At 16 years of age, Carlos Vela walked onto a soccer pitch in Peru with all the weight of Mexico on his shoulders. The Mexican National Team had finally made it the final of the U-17 World Cup. Not once in Mexico’s history had a Mexican national team made it to the finals of a world tournament. No pressure. No pressure at all for Carlitos, who would go on to lead the young Mexican national team to glory against Brazil, scoring their first of the match and leading Mexico to a 3-0 scoreline against the tournament favorites.
Vela’s performance that game, and throughout the entirety of the tournament, had many whispering that he could be the one. The one player that Mexico hadn’t seen in years. A Hugo Sanchez-like player who could take Mexico to the later stages of the world’s premier competition, the World Cup, something that has eluded Mexico for years.
Vela’s ability to be decisive and creative in the final third of the pitch was a breath of fresh air for Mexico. Mexico finally had a player to rally behind.
Or so they thought.
The years went by and Vela did indeed make an appearance for the full national team. His first call up came in 2007 and since then he has been capped by Mexico 41 times, scoring 13 goals in the process.
Vela played a large role in Mexico winning the 2009 Gold Cup against the United States and would go on to play in the 2010 World Cup for Mexico. He soon was becoming a staple of the men’s national team. Unfortunately, that all ended with his difficult decision to reject call-ups to the national team.
It all began with a party. That soon led to a six-month suspension by the federation. Once he returned, his performance drew ire by fans and the press for not living up to expectations and his relationship with the federation was tarnished by the suspension incident. He began rejecting all call-ups by managers of El Tri.
He also was having a difficult time at club level with Arsenal failing to give him minutes and constantly loaning him out to other teams, mostly Spanish clubs. His exile would continue for almost four years until returning in 2014, after missing the 2014 World Cup. His decision to refuse to join the squad for the Brazil World Cup really angered fans but that all that anger ended with his return.
His return to the national team drew excitement and already had fans wondering about the possibilities, especially the strike partnership with Chicharito. While Vela was away, Chicharito became Mexico’s favorite player to rally behind, but now their prodigal son has returned.
His first match was against one of the world's best, the Netherlands. Vela impresses with a brace against the Oranje and his partnership with Chicharito as seamless as possible. It was as if he had never left.
The only tournament he has participated since his return, the 2015 Gold Cup, was won by Mexico, but have El Tri fans really pardoned Vela for his exile? And have his performances been what people expected?
He has been forgiven. Mexico clearly wanted Vela back and have accepted the fact that he was gone for almost three years. The past is the past and what could have been hardly crosses anyone’s mind anymore. Vela has returned and for Mexican fans out there, that's enough.
He was instantly forgiven in his first match back, thanks in large part to his performance against the Netherlands. Talk of his self-imposed exile has disappeared from the media and Mexico has found success in competitive tournaments such as the Gold Cup. Everything is exactly as we thought it would be with Vela back, unfortunately that is not the case.
Mexico may have won the 2015 Gold Cup, but it was rather anti-climatic in terms of performances. Mexico hardly dominated teams, besides Cuba, and Vela hardly imposed himself on the pitch. Chicharito's injury before the tournament has made us wait until the U.S. Confederations Cup playoff match to see how Vela and Chicharito perform together in a match that has large implications.
And while Mexico has welcomed one of their favorite sons with open arms, his performances haven’t been up to par. He should have been more influential in Mexico’s run to Gold Cup glory.
After Chicharito’s injury, Vela should have taken more responsibility in the final third as one of Mexico’s best attacking players. Instead, Hector Herrera and Jesus “Tecatito” Corona stepped up in Chicharito’s absence.
Mexico has indeed forgiven Vela for his self-imposed exile, but fans won’t forgive him for not performing on the pitch. I’m not even saying he needs to turn in great performances, but he must be a bit more influential to keep fans and media happy.
He will have his chance on Oct. 10 in the Mexico vs. U.S. Confederation Cup playoff.
