Before making the step up to a large European club, many Latin American footballers stop midway in the southern Dutch club of PSV Eindhoven.
“¡Mira qué cabrón!” Miguel Ángel was done with José’s antics. The middle-schoolers went down to the local park after school each day, and each day they took each other on: 1-v-1 fútbol. Rain or drought, the boys would stay out until it got dark. Today was a different story, though, as Miguel Ángel couldn’t take losing to his friend anymore. José was clearly the better player and his flashy tricks on the ball left Miguel Ángel embarrassed at times. “Regateas como ‘Chucky’.” Yes indeed, José does dribble like Chucky, the nickname for Mexico’s up-and-coming star, Hirving Lozano.
Lozano is arguably the best player for El Tricolor already despite his tender age of 22. Chucky played for CF Pachuca for many years, but the player that millions of Mexican children aspire to play like does not play in his home nation anymore. Actually — despite interest from some of the world’s richest clubs — Lozano now lives in a village-turned-megalopolis an hour east of Rotterdam, Holland. That place is Eindhoven: home to old stone-wrapped churches, a diverse population, and the country’s most successful football club since the turn of the century.
On March 10, PSV Eindhoven did something they hadn’t done in over five decades: a 5-0 loss to relegation candidates Willem II. Their largest loss since 1964. Perhaps it was a fitting result for the Eredivisie leaders; they remain seven points ahead of second-place detractors Ajax Amsterdam, but their performances have been shaky. Many will boast how unlikely their title charge has been, considering their poor performances throughout the season. It almost seems as if fate is determined to make the Boeren champions for the third time in four years.