Mexico star Hirving “Chucky” Lozano has slammed former national team coach Gerardo “Tata” Martino, saying that the Argentine treated him and his teammates like children during his tenure.
Martino was in charge of Mexico from 2019 to 2022, when he stepped down immediately after El Tri failed to advance from the World Cup group stage.
The current Inter Miami head coach never seemed to fully embrace his role with Mexico, oftentimes sparring with media over deficiencies within the team and in the Mexican soccer system as a whole.
According to Lozano, the coach didn’t make a great impression with his players either, charging that he instilled a disciplinary style that caused friction between coaches and the team.
“The truth is that for me there were many stumbles in how to handle the national team in every sense,” the PSV attacker told TUDN.
“Tata, for me, the truth is there was never a good connection between the coaching staff and the players, because the truth is that they treated us like little children. It was like going to the military.
“Managing the group like that I think was a very big mistake. For me, the truth is that there were some decisions on their part that were not correct.”
Lozano said that the 2022 World Cup was “the straw that broke the camel’s back” when it came to Martino, adding that when he returned to Napoli, his club at the time, he went through a difficult period of reflection.
“The truth is that the World Cup was the straw that broke the camel’s back,” the 28-year-old said. “Personally, I left very satisfied because I gave my maximum as always, as you can see in the statistics.
“The truth is that I was disappointed, because Mexico did not deserve that. I went into the World Cup very excited and I lived it to the fullest, but it was a very big disappointment.
“I went through a very complicated month when I returned from the World Cup to Napoli, because I didn’t feel like doing anything. It was a very complicated period. I think it was a time to meditate and see what I had done, and the truth is that that World Cup was difficult.”
Now under coach Jaime Lozano, Mexico will face Panama on Thursday in the Concacaf Nations League semifinal. The winner will take on the winner between the U.S. and Jamaica in the final on Sunday.
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