It’s fair to say we’ve all enjoyed Raúl Jiménez’s revival at Fulham, and even the people who criticised him are now joining in.
That’s at least if the latest article from journalist Álvaro López Sordo is anything to go by as he admits he was wrong about the Fulham man to El Guardian.
Jiménez is arguably in the best form of his career to date, shining for Fulham in the Premier League and with the Mexican tational team too.
The 33-year-old has 12 goals and three assists for Marco Silva’s side in all competitions this season and carried that form into the latest international break bagging two goals each in the 2-0 win over Canada and then the 2-1 win over Panama.
That came after he bagged a goal and an assist in a 4-0 win over Honduras back in November and a goal and an assist on his big international return in the win over USA in October.
It’s been a heroic return to the national side for the Fulham striker, who was pushed out by the previous regime as they believed he was past his best and wanted to focus on different players for the future.
Instead, he has left his critics eating their words and Sordo is one of them, although he is happy to admit he was very wrong.
“Fortunately, I was wrong too. The magnitude of my mistake is proportional to the quality and level that Raúl Jiménez has shown in recent months,” he said.
“Three years ago, I was convinced that we would never see the former América player again, not even close to what he had been before the terrible head injury he suffered. Today, although it sounds crazy, he’s an even better player.
“Today, Jiménez’s mental strength is paying dividends for a national team that would be adrift without him. The Fulham striker reinvented himself.
“Well, actually, he went back to basics and combined the forward who accompanied Christian Benítez at América with the lethal goal scorer, who became an idol, at Wolverhampton.
“He’s probably tired of hearing several of us say that “Jiménez is over” or that “Raúl can no longer play at the elite level.
“Statements that had merit at the time, but also had an expiration date, because Jiménez never wanted to stop being himself and always knew that in his mind the word “mediocrity” didn’t exist.
“Raúl didn’t give up. I don’t know him, but—after what we’ve seen in recent years—I’d bet that the Tepeji native won’t rest until he puts in a World Cup performance worthy of his footballer status.”
