This Goalkeeper Suddenly Becomes the GREATEST During The World Cup

Of all the big moments in football, there's really nothing quite like the World Cup. Not only do the players have an opportunity to play in it maybe only a couple of times in their career, but it's also the most watched sporting event in the world with the highest stakes. Knowing your country and your people are relying on you to make history. There is no greater prestige in the game of football than in the World Cup, and naturally many players are remembered for their performances on the biggest stage. But of all the players in the better part of a decade, there is no one that steps up to the occasion and delivers his greatest performances quite like Guillermo Ochoa. So how did a relatively unknown keeper from Mexico become one of the biggest World Cup performers of this generation? Just how good is he, really? Well let's take a look. Of course a squad, especially a World Cup squad nonetheless, needs a solid keeper to always keep them safe and secure. 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And you can get yours now with the best offer using my link ridge.com slash raymar and you can save up to 40% through December 22nd. So make sure to go to ridge.com slash raymar or click the link in the description today. When you hear about the top goalkeepers of the last decade, I wouldn't blame you if Guillermo Ochoa wasn't really at the top of your head. But without a doubt, when the World Cup comes around, his performances are right up there with legendary World Cup winning goalkeepers like Buffon, Casillas, and Neuer. But oddly enough, the rest of his career doesn't really match up with his World Cup performances. And to understand this, we first have to look at the beginning of his goalkeeping journey in Mexico. At the age of 18, Ochoa would burst onto the Mexican Football League. All it took was a simple chance. After his club's starting keeper would get an injury. But Ochoa would impress his manager so much that he would be chosen indefinitely as the club's first choice keeper. And despite being a teenager, he quickly demonstrated his skill in talent and goal, besting even veteran goalkeepers at his club and the league itself. In his first season alone, he, out of every other player including strikers, midfielders, and defenders alike, would be named the Mexican Premier Division's Rookie of the Tournament. I understand it might not be a top 5 league in the world, but for a goalkeeper to beat out other positions in itself is already a statement. Like imagine if a goalkeeper won the Golden Boy Award. I mean, it's rare enough that a young keeper would even have the opportunity to play over veterans as opposed to many other positions. But Ochoa was a very skilled keeper. Without a doubt, the highlight of Ochoa's talent as a goalkeeper is his elite reaction. His reflexes are what makes his goalkeeping stand out the most. When it comes to close range shots or even headers, Ochoa's reaction with either both hands or even using a single hand to save the ball is easily the biggest weapon in his arsenal. Ochoa is incredibly good at covering the goal when his defense breaks down, being able to stop one-on-ones with his reaction and reflexes alone. But of course, he's also known to be acrobatic as well. Especially in the air, Ochoa is an incredibly reliable keeper, known for stopping an incredible amount of penalties throughout his career. Also masterfully catching crosses and can clear or deflect balls with dives or simply punching them out to give himself and his team some breathing room. And if that's not enough, he's also quick to get off the floor and get back into position and continue to reliably defend the goal from second chances. I know a lot of you guys made fun of me last time I did this, but come on, look at those FIFA Ultimate Team stats throughout the years. As you can see, his diving, reflexes, and positioning are his best attributes. But in all seriousness, Ochoa is a very solid goalkeeper. And according to him, he modeled his game after one of the most underrated goalkeeping greats of all time, Peter Schmeichel. However, I will say the one thing that really prevented Ochoa from being a big-time keeper for a top club was his inability to adapt to the more standard sweeper-keeper archetype. Ochoa was never known for being bold and coming out to clear balls outside the box. Keepers like Manuel Neuer, for example, are incredibly good at coming up and being the extra passing option, or if need be, even a defender and make a tackle or dive outside the box. Ochoa was a much more reserved keeper in this aspect, and in my opinion, most big clubs want a keeper who can do this, especially at the modern pace of the game. During Ochoa's early career in Mexico, he would help his club win the league title in Mexican Supercup in 2005, as well as the CONCACAF title in 2006, which if you don't know is basically the Champions League of North America, Central America, and the Caribbean. Individually, he was also recognized for his talents, winning back-to-back Mexican Primera Division Golden Glove awards in 2006 and 2007. He was even so good, particularly in 2007, that he would get recognition from even those in Europe, as Ochoa was one of only three players outside of Europe to be a candidate for the Ballon d'Or. The only goalkeepers in the top 30 to make that list were no other than Gianluigi Buffon, Petr Cech, Iker Casillas, and Guillermo Ochoa. That's actually insane that someone from outside the top 5 leagues, and as a goalkeeper nonetheless, was getting recognized for his talent. Ochoa would then be included in Mexico's 2010 World Cup squad, but wouldn't play a single minute. Regardless, he was already getting interest to finally play in Europe's top 5 leagues. Believe it or not, Ochoa was actually linked to Manchester United in 2011, as the club had him as one of their potential signings. But he would however move on to play for the newly promoted club, the Jocio, in Ligue 1. If you're not familiar with them, I don't blame you, as they're basically a club that's either under constant threat of relegation, or in the second division itself. In fact, in the last 9 years, they've only been promoted back to Ligue 1 in this 2022-23 season. The only time the club was able to consistently stay in Ligue 1 were the three seasons in which Ochoa played for them. Ochoa almost single-handedly kept his club out of relegation. I'm not even exaggerating, like 100% serious. You can tell that this man legitimately was the biggest factor that kept his squad alive and out of relegation when the club's fans actually voted him, the goalkeeper, as the player of the season for back-to-back seasons in which they were able to stay in Ligue 1. Like you can't make this up. But now was the time for the 2014 World Cup. This time, Ochoa would finally be called up as Mexico's first choice keeper. And with this, his World Cup legacy would begin. Firstly, in the group stages, during a win against Cameroon, he would keep a clean sheet in his World Cup debut. But what really made him stand out was the following match against the hosts in Brazil. Everybody expected Brazil, who were back then the favorites, to completely crush Mexico. And yes, this was before the 7-1 loss to Germany, so they were still the heavy favorites. But nobody expected Ochoa to be an absolute wall. He had four insane saves, which for many keepers would have easily been a goal if not for his incredible reaction time. In the World Cup, it's already rare for a single player to really shine. But for a goalkeeper to amaze the world and make headlines is something that hasn't been seen in many, many years. He would be named the man of the match and even complimented by his opponents. However, during the knockout stages against the Netherlands, despite his brilliance to keep the relatively weak Mexico alive, he would ultimately fail to save a penalty as But even though Mexico lost, Ochoa was so brilliant that they named him the man of the match for a second time. Everybody knew he was the one keeping Mexico alive. And it was a shame that he had to go out despite being arguably the most impressive keeper of the tournament. With many arguing he performed individually better than Neuer, who had the much, much stronger squad. Just for a brief moment, Ochoa was the best goalkeeper in the world. After the World Cup, Ochoa would move to play for Malaga in La Liga. Sure, not the best club in the league, but consistently in the first division for about a decade. However, he would never really play much for the club, as Carlos Kameny was the club's main keeper. Many thought it was an absolute waste to not play Ochoa, with even Liverpool trying to sign him for 4 million euros back in 2015. But Malaga were adamant about keeping him on the squad as a reserve, which personally I never understood as they were just wasting his talents away on the bench. But in 2016, Granada would acquire Ochoa for a season-long loan, finally putting him in the long overdue starting position for a La Liga club. After continuously sitting on Malaga's bench for over a year, Ochoa would break the record for the most goals conceded in a single season with 82. Which I know sounds terrible, but it definitely isn't his fault. Because although he had the most conceded goals in La Liga history back then, he simultaneously had the most saves by any goalkeeper across Europe's top 5 leagues. Which shows not that he was a bad goalkeeper, but surprisingly how much he was able to save the ball with an absolutely terrible defense. And the Granada fans knew it too, showing their appreciation for his incredible goalkeeping efforts by naming him the player of the season. He would then depart for Belgium to play for Standard Liege. There he was able to help his team win the Belgian Cup and be named the player of the season for the club. So we can clearly see Ochoa's value in the teams that actually gave him a chance. As time and time again we see fans voting him as their player of the season. Which I can't stress enough is rare in itself for a goalkeeper. But the 2018 World Cup was coming around and he would once again amaze the world with his goalkeeping. In their opening match against Germany, Ochoa would save an incredible 9 shots and once again help Mexico pull off an incredibly unlikely win by keeping a clean sheet during their 1-0 victory. Doing this on their opening match against the defending world champions was a huge headline. And in my opinion, despite Mexico only keeping a single clean sheet in the tournament, Ochoa was by far the most exciting and best performing goalkeeper. The number of saves he had relative to how many matches he played is incredible, with 25 saves in 4 matches. And despite his Mexico squad not being strong, he was once again the highlight of his country. And I legitimately only watched Mexico to see him play. But Ochoa would eventually move back to Mexico to play once more for Club America, where he remains until today. This brings us to the 2022 World Cup, which despite Mexico's exit in the group stages, Ochoa, even at the age of 37, played beautifully once more for his country. In their debut match against Poland, he was able to keep a clean sheet with an incredible penalty save from one of this generation's greatest strikers, Robert Lewandowski. Sure, he would get scored on by Argentina's beautiful play, but he was a huge factor in getting Mexico the win in their final group stage match. Sadly, they just barely advanced though they tied Poland in points and goal difference, ending the Ochoa World Cup show a bit early. But boy did he impress in the few matches we saw him play. No doubt a joy to watch nevertheless. Though he never reached major international glory with Mexico, he has won 4 CONCACAF Gold Cup trophies with his country, which is basically like the European Championships or Copa America, but for North America, Central America, and the Caribbean countries held every two years, winning the competition's Golden Glove in 2019. Ochoa was definitely a great keeper in his own right, never really had the chance to play for a good squad. I'm sure if he was given the opportunity to play in bigger clubs in the top 5 leagues, he would have definitely been more mainstream. But the fact of the matter is, wherever he went, he definitely made an impact, keeping his team alive and was always looked at by the fans, except for Malaga who wasted his prime on the bench without any playtime as their best player. And as a keeper, that is incredibly underrated. Ochoa might not have had the highlight for a majority of his career, but he was incredibly solid and entertaining. And it's been a pleasure watching him perform in the big stages.