No mames, guey: Chile's rout of El Tri was Mexican football's darkest night
Entering Saturday, Mexico boasted the longest unbeaten streak in the world and the longest in the country's history, as El Tri had gone undefeated in 22 fixtures. That, combined with quasi-home advantage, had its supporters dreaming of glory at the Copa America Centenario.
What a difference 90 minutes can make.
In the span of two hours, Mexican football had its soul ripped out. Then it had its soul ripped out again. Then five more times. Chile produced a goleada reminiscent of the Spanish conquest of the Aztec empire. Eduardo Vargas was Hernan Cortes, leading the merciless expedition against a group that was ultimately defenseless given its enemy's strength.
When Heber Lopes, the match's referee, blew his whistle and put an end to the carnage, the sound confirmed a 7-0 victory for Chile, marking Mexico's worst-ever margin of defeat in a non-friendly game. El Tri's form over the last year was instantly forgotten and Juan Carlos Osorio, previously enjoying something of a honeymoon phase as the team's manager, was all of a sudden in the hot seat.
"I want to ask for forgiveness from the Mexican people," Osorio said after the embarrassment. He then admitted that he "made mistakes in everything."
Forgiveness might be hard to come by. Mexico's managers have been sacked for far less.
In the immediate aftermath of the evisceration, one question is circulating that is of the utmost importance in determining Osorio's future: Was Chile's rout of Mexico the darkest night for Mexican football? The beautiful game offers the North American country something to celebrate as its headlines are dominated by drug cartels, missing people, and political violence.
If Osorio brings shame to an aspect of Mexico that is expected to deliver pride, it only makes sense that the Federacion Mexicana de Futbol Asociacion would consider parting ways with the Colombian tactician, no matter how good the results have been during his tenure.
Only once has Mexico been defeated by a larger margin than its loss to Chile. That incident came back in 1961, when El Tri fell 8-0 to England in a friendly at Wembley Stadium. Of course, it would be ludicrous to suggest that losing a meaningless friendly to England at Wembley is worse than losing to Chile in front of a pro-Mexican crowd of 70,547, particularly given the expectations and hype surrounding El Tri.
Mexico entered the Copa America Centenario with what initially appeared to be a realistic shot of winning the most prestigious trophy in its history in front of thousands of its supporters. As mentioned above, El Tri possessed the longest unbeaten streak in the world and was soaring like the eagle on the country's flag. Being that high made the fall that much worse, and the collapse that much more spectacular.
Adding to the train wreck is the lack of huevos shown by Mexico in the second half. Losing 7-0 because you're outclassed in one thing, but losing 7-0 because you gave up at a certain point is another. Nowhere was the lack of effort more obvious than the fixture's fifth goal, in which Miguel Layun and Hector Moreno allowed Vargas to walk in and smash the ball high into the net. Moreno even looked like he got out of the shot's way.
It's hard to know at what point, if any, Mexico's players became aware of the history that was being written. As Diario Record published on its front page on Sunday, it was a "national team without soul or guts."
If Osorio is unemployed by the next time Mexico takes the pitch, it will come as no surprise regardless of whether it's the correct decision. Chile put a stain on Mexico than can never be removed in what was, without a doubt, Mexican football's darkest night.