đ Zendejas on AmĂ©rica role + USMNT, a wild night at the Azteca & more from the Concacaf Champions Cup
Emptying out the notebook as the CCC quarterfinals take shape
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Reporting from the Estadio Azteca in Mexico City
The Azteca was vibrant, but it wasnât full. There was a sea of yellow in the lower deck and upper deck at Club AmĂ©ricaâs home venue, with the typical away section full of Chivas faithful from Guadalajara and beyond packed. But after last weekâs 3-0 AmĂ©rica win in Guadalajara, many fans (and members of the press, I noted from my lonely perch in the press box) opted to stay home.
They missed a fantastic match.
When Chivas broke their huddle before the match, players sprinted to the locker room, not to avoid the shower of boos but to show the energy they wanted to have going into the game.
The energy definitely carried over, with Cade Cowell opening the scoring with a header in the 12th minute and Ricardo Marin finding the back of the net in the 32nd minute after a set piece.
But whatever momentum Chivas had built up shifted at halftime, and Diego Valdes, Alejandro Zendejas and Alvaro Fidalgo helped take control of the match in the second half. Chivas scored again after AmĂ©ricaâs two goals, but the tie was decided with AmĂ©rica answering the wake-up call the Guadalajara side issued in the first 45 minutes.
âThe hope to turn things around was there, without a doubt,â Chivas manager Fernando Gago said after the game. âWe were in a favorable situation in the first half, but I saw that they were really hurt when the match ended. I donât go into the locker room, thatâs a space for the players, but I saw that they were hurt. Even so, we have to understand that this is the path we have to follow.â
Even so, Chivas clearly is a step behind its rival at the moment. AmĂ©rica is competing in two competitions. Despite stumbles in both rounds of the CCC so far, losing in Nicaragua and losing last nightâs game in the course of advancing, Las Aguilas are one of the favorites to lift the CCC hardware. Theyâre also performing well in the league, with a 2-0 win over Tigres last Saturday showing the depth they have, unlike any other squad in the region.
In Latin America, itâs often said that âfootball always gives a chance at revengeâ and we have a tangible case this weekend with Chivas hosting AmĂ©rica at the Estadio Akron on Saturday.
The narrative could turn quickly, but for now América fans who made it to the Azteca and those who watched at home are loving what they see.
Checking in with ⊠Alejandro Zendejas
Alejandro Zendejas started the first leg of AmĂ©ricaâs Concacaf Champions Cup series with Chivas and helped Las Aguilas to a 3-0 win. When manager Andre Jardine rested many of his starters Saturday against Tigres, Zendejas started and had a Man of the Match performance, assisting the first goal and scoring the second.
Last night he was in the starting lineup again, the only player to start all three matches. He once again delivered, finishing off the dagger goal - a sequence that, per Opta, at 35 passes is the longest-ever to precede a goal in the Concacaf Champions Cup.
Rather than trying to get rest for his legs, the 26-year-old is looking ahead to Saturdayâs Liga MX match against Chivas, hoping to once again get the nod from Jardine.
âIâm just thankful, thankful for the confidence heâs been giving me,â Zendejas told me after the match last night. âEven throughout the beginning, I wasnât having my best moments, and he was still there giving me support. Iâm happy.
âThis is what we work for and our job, so Iâm happy to be on the field any time I can get. Iâm just being thankful and going out and having that confidence in every game.â
With América, every performance is under a microscope with the tens of thousands of fans who cheer on the team at the Estadio Azteca demanding not only great performances but consistency. That week-in, week-out contribution is something that had eluded Zendejas when he first arrived in Liga MX with Chivas and then with Necaxa, but his strong start to 2024 hints that, as he enters his prime, he can cope with the pressure on the shoulders of every player at a grande.
âI think weâre all conscious of how big this club is. Itâs the biggest in Mexico,â he said. âYou always have to go out every game expecting to win. If you donât go out with that mentality, itâs going to be a topic to talk about. Weâre conscious about what team weâre in and what stadium weâre playing in.â
In addition to earning Jardineâs confidence, Zendejas also seems to have impressed United States manager Gregg Berhalter too, though he missed out on the final 23-man squad for the Concacaf Nations League.
In a news conference Wednesday, Berhalter said, âAle was another one that was really close," to making the roster. âWe've been watching every game with Club AmĂ©rica. He's been doing a great job ... really contributing both offensively and defensively.â
âThe conversation with him is, 'You're doing everything possible, everything right, just keep it up, and your time will come,ââ the manager continued.
Zendejas didnât hide his disappointment not to be in the team but said he appreciated Berhalter and his staff keeping clear lines of communication open. As he continues to speak with them and play in important matches with Club AmĂ©rica, he hopes to earn a place on the Copa AmĂ©rica team this summer.
âHe called me. We had a good conversation, like he said in his conference. Iâm happy that there is that communication, you know?â Zendejas said. âIâve got to respect his decision.
âLike he said, Iâm doing everything possible to be there. I donât let this bring me down, itâs just another roster, but any time I get to wear that jersey Iâm really happy. I didnât get called up this time, but I have to look forward and keep doing what Iâm doing and hopefully I get called in for any future call-ups.â
For now, itâs about enjoying what heâs accomplished over the last few weeks and trying to make another special play against Chivas, or find his sixth goal of 2024.
âItâs been a crazy few weeks,â he said. âIâm happy with the performance personally and with the performance the team has been giving. We know it hasnât been easy - three ClĂĄsicos in 10 days? Thatâs not easy, and we definitely have to be concentrated for this last one.â
The rest of the CCC - or whatâs old is new again
I know a lot of you were reading me a decade ago (andâŠwow, thank you. Weâre old.) Tuesday nightâs CCC matches, and the reaction to them, felt a lot like those days. MLS teams would have a great first leg at home, keep the Liga MX team off the board, and then get steamrolled in the second leg in Mexico.
It was no surprise to me to see free-wheeling Pachuca run up the score on a deflated Philadelphia Union. That wasâŠ.a whooping.
But Orlando City manager Oscar Pareja tossing on more forwards as the Lions chased one goal at the Volcan only for Tigres to take advantage of the aggressive posture and hit back? Tigres clearly showed they were the better team over two legs, but it wasnât as wide a gap as the scoreline suggested.
The idea of this being a throwback to the bad-olâ days is a bit off. For one, an MLS team has now won this competition. That wasnât the case several years ago. Leagues Cup didnât exist back then either, and while MLS clearly had built-in advantages, its teams did dominate the first full edition of that competition.
We also still have a number of MLS teams alive and well in the tournament. Rayados-FC Cincinnati tonight will determine which league puts more teams in the quarterfinals (signs point to Liga MX), but if Inter Miami or Columbus Crew win the competition, what will that say about the progress or lack thereof of MLS?
All that is before we get into the gradual mechanisms MLS has put into place that allow its teams to sign not only more top players but also filling those âmiddle roster spotsâ with players 5-15 with players more likely to be able to compete with their Liga MX counterparts.
Iâm not alone in this thinking.
âTodayâs result is a footballing accident,â Pachuca manager Guillermo Almada said after his teamâs 7-0 win. âThereâs a lot of parity because theyâve really grown, and both MLS and Liga MX are great leagues. I think that with all this stuff surrounding these games, Concacaf benefits because it gives soccer in this region more publicity.
âTheyâre two great leagues that have evolved a lot and have great players and great teams. Hopefully this rivalry continues because it definitely is what makes the sport of football so popular.â
Almada isnât trying to diminish what his own club did, but as someone who lives and breathes the game, heâs well aware that the situation is changing, that MLS is strengthening and that
But just as Tuzos four months ago wouldâve been a much easier draw, a teamâs form, its roster build, the chosen style of play and even the climate in a stadium all are going to factor in to a result.
Just as the Sounders winning the tournament or LAFCâs pair of near-misses didnât mean the infamous gap was closed or nearly closed, a #ThrowbackTuesday doesnât mean MLS is just as far off Liga MXâs top teams as it was when the tournament was called the Concacaf Champions League.
The debate will continue. We all know that. The fact that fans on both sides of the argument have valid arguments reveals that these leagues continue to become more and more alike.