Carlos Gonzalez was brought to Toluca to be the answer for the team in front of goal. The Paraguayan striker was coming off some lack luster seasons at Tigres. However, that was more or less justified by everyone under the assumption that at Tigres he had to play second fiddle to Andre Pierre Gignac. At Toluca, he would be able to return to a more prominent role he had at Necaxa, and Pumas respectively. However, in his first season with Toluca he wasn’t exactly a goal scoring machine. He only found the back of the net 3 times in 23 appearances for the team. Last night in the team’s preseason game against Club America he was once again inefficient in front of goal. Club America had to play down to 10 men the entire second half after Pedro Aquino was sent off due to accumulating two yellow cards. This allowed Toluca to really take over the game completely. Even with the clear advantage neither Gonzalez nor anyone else on the team for that matter was able to find the back of the net to even make the game close. Ultimately the final result was 2-0 in favor of Club America. Is this something that should worry Nacho Ambriz, and his Toluca side?
Gonzalez Will Likely Get Another Season To Work Things Out
At this point it doesn’t look like Toluca are actively searching for a replacement for Gonzalez. There could still be some options on the horizon. For example, they could call up Michael Estrada from Cruz Azul. He’s still a Toluca player and if they needed him they could revoke the loan. That may be something that’s actually possible. Especially if the Luis Suarez signing does take place at Cruz Azul. The team would have a ton of center forwards on the roster. If they could unload one of them to another team they probably would without hesitation.
Even if that takes place it does look like it would be Gonzalez’s job to lose at least at the beginning of the season. Of course this idea of bringing Estrada along to boost competition is just one that we’re putting out there. So far there has been no indication that Toluca would be interested in something like this. The reality though is that patience could run out for Gonzalez rather quickly. He hasn’t been the player that Toluca hoped he would be.
Who Else Can Step Up For This Team?
Camilo Sanvezzo is the obvious answer in this case. He’s another player though whose production in front of goal has dipped in the last couple of seasons. Plus with Gonzalez being the clear number 1 option at the striker spot he has to play in a role that doesn’t necessarily suit him all that well. We saw that in the finals against Pachuca. Nacho Ambriz wanted him to play in more of a midfield role. That’s too big of an ask at this point in his career. It’s just too much field for him to cover.
Another player that this Toluca team maybe could use a bit more from is Marcel Ruiz. He was in a spot similar to what Sanvezzo had to deal with. In fact, because Sanvezzo was on the pitch at the same time as him Marcel was put into more of a defensive midfielder role. He played well considering the fact that he had to go through a surgery literally days before the start of the playoffs. The team could look a lot better if they brought in a more traditional defensive midfielder to play with Serrucho Baeza, and leave Marcel to play in more of a number 10 role. At this point though, Toluca is lacking fire power upfront.
