Guillermo Ochoa: An outcast on the island of Corsica

Since his arrival in Ligue 1 in 2011, the most commonly asked questions when discussing Guillermo Ochoa and Ajaccio have been ‘how did they sign him?’ and ‘why is he still there?’ The former has been well documented since Mexican television company Televisa parked him there two years ago. But the latter raised its head once again when the Corsicans held defending champions Paris Saint-Germain to a 1-1 draw at the Parc des Princes recently with Ochoa playing the starring role.

That evening PSG had 39 shots on goal and the Mexican international saved 12 of them, putting on one of the best goalkeeping displays seen in Ligue 1 for a long time. Following that draw, Les Ours and Ochoa went on to keep two clean sheets in their next two matches against Nice and Sochaux as both finished goalless.

Ability has never been the issue for the 28-year-old who is frequently heralded as the best of El Tri’s current custodians and is recognised as one of world football’s most talented shot-stoppers. The question is: how have Ajaccio been able to keep him for a third season?

The answer might have something to do with his tumultuous relationship with the Mexican national team, a problem that resulted in him turning down a recent call-up from Jose Manuel de la Torre who was sacked following a 2-1 home defeat to Honduras in World Cup qualifying. Ochoa was given no assurances over his starting position for the team, despite that incredible showing against PSG just weeks before, and rejected the call.

He may well find himself involved by de la Torre’s replacement Luis Fernando Tena in future, but Ochoa has made no secret in the past of his belief that he should be his country’s undisputed number one. If his performances for Ajaccio in recent seasons are anything to go by, it is amazing that he is not already. Mexico must have some wealth of positional depth between the sticks to be able to do without him.

The other possible and more probable answer however is that by playing for Ajaccio, Ochoa might now be doing his career more harm than good.

With no disrespect to the Corsicans, who have battled admirably against relegation every season since they were promoted back into Ligue 1 in 2011, ‘Memo’ was correct when he referred Les Ours as a stepping-stone upon his arrival. However, he should by now have made his next move.

According to reports in France and Italy during the summer transfer window, AC Milan were considering a bid for the flamboyant keeper. Before the transfer market even opened for business, Napoli and Liverpool were linked with approaches. Yet none of these moves materialised and Ochoa now finds himself stranded at the Stade Francois Coty.

This season more than any other it looks as if Ajaccio are fighting a losing battle to stay up, even at this early stage. New coach Fabrizio Ravanelli’s tactics look insipid and designed to concede fewer goals than they score, making another relegation battle an almost certainty having scored one solitary goal in four matches so far. If there was not already enough pressure on the Mexican, it has undoubtedly been amplified by this tactic.

So why then is Ochoa not pushing for a move?

I don’t want to encourage another of the unsavoury episodes that we see so often in football these days; where player power forces the hand of a club to part with their most prized asset. But in Memo’s case, it would be understandable if he was to put pressure on the Corsican club to let him go.

Ochoa nearly joined PSG before settling for Ajaccio, and rival Ligue 1 sides must have sat up and taken notice of the islanders’ star man long before his heroics against the team that almost signed him two years ago. Besides, this is a player who kept seven clean sheets in his debut season in France, 12 in the last campaign and has already produced another two this term.

For a team battling relegation, a reliable goalkeeper capable of contributing that many saved points is bound to be the team’s most valuable player by far. That is certainly the case for Ochoa.

Unfortunately for him, the saying ‘out of sight, out of mind’ also rings very true. It could simply be that the Mexican has carved himself such a niche in Corsica that, despite some awesome displays that save his side some valuable points throughout the season, the only performances that will really get him noticed are the ones against the likes of PSG where he was unbeatable – for 86 minutes.

If so, the only way that Ochoa will be able to secure his desired move to a bigger club is to produce similar showings to his Parc des Princes master class against the likes of Monaco, Marseille, Lyon and Saint-Etienne, as well as Ajaccio’s relegation rivals. That way, if he does attract the big-name suitor that he craves, Ajaccio will have gained some much-needed points in return, which could prove just as valuable as any transfer fee come the end of the season.