In the first two matches of the Rafael Márquez era, the Mexico national team did not lose, but it did not win either. And for Ricardo 'Tuca' Ferretti, the problem is not the results — it is that nothing has changed in essence.

Context: Two Draws and Justified Anger

On October 3, 2026, Mexico steps into its third match under new head coach Rafael Márquez. Before that, the team drew 1-1 with Colombia and 1-1 with Peru in its first two matches. No losses — but also no wins.

For a football nation that had just hosted the 2026 World Cup, expectations placed on Márquez — a legend of Mexican football, successor to Javier Aguirre — were anything but modest. But after two draws, a segment of the fanbase began to grow restless. And Ricardo 'Tuca' Ferretti, former head coach of Tigres and Pumas, said what many were only thinking.

An Uncompromising Strike from 'Tuca'

On the show Futbol Picante, Ferretti did not hide his frustration. He did not talk about points. He talked about structure.

"Same old cat, just with new fur. I mean, we have been in this situation for two and a half years," Ferretti said, his voice clearly frustrated.

His target was specifically the midfield. Ferretti posed a question to his colleagues on the show: Who are Mexico's midfielders? The answer he received: Roberto Alvarado and Julián Quiñones — the latter absent from both matches against Colombia and Peru.

And then Ferretti delivered his key judgment: the problem is not a lack of personnel, but how the lines overlap, canceling out each other's space. He pointed to Alvarado — a player pushed out wide but always drifting inside — as blocking the attacking lanes of Álvaro Fidalgo and Isaías Violante.

"Alvarado blocks their entry; the other one closes and blocks the other's entry," Ferretti explained.

When asked whether the return of Hirving 'Chucky' Lozano would make a difference against the United States, Ferretti shook his head. For him, the problem is not the name on the tactical board.

"Chucky too. Coaches are asking players to close down, so the midfielders cannot penetrate. I run into you, honestly. How many times have we talked about this at the World Cup?"

Referee's Eye: When a 'Structural Problem' Cannot Be Solved by One Name

From the perspective of someone who has followed football in Spain and Mexico for years, I find Ferretti's analysis grounded — but it raises a larger question about how we read national teams.

Mexico today is not short on players capable of attacking. The problem is how the lines are organized. When Alvarado — an attacking midfielder with a tendency to drift inside — is deployed in a position expected to be wide, he does not stretch the opponent's defense. He narrows his own teammates' space.

What Ferretti calls "same old cat, new fur" is essentially an observation about the continuity of a problem: Mexico has played with the same structure for years, regardless of who the coach is. From the 2026 World Cup to now, the team still relies on wide midfielders drifting inside, creating a 'crowd' in the middle but with no one actually penetrating.

Data I have tracked in recent matches reveals a concerning pattern: Mexico controls the ball well in its own half and midfield, but the number of penetrations into the opponent's box through central combinations is unusually low. This matches Ferretti's observation: midfielders overlap, block each other, instead of creating different running lanes.

The Uncomfortable Truth: No 'False Nine', No Solution

One point Ferretti did not address directly but implicitly highlighted: Mexico has no true center-forward capable of holding the ball and acting as a pivot. There is no one for midfielders to 'run into' — meaning midfielders must create space for each other, and in doing so, they collide.

This is a tactical problem at a much higher level than 'lacking good players.' This is a problem about the playing model and how personnel are deployed within it.

When Ferretti says "We have been in this situation for two and a half years," he is pointing out that this is not Márquez's problem alone. It is a systemic problem — from youth development to how national team coaches are selected.

What Actually Needs to Change?

Rafael Márquez has three matches to prove he can do things differently. The match against the United States on October 3, 2026 at State Farm Stadium, Glendale, Arizona, will be the first truly meaningful test — because the United States is not Colombia or Peru. The United States is a direct regional rival and the most accurate measure of progress.

But if Ferretti is right — and I believe he is — then starting Chucky Lozano will not solve anything. The problem is not who plays, but how they play together. If Márquez does not change the structure — if Alvarado still drifts inside and blocks Fidalgo's lane, if midfielders still overlap in the center — the result will remain the same.

Progressive Thought

There is a harsh truth in football: what looks like a 'new beginning' is often just the same old structure wearing a new name. Rafael Márquez is a legend of Mexican football. But a legend does not automatically produce tactical change. It only ensures we will be more patient before asking questions.

And that is exactly what Ferretti refuses to do. Perhaps he is right not to be patient.

Seeing a match through a referee's eye means seeing what no one else sees, and learning not to jump to conclusions. But sometimes, three matches are enough to realize that a team is going nowhere — not for lack of talent, but for lack of a clear model for that talent to operate within.