👑 King Salomón & his Tuzos teammates reign in Concacaf after crushing Crew
Pachuca rolls in the final PLUS: A quick Conca-catch-up
How many times have I written this column? How many years have we thought that perhaps the MLS champion would start a trend of sustained success in the Concacaf Champions Cup only to see Liga MX Lucy pull back the football?
It wasn’t Liga MX beating MLS on Saturday night. It was Pachuca beating the Columbus Crew, and doing it 3-0 in a Concacaf Champions Cup final that felt over from Salomón Rondon’s opening goal in the 12th minute. They did it for themselves, for their club, and not for Liga MX. It’s Pachuca booking a place in the Club World Cup, not the Liga MX All-Stars.
Yet, it’s another result in a long series of them that exposes the truth: That MLS is still yet to reach Liga MX as the best league in Concacaf.
The Crew were supposed to be different … were different … are different. Rather than being cowed by the heated atmospheres in Mexican stadiums, they’d gotten out of the Volcan unburned then went and dominated a game at the Estadio BBVA.
They were ready for Pachuca to put on the intense high press they’ve become famous for and wanted to pass out of it. They have a midfield that rarely puts a pass wrong. Cucho Hernandez was fit and ready to go again up top with Diego Rossi behind him.
All those things made them so unique in MLS and on the way to the CCC final but it couldn’t put any of those things on display Saturday night.
“3-0 is 3-0. We had many opportunities to score a goal. We were not clean, I’d say, when we attacked the box,” Crew manager Wilfried Nancy said after. “We had a few opportunities when we started the game when we could’ve done better. After that, they did well with what they’re used to (doing). The goal we conceded could’ve been avoided, I would say, because it was through the middle knowing we had numerical superiority in that position.
“I think the goal we conceded, we could’ve done better but we also had many opportunities we didn’t (convert). Bravo for Pachuca. They deserved the win.”
With Tuzos manager Guillermo Alamada having more than 20 days to game plan, and his players for once enjoying more than three days between matches to recover, Pachuca looked hungrier, faster and savvier once it knocked the rust off in the first five minutes.
“The players were exhausted. We gave them a rest, though still having training sessions, but being careful with the load.We refreshed some concepts that seemed important to us and today we kept up the intensity. I think that was one of the differences: The intensity we put into the game despite that lapse in which we didn’t compete.
“I think we got all the planning we did since that last game against América right.”
So many of the struggles the Crew - and every other opponent in the CCC this year - ran into trying to stop Tuzos came down to what Rondon was able to do.
The veteran forward made life hell for the three Crew center backs Saturday night. Whether he was moving from an offside position back on just before starting a run forward to get on the end of a through ball, surging forward with speed to set up a teammate, or even delivering a quick shoulder to their back, Rondon was a total pain to defend.
Often when MLS teams fall short in this competition, teams will point to the depth of Mexican squads. They spend more top to bottom, and while MLS sides can buy big-name DPs, filling roster slots 6-15 with the same caliber of players as their Liga MX rivals can be difficult.
Yet, look at Pachuca. Look at Rondon. This is a player who arrived in Hidalgo on a free transfer after leaving River Plate. His stint with the Millonarios had gone well but stops at Everton and before that in Russia and China weren’t as productive.
There are plenty of reasons Rondon himself or a player like him might end up in Mexico rather than MLS. There’s the cultural fit, the finances, a legitimate difference in playing styles.
Looking at Pachuca’s squad, though, it’s hard not to shake the idea that the
Rondon would fit in under most MLS teams’ caps. But how many teams felt like he’d be the right type of player for their team? How many opted to spend that money on a younger player who won’t pan out? Who went for a player without as long as a resume, mitigating the risk of a familiar name flopping and the front office shouldering the blame?
MLS should loosen some of the roster constraints it puts on its teams in an effort to make sure the league doesn’t devolve into a spending arms race that over-extends everyone.
But once again the excuse of a team that needed to spend more rings hollow. An MLS team did very well to reach the final. It was well beaten once it got there.
See you again next year.
Conca-catch-up for it
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