Guillermo Ochoa is a golden mine for Televisa in El Tri, and just one coach tried to stop him

It’s true to say that Guillermo Ocho has been one of the most prolific Mexican soccer players in recent years, both in and out of the pitch, and although his career hasn’t taken him to the best clubs outside of Mexico, he played for over a decade in Europe.

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But since his debut with Club América in 2004, Ochoa’s career was rapidly boosted by Televisa, as he showed great talent and was one of the most promising players back in the day. That same talent was the one that got him called to El Tri just one year after he debuted professionally.

But in Mexican soccer, sometimes talent is not enough, as players also need to be backed up by a El Tri sponsor to keep them in the Aztec roster, and since Ochoa was part of Televisa’s main soccer club, he saw his career skyrocket thanks to the support of the multimedia mass media company.

Ricardo La Volpe was coaching Mexico National Team on the cycle for the 2006 FIFA World Cup, and in 2005, when he already had his roster ready to face the last rounds of CONCACAF Qualifiers and the World Cup, Televisa asked him to open a spot for Ochoa.

Why didn’t La Volpe want Ochoa in El Tri?

Although La Volpe knew that Ochoa was a talented player, on a roster that already had Oswaldo Sánchez, Jesús Corona and Óscar “Conejo” Pérez, the Club América goalkeeper didn’t have a place on the squad.

But Guillermo Ochoa already was giving Televisa enough profit, which is why in 2005, on a friendly match against Hungary, Ricardo La Volpe gave in to the pressure and debuted Guillermo Ochoa with the Aztec colors, after he substituted Jesús Corona on the second half of the match that El Tri won 2-0.

What has Ochoa done since then?

Guillermo Ochoa returned to Liga MX in 2019 to join Club América again. Since then and given that he kept profiting both Televisa and himself, as they earn $4 million per year just for the use of his image, Ochoa decided to become a streamer and also an investor.

He currently has invested in at least two Mexican startups, including Kavak, a website that specializes in the trading of used cars. Since November of last year, Kavak became one of the main sponsors of Mexico National Team, guaranteeing Ochoa his permanence in El Tri’s roster, at least until Qatar 2022.

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