Can Jonathan dos Santos fill Herrera’s boots for El Tri?
By Dan Chapman
Jonathan dos Santos scored a golazo for the LA Galaxy Friday night. Could he be the replacement for Hector Herrera at the Gold Cup?
Jonathan Dos Santos’ long range strike to beat Orlando City in an MLS game was a sight to behold and no doubt instilled some much needed confidence in the veteran Mexico midfielder.
Although he is not known for scoring, he has noted that when he does find the back of the net, they are usually “golazos.”
With Porto midfielder Hector Herrera announcing that he will not take part in the upcoming Gold Cup in the United States, it could fall to Jonathan Dos Santos to be the fill-in.
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Like fellow Mexican Carlos Vela who is dominating the MLS right now for Los Angeles Football Club, Dos Santos has come in for some criticism for leaving Europe too early to join a league that is widely seen as inferior to Liga MX let alone La Liga.
His brother Giovanni was released by the Galaxy before the season and for a moment it looked like Jonathan might follow him out the door. But the younger dos Santos brother has secured a starting spot in the Galaxy midfield and could look to prove himself further with the national team after being named by Team Mexico coach “Tata” Martino as part of El Tri’s preliminary Gold Cup roster.
He has big boots to fill, however. Hector Herrera is preparing to leave Porto as its club captain, after a six-year stint in Portugal, compiling an impressive record there. Herrera is high on the list of Most Caps by Foreign Player for the club and he helped the Dragons to an impressive Champions League run. Jonathan’s club career simply does not compare.
The 29-year-old dos Santos has talent and ability to spare and we certainly hope he sees the Gold Cup as an opportunity to prove his doubters wrong. He has proven deserving of wearing the green jersey and if he has a successful tournament, European clubs might consider returning him to the continent.
As for now, we can all be happy for Jonathan having scored a really beautiful goal for the LA Galaxy and we can all hope he will pile up goals and assists in the MLS.