🦅 América basks in the bicampeonato
Controversial penalty? What controversial penalty? PLUS: The Conca-catch-up!
Club América went into this weekend’s Liga MX final already boasting of 14 titles, the most titles all-time. What had escaped it was winning two in a row.
Lesser clubs had done it: Atlas most recently, León before that. Pumas was the first, and until Sunday only, of Mexico’s four grandes to become bicampeon in short tournaments.
Now, América has done it too, topping Cruz Azul to become the back-to-back champion of Liga MX.
“It was easy!” América midfielder Jonathan dos Santos joked before getting serious.
“I really didn’t expect it,” said Dos Santos, who dedicated the first title to his late father Zizinho who played for América. “Being here again living these moments is a dream.
“We know that being bicampeon in this league is very, very difficult. It took more than 30 years, but I’m thankful to the club, my family, my dad who I know is in heaven and is very happy we’re getting these titles. I’m happy.”
That happiness all came together thanks in part to Andre Jardine, a manager who was not América’s first choice or second choice or third choice but clearly was what América needed after they missed out on the managers they wanted to hire around this time last year.
There was Jardine, celebrating the penalty that pushed América to a 1-0 victory Sunday night and a 2-1 aggregate win. There he was shaking the hand of every Cruz Azul player and staff member as they stepped on the stage to accept their runners-up medals. There he was hugging his players and América owner Emilio Azcárraga (who got an unusually large amount of face time on TUDN, which he also owns).
The penalty will be debated and debated … and debated.
“Robo” is trending on Twitter. (I’ll say it: I think it’s a penalty - one that looks much less like a penalty because of Reyes’ wild exaggeration of the contact that takes place)
América and its fans certainly won’t see the trophy as anything less than its first-ever back-to-back title win and one won after a long season filled with victories but a season that also had its share of challenges.
“That’s how things are at América,” Jardine said in his post-match news conference. “We’re always surrounded by controversy and there are a lot of people who try to disqualify our wins. When we win, there’s always some type of discussion, but I think two No. 1 finishes, the best attack, the best defense, two titles, a lot of clean sheets … there we are.”
Cruz Azul knew heading into the match that it wouldn’t be able to win the league without getting the details just right - not because of the master conspiracy to benefit Televisa-owned América but because that ownership has pumped a lot of money into making América a very good team.
La Maquina didn’t. There were multiple clear opportunities to open the scoring, and the stoppage time save on Rodrigo Huescas from Luis Malagon solidified the América goalkeeper as the Man of the Match.
Jardine is on to something about the best team winning. Not only was América the No. 1 seed, it was the team that both traditional and advanced metrics consistently rated as the best - whether the metric was about scoring goals or keeping them out.
That’s not to say that América should get any advantages they didn’t earn. The Liguilla was a treacherous path, Las Aguilas first having to face boogey team Pachuca, which they advanced past only on the better regular finish tiebreaker. Then came an emotionally charged rivalry series with Chivas.
A horrendous start to the first leg, with Malagon committing a penalty that Uriel Antuna converted, was another indication América may not be as strong in late May as it was in at the height of its power this season.
Now? None of that matters. The close calls, the penalty decisions will be talked about for years to come. América will keep pointing to that trophy in the case, the photo of Henry Martin lifting both trophies and the record book that finally says América is bicampeon.
Conca-catch-up on sleep, it’s a holiday weekend!
🇨🇷 Let’s start in Costa Rica, where a squad has been announced for La Sele’s friendly with Uruguay on Friday and Keylor Navas isn’t in it.
That’s because the legendary Tico shot-stopper announced his international retirement last week. Is it a surprise? It is in some ways. Navas remains an active professional player at the highest level and is one who has done lots for his country.
Navas suited up for Costa Rica more than 100 times, starting at three World Cups, including the memorable run to the 2014 quarterfinals.
On the other, he often was selective about which international tournaments he’d turn up for, largely eschewing the Gold Cup but playing in games like World Cup qualifiers or March’s playoff to book a place in the Copa América.
Who replaces Navas? Both Kevin Chamorro of Saprissa and Patrick Sequeira, another Saprissa product who has played the last several years in the lower divisions in Spain, were on the roster for the Copa América qualifiers. I’d expect one of them to earn the regular starting job and think Chamorro has the edge.
Notably, Alfaro also called in a pair of Herediano goalkeepers rather than veteran Alajuelense goalkeeper Leonel Moreira.
Speaking of the domestic game in Costa Rica… Saprissa has won its 40th title - and whoooooo boy was this a wild series.
In the first leg, Saprissa had to play with 10 men for much of the match after goalkeeper Kevin Chamorro committed a foul in the 39th minute that also meant he’d be suspended for the second leg. Gerald Taylor and David Guzman also saw red, Taylor for a foul and Guzman for offensive language that later got him suspended for additional matches. Those cards both took place 20 minutes into second-half stoppage time, though, so … yeah,
Sadly, the video highlights don’t have these incidents, but it does show the lovely header from Joshua Navarro 17 minutes into stoppage time and before those red cards.
Without three typical starters, fans worried Saprissa might struggle.
Instead, Saprissa came out to avoid the Gran Final that would’ve been triggered (between the same two teams) were they to have lost this round.
Ariel Rodriguez, Luis Paradela and Orlando Sinclair scored as Los Morados romped to a fifth straight title victory with a 3-0 win over LDA.
🇭🇳 After following an historic undefeated run with a brief bobble, Olimpia is champion of Honduras, its 38th title.
Marathon secured a draw in the second leg, but it wasn’t enough after Olimpia opened the series with the 3-1 win we discussed last week.
Even after a 48th minute red card to Olimpia, the Leones were able to hold off the San Pedro Sula squad in a game that was as hot as advertised as high temperatures in the region continue to reach or near 100 Fahrenheit.
Notably, Olimpia manager Pedro Troglio and his coaching staff have renewed their deals, with the club focusing on success in Concacaf play.
🇸🇻 I wish I had some upstart to tell you about after the Saprissa and Olimpia titles, but Alianza has won its 18th title, putting it one off FAS for most all-time and it wasn’t even close.
The Albos got FOUR goals from Emerson Mauricio, a 21-year-old Salvadoran who has been in the national team picture but only sporadically, in a 5-0 victory over Limeño.
Life got easier when Limeño’s ex-Honduras defender Ever Alvarado got sent off in the first half. His last multi-goal game came in November 2023, when he scored two against Fuerte San Francisco.
Also, this game aired on beIN Sports in the U.S. I was just chatting with the World Cup After Dark podcast guys (episode coming soon) about the opportunity broadcasters have to reach some pretty large diaspora communities in the U.S. if they nab some more Concacaf rights. Great work to whoever made that happen!
🇵🇦 It’s a Clásico Nacional in Panama’s final, with Tauro FC meeting Plaza Amador at the Rommel Fernández on Saturday.
Tauro had a 2-1 lead after the first leg of its semifinal with San Francisco and manager Felipe Baloy went to grind-it-out mode with a scoreless draw in the second leg that puts Tauro through.
Plaza topped regular-season No. 1 Potros del Este 1-0 in the second leg with a goal from Edgar Espinosa and also got a penalty save from “Jimmy” de Gracia.
Those are the final spots to be decided for the Central American Cup. Tauro will qualify either as champion or as best-positioned team remaining in the table.
🇬🇹🇳🇮 I am unlikely to be able to keep up with all the non-FIFA friendly matches taking place ahead of June’s World Cup qualifiers, but Guatemala played Nicaragua in San Jose, California on Sunday.
J A U N T Y M A R I M B A I N V I D E O
Not a ton to read into this one, I don’t think, but I would’ve expected the Chapines to secure a better result than a 1-1 draw.
Some of the matches have been games like this without top players while others have been against good South American teams, but Guatemala now is winless in its last eight.