Earlier this week, Cesar Hernandez released a Top 25 Mexican Players List. He put the list together with input from others, I was lucky enough to be asked for my top 25. Below is my rankings and notes on some of my picks. Sound off in the comments if you feel my rankings are terrible in comparison to yours.
Stats as of 12/31/2014
TOP FIVE
Like Cesar said, its not a best of the month ranking. For my list, I looked at all of 2014 with slightly more weight to the last couple of months. In my eyes, the top spot was always going to be between Herrera and Vela.
Both have separated themselves from the pack. Hector has continued to improve while playing an increasingly important role at Porto. Others have taken note of his play and rumors are beginning to pin him for a big money transfer. Vela might have overtaken Herrera if he had played for the National Team but it hurts too much to think about his potential impact at the WC.
Andres Guardado was experiencing club instability last season and some had him missing the World Cup all together. He proved many wrong and became an important player for Mexico once again. Guardado showed versatility by playing and thriving in a central role. He has continued his good form for his club team, PSV, and seems likely to add a Eredivisie title to his trophy cabinet. Also, seems like the fans have taken to him as well and the team might try to keep him long term.
Rafa Marquez became the first player to captain his team at 4 different World Cups. Many thought he would go to Brazil for leadership purposes but he was a crucial player for El Tri. His unexpected move to Serie A might extend his career with the national team. Also, #NoEraPenal.
Gio Dos Santos has been the king of club instability but seems to have found a home in Villarreal and so has Jona. This new season has been a struggle for him to gain form but he is still a key cog in the Villarreal attack.
THE REST
-Ochoa will not be in my top ten next month if his playing time does not increase. Hopefully a transfer move happens this window for him.
-Miguel Layun’s transfer to a Championship side in the middle of a Promotion battle intrigues me. I am fully behind the transfer, even if Piojo seems lukewarm on it.
-Tecatito Corona has shot up my rankings since September when his coach stopped calling him fat and started calling him up to the first team. The Eredivisie has helped develop many attacking players and Corona is amongst that group. He was rewarded with a new extension earlier this season as Twente hope to extract full value for him when the time is right.
-Chicharito needs minutes. It comes down to as simple as playing. There is a big difference from being on a world class team like Real Madrid and playing for a world call team. Javier Hernandez is only on Real, not playing. Raul Jimenez is in a similar situation but is at a different time in his career.
-Diego Reyes has been touted as the heir to Rafa Marquez but he will need start earning more minutes at Porto before he is the heir to anything.
-Arturo “Ponchito” Gonzalez improved and developed enough that Piojo brought him along to Europe in November. He is the first of the U17 WC winning team to make their senior team debut. While Ponchito won’t be the last, he is currently the most promising player from that team.