Despite having once famously stated “that he is not that passionate about soccer” and being downright hated by many Mexican fans and even some officials, Carlos Vela continues to turn heads his way. In an interview with ESPN Deportes, Spanish world champ coach Vicente del Bosque praised Carlos Vela over Javier “Chicharito” Hernandez extensively.
“Carlos Vela is player of a great quality; [he’s] fast, has a lot of security with the ball, capable of dribbling – a quality that now is somehow in disuse – and who has fantastic qualities to be a great player.” Of Chicharito, the Spanish coach said he was “ambitious” and that “he lived for the goal.”
Yes, that went in between Sergio Ramos’ legs.
At one point in his career, Carlos Vela was a Mexican fan favorite. Not only was he the top scorer of the 2005 U-17 World Champion team, he was also a former Chivas striker who had just signed for one of the biggest teams in the world: Arsenal.
But as Vela struggled to consolidate in Europe and Chicharito emerged as Mexico’s top dawg after one season with Manchester United, Vela faded into the back of Mexican fans’ minds.
Despite being somewhat forgotten, Vela made headlines when he refused to play the 2012 Olympics with Mexico, arguing he would like to do the pre-season with Real Sociedad, in order to earn a starting spot in the team from the beginning, and not have to come back from the Olympics and fight for a spot that was already taken.
Vela was bitter about Mexican soccer, and he showed it. Mexican fans hated him for it, calling him unpatriotic. The fact that he had acquired a slight Spanish accent didn’t help either.
But Vela simply had too much talent for FEMEXFUT and fans to forget, so after the 2014 World Cup, the Mexican striker came back to El Tri. Ironically, it coincided with the player’s lowest playing level in years. But hey, that’s life.