Borgetti and Mexico's Question: When a Team Cannot Live on One Name

On the stands of a stadium in Mexico, there is an image I have carried with me for years: a father with his small child on his shoulders, both looking down at the pitch where Raúl Jiménez lay clutching his calf. That night, an entire nation held its breath. When the whistle blew, what millions were waiting for was not the scoreline, but a bigger question: without Jiménez, whose legs would Mexico run on? Jared Borgetti, once the iconic goalscorer of Mexican football, answered that question the way a former striker who understands his own limits would. He insisted that the Mexico national team cannot depend on a single forward to compete and get results. The team must operate as a collective, even when Jiménez is absent through injury. That seemingly simple statement opens one of the oldest and hardest themes in football: the line between a star and a collective. Throughout my career watching matches, I have learned that every number is a breath; every breath can become a poem. But those same numbers taught me that a single breath never makes a lung. Mexico stands before that lesson, and Borgetti is merely saying aloud what many have already felt. To understand why this story matters, it must be placed in its proper context. Raúl Jiménez is the kind of centre-forward modern football calls a target No. 9 - one who holds the ball, links play, connects the lines and finishes. When he is absent through injury, Mexico loses a specific function, not merely a name. Borgetti understands that better than anyone, because he lived in that role for years. Alongside Jiménez's story, the interview sketches two notable secondary threads. The first is Armando González, a forward who came through the Chivas academy, now at Olympiacos in Greece and called up to the national team. The second is Santos Laguna, the club for which Borgetti is a historic icon, which has just won four consecutive matches to move closer to the Liga MX Liguilla playoff, though still outside the qualifying zone. What is interesting is that Borgetti discusses González's transfer in the language of emotion, not money. He says the player will grow, not only in sporting terms, but emotionally, personally and in his dreams. In the transfer market, every piece believes it is the missing one - but for a young player leaving home, that piece is also a portion of youth entrusted to the world. Let it be clear: this interview provides no financial figure at all. No transfer fee, no wages, no release clause. All that is known is that González moved from Chivas to Olympiacos, a classic Mexican football pathway: from Liga MX to Europe as a springboard. And that silence about money says a great deal - it shows this is a story for fans, not for market speculators. The core of the story lies in the philosophy Borgetti pursues. He argues that Mexico, relying on individuals alone, will not win; they must do it as a collective. This is a principle that is correct in essence, but it is a philosophical principle, not a tactical system. Borgetti offers no formation, no indication of who will take on the target-forward role in place of Jiménez. He speaks of spirit, not of solutions. Look at Santos Laguna to see more clearly the difference between principle and data. The club has just recorded four consecutive wins, a run worth noting but still a small sample. Four matches are not enough to confirm a durable turning point. And the interview does not tell us who the opponents in that run were. A winning streak only truly means something once it is adjusted for the difficulty of the schedule. Without expected goals or expected goals against data, one cannot say whether this form reflects genuine improvement or merely the result of fortunate finishing and a favourable fixture list. Borgetti praises the Santos Laguna board, coaching staff and players for their patience and work. He says they have worked, they have suffered, and he hopes it will be enough to take the team into the Liguilla. That word, hope, matters. It concedes that the job is not yet done, that the playoff berth remains open. In football, patience is usually praised only after results arrive; while waiting, it is a wager of faith. As for the Mexico national team, Borgetti's message is more about managing expectations than tactical analysis. By saying the team depends on everyone, he pre-empts the public for a result that may fall short during Jiménez's absence. If the team plays poorly, people will find it hard to pin the blame on one star's absence, because the nation's own football legend has said no one is irreplaceable. But here is the blind spot collective memory usually overlooks. The phrase depend on everyone sounds fine, yet it does not answer the most specific question: who will play the target-forward role, the one who holds the ball and links play for his teammates? A collective still needs specific functions, and each function needs a specific person to fill it. Saying the team does not depend on one man does not mean the team does not need someone in that position. Borgetti names no alternative. We should also look squarely at a rarely spoken reality: the fact that Borgetti had to speak out about dependence on Jiménez itself shows Mexico lacks a top-class forward in high form beyond Jiménez. If the national team had a worthy replacement ready, no interview would be needed to reassure public opinion. The silence about a back-up option is the loudest voice in this story. Then there is Jiménez's contract situation. For a striker past thirty with a fresh injury, contract status is the single most important market variable. Yet the interview does not mention it at all. That is a notable gap, because it shows the conversation is being steered emotionally and strategically, not by the market. And do not forget the young names rising. Armando González, Gilberto Mora - new faces gradually appearing alongside the older generation. A move to Olympiacos could open the way for other Mexican forwards, because the European market always remembers players who come from Liga MX. If González succeeds, the value of an entire generation of Mexican forwards could rise. That is a slow but compounding effect, and it begins with quiet steps like this one. I once stood amid an empty stand during the pandemic and understood that when the stands are empty, the voice does not begin with the loudspeaker, but with the heart. Mexico's story today is the same. It does not begin with a forward, but with the way a collective relearns how to breathe together when the one who sets the rhythm is missing. They do not run for one star, they run for a place to embrace after the finish line. But to run to that finish line, a team still needs to know who will hold the ball in the final minute. Borgetti was right to say Mexico must play as a collective. What he leaves us is the harder question: how does that collective find a centre-forward, not to replace Jiménez, but to free everyone else? Football is the only place where people cry and laugh within a single minute of stoppage time. And for Mexico, that stoppage time is beginning now - as a legend speaks up, a young player sets off, and a mid-table club patiently waits for its playoff day. Three stories, one shared heartbeat. I do not grant the match a voice; I merely open the door so it can speak for itself.