Alexis Vega on Antonio Mohamed: "He got to my ego and was blunt, he wanted me at my best"

There's an image that sums up the relationship between Antonio Mohamed and Alexis Vega pretty well: the coach pointing at the stadium mural and asking the forward if he didn't want to be up there. That simple question ended up changing the course of a career and, in the process, Toluca's recent fortunes.

When the "Turco" took over as Diablos head coach in late December 2024, he found a Vega who had already spent a year back at the club that developed him, but who hadn't quite shown his best level. Mohamed didn't beat around the bush. He got to Vega's ego, spoke to him plainly and set the bar high before preseason work began for the Clausura 2025.

The player himself told the story this Wednesday at a press conference, and he didn't hold back:

When the "Turco" arrived he talked to me. He got to my ego and was blunt. Only my family and the people who love me tell me things straight. He told me he wanted me at my best. We'd go to the stadium and he'd say, don't you want to be on the mural? It would be extraordinary to see you there, and that kind of thing motivated me a lot.Alexis Vega

Vega answered with action. He promised Mohamed he'd train at full intensity and deliver on the field, and that's exactly what happened. Not long after, he was handed the captain's armband, a responsibility the player himself admits helped him forge a different character inside the scarlet locker room.

Five titles in under two years

The results didn't take long to show up. Toluca won the Clausura 2025 against America, and that same summer added the Campeon de Campeones and the Campeones Cup. Then came the Apertura 2025, and now in 2026 the club has added the Concacaf Champions Cup and the Leagues Cup to its trophy case. In total, five of the six titles the club has won since Mohamed took over the bench carry his stamp.

Vega explains that leap in simple terms: trust was the key. "He gave me confidence, he let me play free, and since then the team has shown it's capable of great things. Without any fear of saying it, we're the best team in Mexico and we have to prove it every week," the forward said.

The locker room asked Mohamed to stay

The "Turco" has now been at Toluca for a year and nine months, a long stretch by Mexican soccer standards, and during that time there's been no shortage of rumors linking him to other benches, both in South America and Europe. Each time that happens, according to Vega, it's the players themselves who have pushed him to stay.

"I watch him, I talk to him, to his son Shayr, and you get the sense they're doing well, happy. He has a good relationship with the front office, they bring him reinforcements, and we've told him here to stay, to stick around longer," the scarlet captain said, adding that Mohamed's contract is still active and that he hopes he sees it through because, in Vega's view, he's happy at the club.

Vega also had words for Julian Quinones, his former Mexican national team teammate during the run-up to the 2026 World Cup, after news broke of his Ballon d'Or nomination. "What Julian's done is wonderful, it's something out of the ordinary. He scored more goals than games played, something you almost never see. I saw him with the national team, you'd watch him train and he's a machine," he said, also recalling the Colombian-Mexican's time at America and in Saudi Arabia, where he also won titles.