Tomás Boy
Tomás Juan Boy Espinoza (28 June 1951 – 8 March 2022) was a Mexican professional manager and footballer who played as an attacking midfielder.He spent most of his entire football playing career with Tigres UANL, appearing in 413 games and scoring 104 goals in all competitions.He played with the Mexico national team between 1979 and 1987 being named captain during the 1986 World Cup and surprisingly being left out for the 1978 edition.[3] Boy was born in La Condesa and raised in Bosques de Echegaray, a Naucalpan suburb, both in Mexico City into a middle class Catholic family.[29] Towards the end of the 1970s, Boy was considered one of the top Mexican players, so Mexico national team coach José Antonio Roca's decision not to call him up for the 1978 FIFA World Cup surprised the media and the audience.[30] Boy made his international debut in a friendly match against the Soviet Union, which Mexico won 1–0 with a goal by Hugo Sánchez.[35] Mexico faced West Germany in the quarterfinals, Boy was substituted by Carlos de los Cobos again this time in the 32nd minute.Developed into an attacking midfielder, most of his career in Tigres he functioned as an offensive-midfield playmaker, playing as a winger occasionally.A right-footed set-piece specialist with a thin physique, he was renowned for his ball control, vision and his ability to set the pace in midfield and provide through-balls and assists for his teammates with both legs.After his death, journalist José Ramón Fernández, ranked him as the third best Mexican footballer of all time, below Hugo Sánchez and Rafael Márquez.In 2018, while broadcasting the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia, Fernández also compared Boy with Italian icon Roberto Baggio."[37] "[...] let's leave Hugo Sánchez, Rafa Márquez and Chicharito Hernández out of the equation, the best, but they never had those characteristics [...] (Boy) should be listed powerfully in this list of the best, the most complete, the most intelligent, the fittest, the most exquisite Mexican footballer of all time [...]" Former Mexico's coach Miguel Herrera stated that Tomás Boy "as a player, he is one of the greatest my eyes have ever seen."[39]Ricardo La Volpe wrote that Boy was a "spectacular midfielder in that time, an already modern player" and listed him in his historical ideal eleven of the Mexican League.[40][41] After Tigres' first League championship, he received offers to emigrate to Italian Serie A but declined due to family issues.The historical Chilean midfielder Carlos Reinoso stated that "Tomás Boy is the greatest of (Tigres') history, a playmaker with goal."[43] In addition to his footballing skills, he was known for his strong temper and leadership, in Mexico he earned the nickname of El Jefe (Spanish for "The Boss").Boy was named captain of Mexico during the 1986 FIFA World Cup, over Real Madrid's star Hugo Sánchez.In 1988, the San Jose Earthquakes of the Western Soccer Alliance replaced head coach Barney Boyce with Boy.[44] Two years after retiring Tampico Madero signed Boy as their head coach in the thirteenth game of the season replacing Hugo Fernández.[3] Morelia won five, drew seven and lost five in the Verano 1997 season and made a two-game playoff to qualify to the final phase.[69] In the Clausura 2011, Boy led Morelia to the Liguilla where Monarcas beat América in quarterfinals winning both home and away legs.After his tenure with Morelia, Boy served as an analyst for ESPN Mexico show Fútbol Picante and soccer matches but he left shortly when he was hired as Atlas manager for the second time in his career.In the 2015 Copa Libertadores, Boy led Atlas to defeat Atletico Mineiro in Belo Horizonte by 0–1, breaking the Brazilians' 37-year unbeaten streak in home games in that competition.[citation needed] Boy was an avid golfer and a fan of MotoGP being Valentino Rossi his favorite racer.