By COLE KELLOGG
Michael Orozco looks to be making a switch to yet another Liga MX club.
Ruben Omar Romano, the manager of Club Tijuana, has stated that Orozco is now a member of the Xolos. While there has been no official announcement of the signing, the U.S. Men’s National Team defender has reportedly been transferred from Chiapas to Tijuana for a fee that is upwards of three million dollars.
Orozco, who helps fill the Xolos’ American void left by Greg Garza and Joe Corona, had been on loan at Puebla since 2013. He made 57 appearances and scored once for the Sweet Potatoers.
The 29-year-old centerback was recently included in the U.S.’s 35-man preliminary CONCACAF Gold Cup roster. He made his way onto the pitch in the recent friendly victories against the Netherlands and Germany.
What do you think about Orozco reportedly joining Tijuana? How do you see him doing there? Was another American needed at Xolos after the departures of Garza and Corona?
Share your thoughts below.
Good for him, but he should not be getting any call-ups to the national team anymore. Our CB situation is not great and he does nothing to help it. He is at an age in which he should be at his peak, and it still doesn’t cut it.
I thought I read that Klinsmann said Orozco would have been on the roster for Brazil, but was left off because of injuries. JK apparently values him a lot more than you do.
So the question is if Orozco had gone to Brazil who would have missed out?
If memory serves correctly, the biggest questions at CB (though Orozco can play elsewhere) were around Gonz and Brooks (who obviously vindicated themselves after some shaky moments in the run-up).
Personally, I think JK values Orozco and would’ve loved him as an option, but this comment is probably just a confidence-builder for a guy who was always just on the outside.
Have you see Alejandro Guido play? Any thoughts on him?
As a Xolos season ticket holder I’m super excited about this. After last season’s incredible late season collapse, then dealing away both Garza and Corona, I wasn’t as excited about the upcoming Apertura as I should be. But the news that Orozco is coming is terrific for us US Xolos fans.
The Xolos say that 30% of the fans for any given game come from San Diego, and having crossed the border before games many times I always see the red Xolos jerseys crossing over with me. So it makes sense that they have at least one American player on the team. It’s truly the Team Without Borders. Vamos Xolos!
yup! but lets not forget about guys like Arriola, Requejo, Guido, Moreno, Rodríguez, etc. still plenty of US players.
I’m really hoping Arriola gets more first team minutes this season. He looks like he’s on the verge of that as he’s had some good performances lately and has had a few looks. Maybe in some cup games this coming season. But Garza was an every match starter and Corona was at least on the bench for most games, so getting a new American who will start is something most of us American Xolos fans would like. Nobody would be happier than me to see any one of Requejo, Guido, or Moreno play, but they’re all young and I think a ways off from first team minutes. I think Rodriguez is on loan.
i think Arriola absolutely will. he was in the first team reguarly but fell off in the Clausura. but after his U-20 WC, i think he’ll get plenty of time.
Requejo should also get a VERY good shot at LB with Garza on loan to Atlas. while it is a bummer to lose Garza, if Requejo can slide into his spot, that wouldn’t be bad. maybe he can work on his PKs (ugh)!!!
Forgive my ignorance as I’m not a local but wouldn’t Xolo’s vs Galaxy friendlies be a good idea?
Have they had them in the recent past?
They did have one and I think it was about a year ago. Certainly seems like a natural that should be a regular event. They also played in the CCL, if memory serves me correctly. I think Arriola was originally a Galaxy youth player and Villareal was on loan from the Galaxy before returning this year, so they do have some ties.
Yeah it would be a great idea! I’d be all over that one. But one issue is the season schedules don’t overlap favorably. Granted teams can do mid-season friendlies, but with the Cups and other tournaments they’re not something that a team would necessarily want to do. Liga MX is on its long layoff now with the season starting at the end of July while MLS is now in their midseason. And when MLS is getting ready for their season in JAN/FEB, Liga MX has just started its Closura season. So the idea of some sort of annual regional competition between the two teams would be appealing to me, just not sure how to make it work.
It just seems to me that if TJ thinks cross border and regional marketing is a good idea, that it might also be a good idea going the other way for the Galaxy.
Based on what I’ve seen on Univision,,Landon is a pretty popular guy south of the border. Granted LA is not as close as San Diego.
After writing that, I’m seeing the Galaxy-Club América match scheduled for July 11 as part of the “International Champions Cup”. But that’ll be a big money maker for the Galaxy as there’s WAY more América fans than Xolos fans in LA.
It could be that Galaxy isn’t really interested in playing the Xolos too. Getting one of the bigger, traditional powerhouse teams would draw better crowds in LA.
Mexican League has a draft every year where they sell/trade players. The money is sort of a credit so teams don’t actually have to pay up front, thats why there’s so much movement.
awesome as a Xolos fan! that said, as long as he plays it’s a good move. he had solidified a spot at Puebla but maybe they wanted to move on.
I have such a difficult time remembering who all these Liga MX Americans are. I don’t follow the league, but can someone enlighten me on why everyone moves clubs so frequently? Are they signing short contracts? Does the league have the power to move any and every player? How much are these guys getting paid?
blows my mind this guy used to play on the Union…
Sweet Potatoers? Wow, I don’t even like sweet potatoes but that’s a pretty cool name!
As the old saying goes: “Never trust a person who doesn’t like sweet potatoes.”
Ingolstadt, Morales’ recently promoted team are known as “The Audi Boys”.
It kind of depends if he’ll play. People seem to be bouncing around Mexico these days and it’s like one move will work and the next won’t and the second move may kill the momentum from the first: Herculez for example.
I also feel like resisting the notion that some popular destination is the right place for everyone. As a Fulham fan we were quite popular for a while. Then we didn’t want to transfer Dempsey and less attractive. Irate USMNT fans who previously had been Fulhamericans. Now Hyndman is there and it’s ticking up again. So the Fulhamerica fans come and go. You start to get into marketing and trends and not exactly what’s best for the soccer player. Orozco had revived his fortunes while at Chiapas. Will this work out as well or is it just a trendy choice….
It doesn’t sound like Orozco is one of our guys just bouncing around down there. The blurb says Tijuana reportedly paid $3 million for him. That’s not a bench player level investment. Pretty sure he will play.
If you know his history you know he’s made a few moves and they don’t all work out. I think this is 3 teams in 3 years. I don’t know if that’s genius right when you finally squeeze back into the senior NT.
Its one thing to be put out on loan where sometimes you have very little say on the team your going to, it’s another to be sold outright, and at a good amount. He’ll do OK in TJ.
Also, even though Garza and Corona are gone from the Xolos, there is a sizable American contingent in the reserves, the U21’s and of course the academies.
Dempsey and Hyndman at Fulham? What has that got to do with this? I can’t understand your point. To address this issue, in TJ’s late season collapse a couple of months ago, it seemed to be mostly their defense that let them down.Considering how much they paid for Orozco, which is pretty substantial even for European clubs, they must feel that he is a necessary part to shoring up their back line. He should be a regular starter.
I was responding to the article: “Was another American needed at Xolos after the departures of Garza and Corona?” I think there are fashion trends sometimes on destinations. And marketing. And money. Not all what’s best for their soccer. If he’s doing well at Puebla why risk not playing at a more American-hip Tijuana. Perhaps you are right based on the fee, but there are not guarantees which is where I see the risk for a player whose fortunes had improved. Herculez could probably tell you about one cute move in Mexico too many.
I don’t know what you mean by “trendy”? And I don’t get the Fulham analogy. But I think I get at least part of what you’re saying that bringing in Orozco is partially because he’s American. Well that’s obvious. TJ is a cross border team and supported by a 30% American fan base. I know that much of that fan base is Mexican-American, but there are plenty of non-Mexican-Americans like me who support them too. Xolos market themselves as a cross border team, the “team without borders” and they’re doing well at it.
TJ isn’t going to move geographically so it’s always going to be a 1 hour trip for me to go see a match. So whether they have Americans or not, I’m a fan. I just prefer that they have an American or two. Unlike Fulham who have no tie to the US other than they’ve historically had Americans play for them.
I think this a good move for Orozco. He’ll have an opportunity to play on a good club that packs their stadium every game and to maybe pick up a few promotion opportunities on this side of the border like Corona has done.
I don’t know about Mexico, but in Europe players usually have a say in where they go, even when they are under contract. Perhaps Orozco wanted to go to Xolos and forced the sale. One of the benefits for Americans at TJ is that they can live in south San Diego and commute and the trip into Mexico is pretty fast and convenient. It’s only coming back that can be tedious.
It will be interesting to find out, maybe when he gives and interview. Could have been something from both sides, as it just makes sense for the Xolos to feature an American starter. Not that they have to…but it makes sense if there’s one available who’s good enough to play.
as for crossing the border, having a Sentri card makes it a lot better by bypassing most of the lines, as long as you avoid the really busy times. But I always walk across so I don’t know that much about crossing in a car.