With his first games in charge of the Mexican national team coming up thick and fast, "Chepo" has to decide which goalkeeper to make his number one. It´s not going to be easy. Mexico has a wealth of talent between the sticks. There are at least six Mexican goalkeepers that can be considered potential No. 1´s for Chepo. Strangely, five of the six are from Guadalajara.
Guillermo Ochoa
The young ´keeper with the big hair seems to have been around forever. To many "Memo" is considered the natural heir to the No. 1 shirt but that view was shaken after Oscar Perez was brought into the World Cup squad after a couple of high profile errors by Ochoa in the warm up games.
Quick, brave and with very good reflexes, Ochoa has won games almost single-handedly for his club. There are doubts about his ability to keep out middle and long range shots.
Ochoa still has time on his side. A move to Europe is also very possible in the summer. That could do his chances of being Mexico´s ´keeper a world of good.
Born: Guadalajara
Club: America
Age: 25
Caps: 43
Oswaldo Sanchez
When Oscar Perez was brought into the World Cup squad by Javier Aguirre as an experienced goalkeeper to do a job, many in Mexico were perplexed as to why he didn´t turn to "Saint Oswaldo" instead.
Sanchez plays for Santos and has been a key player since he joined in 2006. Despite his 37 years, Sanchez is still agile, has excellent reflexes and brings a calmness to the defence. He´s also said he´s available should de la Torre turn to him.
The immediate obstacle is obviously his age.
Born: Guadalajara
Club: Santos
Caps: 98
Age: 37
Jesus Corona
Probably would have made the World Cup squad but he got involved in a fight outside a Guadalajara bar. At the moment Corona looks like the favourite to become Mexico´s long-term goalkeeper after outstanding displays for Cruz Azul. Corona´s positioning is excellent, he´s good at coming out and his distribution is probably the best among the goalkeeping contenders. Hard to pick out weaknesses apart from if his personal life becomes fraught again.
Corona made his debut for Mexico in 2005 but has often been called up as back-up ´keeper.
Born: Guadalajara
Club: Cruz Azul
Caps: 11
Age: 30
Alfredo Talavera
After working together at Toluca and Chivas, de la Torre knows all about Talavera. The 28-year-old could be in with an outside chance soley down to that. It would be unfair to say he doesn´t deserve his chance however. Having only been a first choice in the Mexican league since 2009, Talavera is by far the most inexperienced of the six. Nevertheless, Talavera is a very good all round goalie with no immediate weaknesses. He learned his trade under the tutelage of Oswaldo Sanchez at Chivas. Even today Talavera refers to Sanchez as "maestro." There are even similarities in their styles.
Born: La Barca, Jalisco
Club: Toluca
Caps: 0
Age: 28
Luis Michel
Without Michel Chivas´ percarious situation would likely be worse. Michel extends an air of certainty throughout his defence and is constantly in their ear. Michel has sharp reflexes and a safe pair of hands.
Michel does, however, have a bit of an annoying habit of punching rather than trying to catch crosses.
Born: Guadalajara
Club: Chivas
Caps: 2
Age: 31
Jonathan Orozco
The only one of the six goalies not from Jalisco, Orozco is Monterrey through and through: a product of the northern team´s youth system. Orozco is only 24-years-old and has been a vital part of Monterrey´s recent success. His form means he´s one of the six but he is probably more one for the future.
Born: Monterrey
Club: Monterrey
Caps: 10
Age: 24
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