We’ve been following the Memo Ochoa contract saga closely, and we mentioned that there was always a chance that Memo would look for a new European adventure. Today the predictions came true when it was announced that Memo Ochoa had signed with Serie A side Unione Sportiva Salernitana. The team is currently 12th in the standings, but if Ochoa would come in and be available for the first couple games of the year he would have to face a tough slate of games.
Ochoa Might Not Be In The Relegation Fight With Salernitana
One of the biggest criticisms of Ochoa and his European career has been this narrative that he’s always played for bad teams in Europe. It’s hard to defend Ochoa against that type of criticism. He did play for at least 2 teams that ended up being relegated at the end of the year. Ultimately Malaga suffered the same fate, so it’s not like he’s a good luck charm in that regard.
Salernitana are currently in 12th position in Serie A. They sit a rather comfortable 10 points ahead of the relegation zone. For a team that doesn’t necessarily have a strong Serie A pedigree that’s not that bad. Memo Ochoa could actually be an upgrade between the sticks for the squad. They’ve given up 24 goals so far this season. For comparison the worst defense in Serie A has given up 29 goals. So they are down there with some of the worst defenses in the league. The arrival of Memo may help them sure up that part of the field.
Where Does This Leave Club America’s Goalkeeper Situation?
From what we know what’s going to happen is that Club America and Necaxa are going to essentially put all of the goalkeepers that they have on both rosters and try to figure out how they are going to cover both teams with the loss of Ochoa. It was rumored that Oscar Jimenez of Club America was going to head over to Necaxa. That move fell through and instead Necaxa’s starter Miguel Angel Malagon is going to be going over to Club America to replace Ochoa. That would leave Hugo Gonzalez with the chance to be the starter in Necaxa.
Meanwhile, Oscar Jimenez is looking to stay at Club America. The idea is probably to make sure that the team has someone that they can fall back on if Malagon just doesn’t cut it. The fact is, Club America had a really tough time finding a replacement for Ochoa the first time he left until they stumbled upon Moises Muñoz. They’re not going to want a repeat of that this time around.
Memo Is Serious About 2026
It looks like Ochoa is serious about putting his best foot forward to make sure that he has a chance to start for Mexico in 2026. That would make him the first male player to take part in 6 World Cups. Memo’s contract with Salernitana will run to June 2023. This means that Ochoa’s future is not guaranteed beyond that point. In the next 6 months we may have yet another Ochoa contract drama. It makes sense for the Italian side to only gurantee a contract for the reminder of the season. If the worst happens, and they get relegated they probably don’t want to be stuck with high salaries. If the best happens, and they are able to stay in Serie A they can reevaluate the performance of some of their more veteran players like Ochoa to see how they are going to handle yet another season at the top of Italian football.
