Ricardo Ferretti's hiring as Mexico boss draws large social media response

          • Andrea CanalesAug 25, 2015, 02:02 PM ET
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              Andrea Canales covers Liga MX and Mexico National Team for ESPNFC.com.

          Ricardo "Tuca" Ferretti, Mexico's newly-minted interim coach, may possibly be just as emotional as Miguel Herrera, but far less easygoing. Unlike the usually jovial Herrera, Ferretti is known for his iron discipline with his players, and isn't the type to post selfies or crack jokes on social media.

          Yet Ferretti has his own brand of dark humor that has resulted in a kind of social media fame unique to him.

          The question then becomes, how many of those "Tuca Tempest" moments will the coach fit into his El Tri tenure of four games? And will the players make the adjustment successfully from the permissible Herrera to the much tougher approach of Ferretti?

          Some players have already gone public with their backing of Ferretti, perhaps most notably Giovani Dos Santos. The midfielder/forward had been one of the players who was especially supportive of Herrera in the past. But it might be merely a practical move to fall into line with the new era.

          One player in particular many may be wondering about is Carlos Vela, whose long self-imposed exile from national team duty only ended after Herrera reached out to him and was able to convince him to return to El Tri.

          All the emotion Ferretti exhibits does have one clear benefit for his players -- they know how passionate he is winning. In his long career, his experience with tactics and strategy has proven that this combination of passion and knowledge works well as evidenced by two league titles (Verano 1997 and Apertura 2011) , a CONCACAF Champions Cup win and a Copa MX success in 2014. So perhaps it doesn't matter if people laugh at Ferretti's occasional meltdowns as he can get the last laugh when he wins.

          Ferretti may also be working with an ace up his sleeve for these four matches in charge. Unlike Herrera's last tournament run, when key players like Javier Hernandez, Hector Moreno and Dos Santos were injured, Ferretti will have most of Mexico's top players healthy, in-form and available. He has already said he plans to choose players from the Gold Cup and Copa America rosters.

          That of course means that Ferretti doesn't have to dilute his roster to cover two tournaments like his predecessor did. The September friendlies are mere preparation. The focus will be on one game and one game only. The thinking from the Mexican federation may be that they are willing to gamble that Ferretti can hold it together and offer his astute leadership without blowing up for the big match.

          The canny Ferretti no doubt knows that the FMF has taken a bit of a chance on him, but it appears he is willing to take a calculated risk as well. The truth is, if the friendlies are a mixed bag, and Mexico loses to the U.S., he will go back to his job at Tigres with no really terrible consequences. It's the FMF that will be questioned as to their choice to settle for an interim solution.

          However, if all goes well, and Ferretti is the hero who leads Mexico to the promised land of the Confederations Cup, then suddenly he's a viable candidate, perhaps one who is even more attractive because he's not willing to be immediately available. Ferretti's bargaining position as coach will be even stronger if the permanent coach brought in for Mexico starts to struggle at any point.

          In the end, Ferretti is betting on himself more than anyone, but the strong-minded coach will take that sort of chance every time. He's not one to get hung up with shame about how he's disparaged or criticized the national team position in the past.

          He's willing to show that he can do the job right, even in a short amount of time, and strengthen his reputation, increasing his options at the same time. Ferretti's fire might just be exactly what is needed to light El Tri's path to victory.