Juan Carlos Osorio wants Mexico's stars to follow U.S. example in MLS

ByTom Marshall ESPN logo
Friday, August 25, 2017

Mexico coach Juan Carlos Osorio wants his MLS-based players to follow the example of their United States counterparts that have returned from Europe and to not let their form and effort drop.

Midfielder Jonathan dos Santos recently left Villarreal to join his brother Giovani at LA Galaxy, while Carlos Vela is set to play for Los Angeles FC in the new year. All three are in Mexico's squad for upcoming World Cup qualifiers against Panama and Costa Rica.

The former New York Red Bulls coach Osorio was asked in Thursday's news conference whether he was concerned about players leaving Europe to move Stateside.

"That depends on how one interprets it," said Osorio. "The United States won the Gold Cup with MLS players that are the most influential in their teams, like Jozy Altidore, [Clint] Dempsey, [Michael] Bradley.

"We hope that our players take on the league with the same responsibility and that when they are required (by the national team), they are in good form."

Osorio highlighted Jonathan dos Santos' recent growth within the Mexican national team and said physically MLS is a difficult league to compete in.

"Jonathan's [move] was very recent and in the Confederations Cup he was influential, the same as Carlos and Giovani," added Osorio. "We always take them into consideration.

"I've stated that MLS is a very athletic and demanding league and I hope our players take it as such and perform at their maximum to be considered [for the national team]."

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