After just a few months in the English Premier League, Raul Jimenez has accomplished something that has eluded him ever since he left Club America for Atletico Madrid and then Benfica: he earned a starting job. The 27-year-old Mexican striker has established himself as one of the most important members of Wolverhampton Wanderers’ attack, scoring six goals and assisting on five more in 23 appearances this season.
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But those numbers don’t tell the full story of a player who does a lot of off-the-ball work for the newly promoted team. Wolves are currently in eighth place, which is an achievement for a newly promoted team. And much of their success this season has been built on a solid defense—in fact, they are best-placed team in the league that also carries a negative goal difference. The lesson is not that Jimenez does not score enough, but rather that he is tasked with doing more defensive work than many of his counterparts. What’s more, Wolves’ 10th-best expected goals number in the league underscores just how important it is for their striker to finish the relatively small number of chances that do come his way.
Jimenez does this, and pundits in England have taken notice.
“He’s done really well,” said the BBC’s Gary Lineker this month on Match of the Day. “I’m sure he would like to add a few more goals to his tally, but he’s got a good all-round game. He can hold it up and puts in a lot of work to bring other people in. He can also be quite creative, so I think as all-round strikers go, he’s done particularly well.”
Alan Shearer, still the Premier League’s all-time leading goal scorer, also praised the Mexican on Match of the Day.
“I’ve been impressed,” Shearer said. “He’s got six league goals so far and if he can get between 10 and 15 in his first season, in a team that finishes outside of the top six, then I think it’s been a successful season for him.”
Whether Jimenez comes back next season depends on his strike rate, of course, but it also depends on whether Wolves see fit to turn his loan from Benfica into a permanent transfer. If Jimenez continues his momentum, it wouldn’t be surprising to see Wolves exercise their option to buy him for a reported fee of £30 million. It’s a high price to pay, but it wouldn’t be out of line for a newcomer who has helped his team capture valuable points in clutch situations.
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Among Jimenez’s more memorable moments this season are his 80th minute equalizer against Everton in August, his game-winner against Burnley in September, his assist for the game-winner over Crystal Palace in October and, most recently, his dramatic 93rd-minute assist for the game-winner against Leicester City on Saturday.
Wolves supporters have, of course, taken note—and many are hoping their striker will sign a permanent deal. This appreciation for Jimenez has even inspired one supporter to write a song in his honor.
The was a lad from Mexico… Raul…Raul
Olympics he won the gold …Raul..RaulHe came to Wolves and shot to fame,
He scores a goal every game.JI….MI….NEZ is Wanderers number 9
💛💛💛🖤🖤🖤
— Singhwhenyourewinning (@pedalsingh) December 30, 2018
It’s the perfect scenario for Jimenez, especially when you consider the difficulties he faced to get there. After winning gold with Mexico at the 2012 Olympics and clinching a Liga MX title with Club America in the 2013 Clausura, Jimenez transferred to Atletico Madrid in 2014. He managed only four starts in the 2014-15 La Liga season, then moved to Benfica, where he again played the role of backup for the next three seasons.
Nevertheless, he was still able to improve his game. Coming off the bench for Benfica, Jimenez scored 18 goals and assisted on nine more in just 2,636 minutes of league player over three seasons, giving the super sub an average of one goal or assist every 97.6 minutes. With the Mexican international embracing his station as a backup, Jimenez helped Benfica win two consecutive league titles.
“The truth is I would always like to play 90 minutes, do it in every game,” Jimenez said last summer before his move to Wolves. “I would always like to be on the field. Those decisions are the (Benfica) manager’s to make.”
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Things were no better with the Mexican national team. Although Jimenez and Javier “Chicharito” Hernandez have had a good relationship on and off the field, Jimenez was usually lost in the shadow and goal-tally of the current West Ham striker. Jimenez has had to fight for his sporadic starts with El Tri. While Chicharito started in all four of Mexico’s World Cup matches in 2018, Jimenez saw fewer than a combined 60 minutes as a substitute in two games.
With all of this mind, it’s fair to ask why Jimenez was not earning more playing time.
The problem was rarely one of under-performing. Whether it is for nine minutes or 90, Jimenez has proven to be a tireless and aggressive attacker who shines in link-up play. He also has a knack for being nearly perfect with his penalties as well.
Instead, the issue seems to be that he was simply never the priority on his teams’ rosters. Which isn’t to say that different decisions should have been made. Using Jimenez as a substitute worked for Benfica. At Atletico Madrid, he was still too inexperienced to steal a starting spot from Fernando Torres, Antoine Griezemann, or Mario Mandzukic. As for Mexico, few players in the world have Hernandez’s lethal combination of outstanding positioning and pinpoint finishing.
That said, things are now beginning to change in Jimenez’s favor.
After years of sitting on the bench, Jimenez is finally breaking through with his club. For Mexico, although he can’t change national teams in the same way he switched clubs, a change in leadership is the next best thing.
And the new manager of the Mexican national team, Gerardo “Tata” Martino, has been keeping an eye on El Tri’s two most prominent strikers. Given the fact that Hernandez has suffered injury problems and struggled to score for West Ham United, Jimenez may now be the top contender for a starting spot with Mexico. There’s also a generational change happening with the national team, and if Tata wants to gradually transition in younger faces, swapping out Hernandez for Jimenez in the XI is an excellent way to start.
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So what’s next for the Club America product? Barring an unexpected run by Wolves, the striker will likely continue to add to his goal and assist tally for a team that should earn a respectable mid-table position in the Premier League. Challenging for the FA Cup is also still a possibility.
Most exciting for supporters of the Mexican national team is the 2019 Gold Cup. In what is set to be his first major tournament under the management of Martino—and also possibly his first Gold Cup appearance since 2013—Jimenez will have an opportunity this summer to supplant Hernandez and solidify his status as El Tri’s top striker.
(Photo by ADRIAN DENNIS/AFP/Getty Images)
