and you do not have players with the skills and qualities to play on the flanks, you are going to suffer. In contrast, if you have wingers or midfielders who know how to play on the outside and also dribble, you ruin the opponent's proposal.

Let's not forget that there is a full-back. If I have a good winger and he dribbles, I've already broken the system. That's what we have to see

And that is precisely, as he points out in the interview, what the Liga MX and the Mexican national team are lacking. In fact, as he often says, he still does not understand when or how it was that Mexico stopped producing and training talents that have presence on the flanks.

We had them and now we don't, something is wrong

When mentioning Mexican soccer players to exemplify what the national past was like with systems that prioritized the full-back, the winger and the outside midfielder, he cited the names of Jesus Arellano, Alberto Medina and Marco Antonio Ruiz. If someone from a new generation sees the Mexican national team without people on the wings, La Volpe clarifies the situation by telling them not to be fooled, because once there were such players.

Yes, we did, how could we not?

Currently without a team, from his point of view, 'El Bigoton' detects a very visible structural flaw. He believes that it is evident that something is wrong and for him, that something has to do with the disinterest of the clubs to monitor, produce and train players in wide positions. Likewise, he points out that there is a lack of instilling in the player concepts of systems regarding the area of the field where he plays.

That's what's missing. In the teams you can see that we are not producing... I don't know if in the scouting and in the recruitment of players they are not looking