Mexican international Ochoa has to wait for debut with Malaga

Mexican international goalkeeper Guillermo Ochoa has had to wait a long time in order to make his debut with Spanish BBVA Primera Liga club, Malaga.

Ochoa signed for the club in the south of Spain after being one of the heroes of the 2014 World Cup and could have expected to have been a first team regular. However, the fine form shown by Carlos Kameni saw the Cameroon international get the nod ahead of him and Ochoa had to spend over a season and a half watching from the sidelines until a knee injury suffered by Kameni against Deportivo la Coruna last weekend saw him finally get his chance.

With Kameni now sidelined for 6 weeks Ochoa can now finally show fans in Spain just what he is capable of.

"I am happy because I am going to have the chance to really help the team," he said in an interview with Spanish sports paper Diario AS.

Ochoa reflected on his 18 months of waiting saying he "took it with patience. I didn't expect it when I came here, but I have done my best both on and off the pitch and so I am happy that the possibility has arrived."

"It's not ideal to get my chance because a team-mate is injured, but I am ready and have worked every day for this chance," he said, adding he had a "serious professional relationship with Kameni".

Ochoa had not spoken for the press for a long time, explaining that the past months had been "difficult."

"When you are not playing at times declarations don't help the squad, I wasn't going to help the team by talking. I preferred to help by giving everything possible in training," he said.

"Sometimes football can put you in a difficult situation, but you have no other option other than to stand up and to keep working," assured the goalkeeper.

That work will finally get its reward when Ochoa makes his first league start when Malaga entertain Sporting Gijon on Friday night. Enditem