Mexico manager Javier Aguirre has demanded that with Fulham forward Raul Jimenez and strike partner Santiago Gimenez are more ‘selfish’ in front of goal after a 1-0 friendly win over Turkey.
Aguilas Monumental quote Aguirre as wanting more from his front two in his new 4-4-2 formation – which failed to fire in the narrow win over the Turks after a disappointing 4-2 defeat at the hands of Switzerland ahead of this month’s Gold Cup. The Mexico boss said:
“They’re really cool, because you have the chance to score and you pass it to someone else even though it’s uncomfortable. You have the chance to shoot, and I said to Raúl, “Score a goal,” and he passes it to someone else. The centre forward has to be selfish.
We’ll talk to them about it. I’m making it public now, but I intend to talk to them about being better positioned to shoot. There’s no reason to pass to the other guy. He’s not going to get angry; he’ll congratulate you, and vice versa.”
Jimenez, who is closing in on becoming Mexico’s leading scorer in international football, recently signed a twelve-month extension to his Craven Cottage contract after scoring thirteen goals in a stellar season at Fulham.