After the preliminary games of the past FIFA International Match Calendar , Rodrigo Pizarro said that he had only played for a total of 45 minutes in one year; “I really haven’t been given a shot.” In fact, he originally wasn’t supposed to attend the tour against Iceland and Croatia . It was because of Giovani dos Santos’ injury that the opportunity arose for the player. In the game against Iceland, in Santa Clara , he only played for 13 minutes, and in Dallas , against Croatia, he participated as starting player but was removed at the half-time break. That was the last time that Pizarro played for the national football team under the management of Juan Carlos Osorio .
Because of his honesty, he was left out of Russia : “I’m being blamed for losing the game, but I don’t know why I’m being held responsible for 45 minutes of gameplay when none of the other players did anything, even those who have played for a long time and are more trusted,” said the former player of Chivas F.C . when Mexico lost against Croatia at the Dallas Cowboys Stadium, implying that no one really understood the diamond formation the Colombian manager tried to implement in the midfield.
Pizarro didn’t make it to Osorio’s list of 28 players
, arousing the immediate outrage of fans, journalists, commentators, analysts, and specialists. In social media, the majority of commentators agree that it is unfair for a key player like Rodolfo to be left out of the World Cup. Or perhaps he was left out because of his rant against Osorio: “In Osorio’s formation, I’m not allowed to step into the sidelines or anything. There was no space between midfielders. I’ve received a lot of criticism, but you can decide for yourselves who did or didn’t do a good job.”
The fact is that Rodolfo could only contribute to seven victories at the League when he played for Chivas, and five in the CONCACAF Champions’ League . He has only played for 646 minutes for Mexico’s national football team out of the 3,690 minutes of Osorio’s management since October 2015 ; that is to say, Pizarro’s participation has been minimal, and he’s only been used for international games outside of FIFA’s International Match Calendar.
Osorio delivered the list honestly and consistently. We may be against his decision to leave out certain players while including others, but this sort of controversy is common as the World Cup approaches, although it was inconsistent of him to exclude players that are currently in their prime and to include some that are arguably unworthy. Giovani doesn’t even come close to Pizarro’s level, just like no Mexican midfielder could come close to José Juan Vázquez , the best and most productive player in the League who, in over 40 games under Osorio, has only played for 44 minutes.
The list is consistent since all the usual well-known players will be at the World Cup or at least the ones that Osorio considers that will lead him to the championship. But if the reason he didn’t include Pizarro was his criticism of a system in which he didn’t feel comfortable, or publicly cursing at America F.C. in the middle of a celebration, it would be outrageous.
dm