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Antonio “Turco” Mohamed’s start to life with
Monterrey was far from perfect.
After joining Los Rayados on 16th February
2015, Turco was unable to take Monterrey into
the 2015 Clausura play-offs. This was always
likely considering Monterrey’s poor start to the
2015 Clausura, but with a full pre-season and an
impressive squad, failing to finish in the top eight
in the 2015 Apertura was extremely disappointing.
A less patient board may have shown Mohamed
the door, but those at the top in Monterrey kept
faith in Turco, with his impressive past record at
Tijuana and América, where he won league titles,
perhaps the reason he kept his job.
Patience from Monterrey’s board has since been
rewarded, as Los Rayados dominated the regular
stage of the 2016 Clausura, finishing top of the pile
with 37 points from 17 games.
Add these points to the 23 picked up in the
Apertura, and if the 15/16 Liga MX season was run
similarly to the big European leagues, with no playoffs and one competition per season, Monterrey
would have been champions.
These are some of the key factors behind
Mohamed turning Monterrey into the best side in
Liga MX.
Turco Mohamed has regularly switched between
tactical systems in the 2016 Clausura. Whilst a
variant of a 4-4-2, more like a 4-2-2-2 or 4-2-3-1 in
my eyes, has been most commonly used, Turco has
also reverted to a 5-1-2-2 at times.
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Being able to perform effectively in both four
at the back and five at the back formations shows
Turco’s impressive ability to train players to be able
to execute different tactical systems and is a useful
weapon in games where Monterrey are struggling.
For example, switching from a five at the back to
four at the back formation at half-time in the game
away at América this season saw Monterrey turn a
two-one deficit into a three-two lead.
Monterrey's strongest line-up