With Santiago Gimenez joining Milan from Feyenoord, not only will their attack be bolstered, but there is also a Concacaf flavor in the side with American internationals Christian Pulisic and Yunus Musah being joined by the Mexican international. While this may not feel significant, there are only three teams in a top-five league where an American plays alongside a Mexican.
Bournemouth have Tyler Adams and Julian Araujo, Fulham have Antonee Robinson and Raul Jimenez, and then there’s Milan with their trio. That’s it. While there have been other cases of this happening in the past, the decline of the Mexican national team has led to fewer cases currently as there are more United States internationals in Europe than ever before. Not only do those players need to make a big enough name for themselves to move abroad but then they have to prove themselves to stick in the starting lineup.
The Milan trio may be a higher profile group than the Fulham duo but when looking at their production, it’s much closer between them, especially due to international output. While Gimenez has been a scoring machine for Feyenoord with 65 goals and 14 assists in all competitions across 105 appearances, that form hasn’t translated to Mexico. Putting on the El Tri shirt, Gimenez has only scored four times in 32 caps. Figuring out how to get him going for the national team has been a struggle but that has also been Jimenez’s gain in international play.
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Despite being 33, he’s going strong with 35 goals in 109 caps and has continued to keep hold of the starting role at Fulham with 18 goals and two assists for the Cottagers. Pulisic and Robinson have been among the first names on the teamsheets for their clubs and countries but that hasn’t been the case so far for the Mexican strikers.
Gimenez now moving to a top-five league and still featuring in Champions League soccer will be what could unlock him on the international level. Jimenez was a late bloomer himself with the national team and at only 23, but Gimenez’s best soccer is firmly ahead of him. With more pressure and playing alongside Pulisic, the stage is set for him to improve rapidly in the remainder of the season which could even impact Concacaf Nations League where he and Pulisic could go head-to-head for a title in March.
Rivals on the international stage, Milan’s Concacaf players will play a large role in how they do under Sergio Conceicao’s leadership this season as they look for stability and a return to the elite.
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