Mexico's Olympic gold medal defense this summer in Rio will happen without El Tri's best available striker. Javier "Chicharito" Hernandez announced late last week he would forego the Olympics and concentrate on the Copa America Centenario in the USA instead.
From the Los Angeles Times:
"The Mexican federation wants me to go to the Copa America," Hernandez said by phone from Germany, where he is playing for Bayer Leverkusen. "It’s not only my decision. It’s like 50-50, the decision. The federation wants me to go to Copa America and I decided to go to Copa America.
"Not because I don’t want to go to the Olympics. It’s because it’s the best for...my club, for me and for the federation."
This makes sense for a few reasons. The Olympics is predominantly a U-23 tournement for soccer, and Mexico has several up-and-comers (Tecatito Corona, Jurgen Damm, etc.) who could use game experience in the attack. Also, two tournaments in one summer is a lot for anybody to handle, and no one wants to see Chicharito injure himself due to overuse. Finally, the Copa America Centenario is a more prestigious tournement, with the likes of Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez expected to participate.
With Chicharito, who will almost certainly become Mexico's all-time leading scorer this summer, in the mix and healthy, Mexico should be able to make a reasonably deep run in the Copa America, though it's unlikely they'll get by some of the elite South American teams like Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay and Chile.
(H/T FOX Soccer)
Contact The18 Staff Writer Sam Klomhaus at Klomhaus@The18.com or follow him on Twitter @SamKlomhaus
