It was January 1986 and the temperature at the peak of La Malinche, one of Mexico’s tallest mountains, had plummeted to a bone-chilling cold. A group of soccer players training for that year’s World Cup ran through a dense fog to the summit 14,600ft above sea level gasping in the thin air. Their Serbian coach, Bora Milutinović, had pushed his players to the limit, seeking not only to test their physical endurance but also hoping for a psychological breakthrough. Up there, the Mexico players suffered, shivered and cursed. But through hardship they became a family. That fabled image of survival on the mountain became the foundation for Mexico’s best-ever World Cup performance, the last time they played on home soil and one of only two times El Tri reached the tournament’s quarter-finals.

Forty years later, the myth of La Malinche hangs over Mexico’s preparation for this summer’s tournament, which once again will be played on home turf. The team’s coach, Javier Aguirre, was one of Milutinović’s players at the 1986 World Cup and he has seemingly been inspired by the old belief that isolation and shared struggle can work miracles. At Aguirre’s urging, the Mexican Football Federation – just as it had in 1986 – took the controversial step of removing national team players from their clubs during the most decisive phase of the Liga MX playoffs. By the time the World Cup kicks off on 11 June, the players will have been sequestered together for 30 days.

The departure of 12 players from Liga MX – first for a period of forced rest and then for training at Mexico City’s High-Performance Center – generated considerable discontent among the fans of clubs competing in the playoffs. The result: the tournament, which is supposed to be the highlight of the year, has become a lackluster affair.

Chivas de Guadalajara, who traditionally only field Mexican players, lost five teammates to the national squad. Missing half of their starting lineup, the Red and Whites lost in the semi-finals to Cruz Azul, who only gave up one player, Érik Lira, to international duty. Cruz Azul went on to beat Pumas in a low-quality final.

Former Mexico goalkeeper Félix Fernández, now an analyst for ClaroSports, voiced concerns that are shared by many fans in the country about Aguirre’s decision.

“I think there’s no better way for a national team player to reach the World Cup than after playing in the [playoffs], because those are the most intense, most demanding matches,” Fernández says. “Yes, of course, there’s a risk of injury, but injuries can also happen in training.”