Jaime Lozano is a mystifying player. The Tigres midfielder is an unquestionable talent and has succeeded at both the club and national team level.
Whether or not his best days are ahead of him or a thing of the past, however, remains to be seen.
Lozano will be one of Tigres' key players when the Monterrey-based club tries to defend its InterLiga title in January. Tigres will play Monterrey, Cruz Azul and Necaxa in Group A of the InterLiga tournament, which Tigres has captured two years running.
That Tigres captured the InterLiga 2006 title was partly due to Lozano's clutch play. A substitute in the first two group games, Lozano started the third and final group game, a 4-0 win over Cruz Azul.
Tigres' final match against Monterrey was Lozano's coming-out party.
Monterrey took an early lead but Walter Gaitan's strike midway through the second half leveled the match. Even at 1-1 in extra time, Tigres' Nestor Silvera slammed a shot from outside the penalty area on goal. Monterrey's Jonathan Orozco stopped the shot but sent the rebound to the top of area.
Lozano hit the ball back on goal. The shot deflected off Monterrey defender Paulo Serafin and floated softly into the back of the net.
Lozano's game-winning strike propelled Tigres into Copa Libertadores directly. Tigres eventually went on to advance from the group stage but fell in the Round of 16 to Paraguay's Libertad.
In their left-sided midfielder, Tigres has a seemingly valuable asset. Lozano nearly made the Mexican national team's World Cup squad last summer but was a key contributor during the qualification process. Lozano's ability on set pieces is also a plus for Tigres. In their ill-fated Apertura 2006 campaign, Tigres' best player was Lozano. He started all 17 games and scored two goals, tied for second on the club.
Unfortunately, Lozano's stock has fallen off considerably since the first part of 2005. When Mexico was trying to qualify for Germany 2006, Lozano was one of the team's key players. In their opening match of the hexagonal, Mexico faced a stiff challenge as El Tricolor opened with a match in Costa Rica. Mexico had not won a match in Costa Rica in more than four decades.
Still, Lozano erased all that with a pair of brilliant strikes one minute apart from each other. In the 9th minute, Lozano slammed a 25-yard free kick into the back of the net. A minute later, he sent a header over the goal line. Mexico held on to win 2-1.
Against Guatemala on June 4, Lozano assisted on Zinha's goal, then sent a free kick on goal minutes later that a Guatemalan defender knocked into his own goal as Mexico won 2-1.
Lozano was a starter in Mexico's first Confederations Cup match on June 16, 2005, against Japan. At halftime, though, Lozano was subbed out in favor of Gonzalo Pineda. He did not play in Mexico's 1-0 win over Brazil. Against Greece and Argentina, Lozano started but was taken out early in the second half in both games. He did not play against Germany in the third-place match.
A seemingly bright-shining star, Lozano had suddenly lost his place in Mexico's starting lineup. He played in two of Mexico's final five World Cup qualifiers but did not play in either of Mexico's most-difficult matches, against Costa Rica and at the United States. In fact, both of the games he played in came after Mexico had already booked their passage to Germany.
Well-known for his exploits in league and the national team, Lozano was vastly popular. His popularity extended abroad when he appeared on the cover of EA Sports' FIFA World Cup video game. Along with U.S. captain Claudio Reyna, Lozano appeared on the cover of the game's North American version. But while Reyna went on to play in all of his team's World Cup games, Lozano was a late cut and did not represent his country in the World Cup.
Lozano was also a central figure in another marketing campaign. In a campaign for shoe company Adidas, Lozano and U.S. midfielder Pablo Mastroeni each recruited players off the streets of Southern California for a pickup game pitting the United States and Mexico. Again, half of the marketing campaign was on target as Mastroeni went on to make the World Cup team.
Nevertheless, Lozano has continued his steady play and could make a return to the national team. Incoming Mexico coach Hugo Sanchez was Lozano's boss at Pumas, where Lozano spent 12 seasons defending Pumas' colors.
Reportedly, Sanchez will keep a close eye on InterLiga to help him select players for friendlies in late winter. Another dramatic InterLiga goal could help Lozano resurface for El Tri and get his career back on the upswing.
Luis Bueno is a contributor to InterLiga.com. This story was not subject to the approval of the league or its clubs.
