Club America's new youth system director Raul Herrera believes that there is more talent in Mexico than there is in Europe.
The Spain native took over at the Mexico City club earlier this month, after spending 17 years in Villarreal's youth setup, and was attracted by the raw potential in the CONCACAF country.
"What got my attention was the talent," said Herrera in an interview with TUDN. "I believe there is a lot of talent that can be structured, taught to play and [taught] habits and discipline.
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"In Spain, Germany or France we don't have so much talent, we are more ordered when we play, we are more demanding, but that ability to dribble, to feint, to strike the ball, to play out [from the back] that the Mexican player has is more difficult for us," he said.
Herrera stressed the technical ability of Mexican players, but said that tactically it can be difficult when exports go from Liga MX to Europe's top leagues.
"I'd say there is more talent [in Mexico] than Europe, but more disorder tactically," stated Herrera. "When I speak to Argentines or Mexicans that go to play in Europe they say that the structure changes a lot, that there's less time to think, there's more precision, more touch, more order ... our idea is to achieve that training and playing so that the [Club America] players are prepared to play in the first team."
Club America has had success at youth level over recent years, most noticeably by producing Wolves striker Raul Jimenez and Ajax's Edson Alvarez, but the club has also exported Diego Lainez [to Real Betis], and before that Diego Reyes and Guillermo Ochoa.
Las Aguilas take on Cruz Azul this weekend in a Mexico City derby, after defeating arch-rival Chivas last Saturday in the Clasico Nacional.
Source: espn.co.uk