Cruz Azul had a pitiful Clausura 2017 tournament and many players on its squad like the goalkeeper, Jesus Corona also suffered in the process. Corona has been a consistent goalie over the years and received the call to the Mexican national team for the friendlies in May and June.
The 36-year-old had a lot of fatal errors throughout the Clausura competition and did not merit this call-up to El Tri. There were several other Mexican goalies who did much better throughout 2017, here a list of five who deserved the call instead of Jesus Corona.
Miguel Fraga
Fraga emerged as a prominent goalie with Atlas after an injury to Oscar Ustari. The Mexican goalkeeper had 40 saves in just nine games as a starter compared to Corona’s 38 in 16 games as a starter. At 29, Fraga has never received a call to the national team or even a consistent starting role on a Liga MX team. The work the man from Morelia put in this Clausura was impressive even in the quarterfinals of the competition against Chivas of Guadalajara. Fraga’s overall performance did merit a call by Juan Carlos Osorio, at least over Jesus Corona.
Hugo Gonzalez
Gonzalez is not the most exciting option in net but he is a solid goalkeeper that gets the job done. At 26, Gonzalez is yet to receive a call to the national team but certainly deserves it after a solid campaign with Monterrey. The San Luis Potosi native is very mature and is a true professional who is clear in what his objectives are.
Gibran Lajud
The Xolos’ keeper is still very young at 23 but had a breakout season deserving of a call to the national team. Perhaps his age does put Juan Carlos Osorio off the Club Tijuana goalie but his performances in this Clausura were much better than Jesus Corona. Lajud had 56 saves in the regular season and was instrumental in the Xolos’ success having games where the result was greatly influenced by his performance. The Mexico City native is already making an impact in the playoffs having been Miguel Herrera’s best player in the quarterfinals against Monarcas Morelia.
Moises Munoz
Munoz was among the goalkeepers with the most saves in the Clausura 2017 tournament with 71. His team, Chiapas did relegate but the veteran keeper did try his best to try and maintain his club in the Liga MX. Munoz has always lived in the shadows of Jesus Corona but even at 37 is still deserving of a spot in the national team instead of the Cruz Azul goalie.
Rodolfo Cota
If there is anyone who was snubbed of a spot on the Mexican national team it was Rodolfo Cota. The Chivas’ goalkeeper had a league-leading 80 saves in the Clausura tournament along with eight clean sheets and was influential in almost every game for Guadalajara. Cota has never been called up to El Tri but is living one of his best moments and certainly deserves a call now more than ever.
