Everyone in the Mexican national team agrees: only someone with the character of Miguel Herrera could have changed the direction of the side in just six months, turning a broken team into an ambitious one looking for glory at the World Cup.
“What makes Miguel special is his way of communicating with us. At times he seems like a player. He is always open to other points of view and that makes everything easier,” midfielder Andres Guardado said.
Herrera is the unquestioned leader of a Mexico team that sneaked into the World Cup through the back door by is now just one point away from qualifying for the round of 16, after Tuesday’s 0-0 draw against hosts Brazil.
Herrera is a coach close to his players, extroverted on the touchline and obsessed with the state of mind of his team. In just six months he has given Mexico a new identity at the World Cup.
Herrera is a direct, temperamental and knowledgeable man, who understands the importance of his players’ moods.
“I am very direct and clear, I say what I feel. This is why I have been in the eye of the storm wherever I have been. Fortunately, these attributes have helped me, but I do admit that sometimes I should be a little more pensive,” he said just before the World Cup.
It is this temperament of his, which made him controversial as a player, which allows Herrera to absorb all the pressure in Brazil and to take the critical attention away from the players, who were heavily criticised during the qualification phase. “Miguel helps us to concentrate on what we have to do. We work with tranquility and with absolute confidence in what we are doing. That is very important,” said Rafael Marquez, Mexico captain.
The final factor in the Herrera formula is his empathy with the fans.
Every day he stops outside the Parque Balneario hotel in Santos to sign autographs for the fans. He is the World Cup coach with the most followers on Twitter — more than 624,000.
