🇲🇽 Jardine's Club América aims to cement historic status with Liga MX final win
PLUS: Thoughts on MLS' luck in Concacaf Champions Cup draw & other storylines to watch
It is strange to view a team Transfermarkt values at nearly $80M as a spoiler, yet Monterrey goes into the Liga MX final as the intrepid team looking to spring an upset.
Yes, even though they have a better seed thanks to a much better regular season than Club América.
Yes, even after a summer that saw it bring in Oliver Torres and Lucas Ocampos from Sevilla, plus Fidel Ambriz from León and Roberto de la Rosa from Pachuca.
Yes, even entering the final after a 6-3 aggregate victory over Atlético San Luis in the final after a 5-1 win in the second leg, played at home like they’ll play the second leg of the final at home.
Despite the struggles América had during the regular season, they enter as the back-to-back champions. They shouldn’t have been anywhere near the final, at times sitting outside the playoff places and then needing a shootout win in the play-in to even get into the Liguilla proper.
Yet, four matches later, here they are. Healthy. In form. Inevitable.
They claim they are not allowing themselves to think about a record third consecutive title, knowing that taking anything for granted against Monterrey will mean an opportunity for a talented Rayados team to take advantage of a lapse thanks to their own big-money players.
“A lot of times negative thoughts or positive ones take your focus away from where you have to be focused. It’s a bit sad in that aspect that you can’t allow yourself to have the right to think about what happens after - if you win or if you lose,” América manager Andre Jardine said Wednesday. “So, you always have to think about preparing, to focus on the opponent, how we’re going to play and being as cold as possible and be 100 percent focused on what we have to do no matter the relevance of every match you play.”
Jardine has to say that, and he no doubt wants his team to be locked in on the present, not on a potential future. Yet, it will be impossible for the players to completely block out the idea that they could become a team that will arguably be the best of the entire modern era.
The focus must be on better defensive execution than they’ve been able to display. Rayados will attack, with Sergio Canales pulling the strings and a plethora of players who are able to finish. With center back Victor Guzman likely returning from injury, the back line also can slow an América attack that suddenly found its turbo mode in the second leg of the semifinal.
Everyone on the field knows, though, what’s at stake. It’s now about living up to, or subverting, the roles the teams have played for the last several years.
MLS gets rough Concacaf Champions Cup draw, but Messi’s path to ‘finally winning the big one’ is clear
Concacaf conducted the draw for the Champions Cup on Tuesday, with former internationals Oribe Peralta and Jonathan Bornstein (who was good on the broadcast apart from not bringing up his appearance in Getting CONCACAFed) serving as the guests.
Despite not being named in the pre-draw news release, cult draw hero Carlos Fernandez showed up, they didn’t have to do the draw over and we have matchups!
Here are a few notes:
Bad news for MLS - The American & Canadian league always is desperate to have its teams win this competition, but the draw didn’t do MLS’ hopes any favors. No matter which squads excel, at least two MLS teams will be eliminated in Round One, with an additional two guaranteed to be bounced in the Round of 16. The ‘upper right’ quadrant where just one of the quintet of LAFC, Columbus, Inter Miami, Sporting KC and the Rapids could possibly make the semifinals is a tough one.
Beyond that, many of the matchups that aren’t MLS v. MLS look … pretty tough! The Vancouver Whitecaps and Real Salt Lake both have to face top Costa Rican sides, while the ‘cupcake’ teams mostly were assigned to face Liga MX squads. While Austin FC and other North American teams of the past can attest to the fact that the cupcake isn’t always as easy to digest as it may appear, it’s tough to imagine Real Hope troubling Cruz Azul (though perhaps the visa process getting into Mexico will be easier for the Haitian club than getting into the U.S. would’ve been).
Miami matchups invite Freedom to Dream - For the second year in row, Inter Miami will kick off its CCC campaign against another MLS team. Last year, Miami had a bye by virtue of being the Leagues Cup champion. This year, they start in Round One but will do so against Sporting KC.
Should Lionel Messi and Co. get past SKC, it will go into a series with Cavalier FC, the Caribbean Champion. Big excitement already is building in Jamaica about Messi visiting the island and facing off against a local club.
Is this what Concacaf would’ve hoped for?
On the one hand, the path is there for Inter Miami to get into the semifinals and set up some games that would have huge international appeal. On the other, there’s no guarantee Miami will be able to get to that point, and the first couple of matchups don’t exactly scream huge ratings.
You again? - There may be a Clásico Nacional in the CCC for the second year in a row. There should be a Clásico Nacional in the CCC for the second year in a row. All Chivas have to do to meet their hated rival Club América in the Round of 16 is get past Cibao FC of the Dominican Republic.
We really don’t know what Chivas will look like under new manager Óscar García, but if they can’t beat Cibao over two legs we may see the Spaniard back in the unemployment line.
The drama in last year’s series was spoiled by América smashing Chivas in the first leg, but it would be welcome to see another contest that ‘feels important’ taking place early on in the CCC.
If América is able to get past its biggest rival, it could end up running into Mexico City rival Cruz Azul in the next round.
Here are some guesses - América vs. Galaxy in one semifinal, Inter Miami v. Rayados rematch in the other. América v. Inter Miami in the final.
The Azteca still won’t be ready, but Concacaf can exercise that neutral site provision in the regulations and stick it in LA or Las Vegas or… back in Kingston?
When can you start? - Those Round One series will kick off the week of Feb. 4, and the schedule is set up until the June 1 final.
I’d expect the exact times and locations for the Round One games to come out later this week. If that happens, they’ll be in the Conca-catch-up on Monday for premium subscribers.
Monday’s edition also will include a wrap-up of the Liga MX final, news from the playoffs in every Central American league and other notes from around the region.
Make sure you’re subscribed, and we’ll speak again then!
How the heck did Sporting KC qualify? They are terrible. And if memory serves, they've been terrible for the last few years. Or perhaps it's just my hatred of Peter Vermes that's clouding my memory.