Lozano’s silent departure from PSV, or can he do something special against Feyenoord?

“I’m going to miss everyone at the club,” says Hirving Lozano on the eve of his departure from PSV. The 29-year-old Mexican will leave for American San Diego FC in January. The last match in his second period in Eindhoven will be the home match against Feyenoord on Sunday, if he gets playing time.

As fiery as Lozano’s first period at PSV was, his second term in Eindhoven will most likely end quietly.

Or the 29-year-old Mexican will suddenly have to come up with something special in the upcoming top match against Feyenoord. Such as his hat trick against Ajax on October 29, 2023 (5-2) or a winning goal in the final seconds.

But a major role for Lozano is not obvious. He was given a starting place in PSV’s KNVB cup match with the amateurs of HFC (8-0) on Tuesday and also scored, but against Feyenoord he will probably have to settle for a reserve role again.

The attacker returned to PSV somewhat unexpectedly at the end of the summer of 2023 after a four-year adventure at Napoli. Lozano’s plan was already clear at the time: play football in Europe for a while and then play closer to his native Mexico.

San Diego FC, which will make its debut in Major League Soccer (MLS) in 2025, convinced him this spring with a fat four-season contract. Bringing in Lozano was a project of club owner Tom Penn, who was partly responsible for the founding of MLS club Los Angeles FC in 2014.

Penn has big plans for ‘Chucky’, as Lozano’s nickname is. San Diego is just a stone’s throw from the border of football-mad Mexico, which lowers the bar for fans to see the footballer in action.

Lozano’s presence also gives Major League Soccer an incentive to continue growing. His compatriots Hector Herrera, Carlos Vela and Javier Hernández have also made the move to the MLS in the past.

With his enormous annual salary, reportedly around 6 million euros, Lozano becomes a so-called Designated Player in San Diego. An MLS club is allowed to host three soccer players who earn more than the maximum allowable salary. Lionel Messi, for example, has the same status at Inter Miami.

Lozano scored 40 times and provided 23 assists in his first period at PSV (2017-2019). “They were two fantastic years,” says the attacker. Even FC Barcelona was interested at the time. “But it was not concrete.”

Napoli became Lozano’s next employer. He certainly did not perform poorly in Serie A, but the more defensive football suited him less well than PSV’s game.

He returned to Eindhoven last year, but injuries, a lack of form and the dynamic system of trainer Peter Bosz meant that he only managed eleven goals and five assists in his second period.

Under Bosz, Lozano only showed glimpses of the footballer who can be dangerous with his technique and speed. As mentioned, his highlight was against Ajax, but his biggest disappointment was perhaps the away match against Borussia Dortmund on February 20 in the eighth finals in the Champions League.

Lozano was a starter during that period, but was never able to make his mark. In that important match, to his great surprise, the Mexican started on the bench. He came on after the break, but could not save PSV from a 2-0 defeat and elimination.

“When you’re on the bench, you want to help,” Lozano said. “It is a decision of the trainer. He tries to get the best out of the team. That defeat was painful. We had the better team.”