Francisco Guillermo Ochoa Magana (born 13 July 1985), commonly referred to as Memo, is a Mexican professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Liga MX club America whom he captains, and the Mexico national team.
Ochoa made his senior-level professional debut for Club America in 2004 in a Mexican league match against Monterrey. He won his first league title in 2005 and was the club's first-choice goalkeeper up until 2011, making over 200 appearances for America. That summer Ochoa was transferred to Ajaccio in France. He spent three seasons with the club until their relegation from Ligue 1. In 2014, Ochoa joined Málaga but failed to establish himself in the team. In July 2016, he joined Granada on a season-long loan. In July 2017, he joined Standard Liege.
A Mexican international since 2005, Ochoa received his first cap at age 20 in a friendly match against Hungary. He has been included in the squads for the 2006, 2010, 2014, and 2018 FIFA World Cups, the 2013 and 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup, the 2004 Summer Olympics and 2020 Summer Olympics, the 2007 Copa America, the Copa America Centenario, the 2007, 2009, 2015, and 2019 CONCACAF Gold Cup, and was originally in the 2011 CONCACAF Gold Cup before being suspended from the competition due to false doping allegations.
Karla Villegas Gamas of Bleacher Report has described him "proven to be a save keeper, with confidence and leadership. Despite [then] being 28 years old, Ochoa knows how to organize the defense and push his teammates toward perfection; it's no wonder why he wore El Tri's captain armband last March [2013]. His experience is vast, and that is why he knows how to handle pressure. Paco Memo has played in some of the most important tournaments in world football, such as the Confederations Cup, Gold Cup and Copa America. Ochoa’s aerial game is enviable. He can catch a cross or a shot, but he can also deflect them with high dives with the top hand and punches. But those are not his only assets. His reflexes are so sharp that he can perform a collapse dive with one hand with ease, even if he has just rejected a shot. When the rivals made it past the defense, Ochoa knows how to work inside the box to cover his goal as much as possible by narrowing the angle."
Ochoa has cited Peter Schmeichel as an influence on his playing style. |
