11 Thoughts: Magical UCL games, El Tri's call-ups and Guardado's future
From Champions League to Liguilla
When we started publishing on Substack, the plan was to publish every Friday, and we have done that for the most part. Sometimes, I’ve published on Thursdays just because the events going on required to publish something fresh, quick. These next weeks, with all the games and events coming up, I’ll try to publish something every Friday, but I’ll take out something quick and fresh, every now and then.
If you’re reading this, it means that you are part of 38 subscribers that take the time to read the work I’ve published here since mid-March. And it is because of you, that I will keep publishing my work here. I will take an indeterminate break from Twitter, and I’ll share all my thoughts por aquí.
If you’ve followed my work closely, you’re aware that I love writing in Spanish. Sometimes, I might feel the need to write in Spanish and will do so whenever I feel like it. I might even include some points written in Spanish in the 11 Thoughts newsletter, and mix ‘em up with the points written in English. Other times, an entire post might be written in Spanish.
Look forward for what’s ahead this summer, thanks for reading, gracias por todo!
11 Thoughts
1. With the Liguilla underway, I wanted to share this conversation between Claudio Suárez and “Nacho” Ambriz, hours before León’s 3-1 win over Xolos in Tijuana.
What I found interesting in this conversation is that Ambriz opened up on what playing styles he looks up to and how his time in Europe influenced the way he sees the game. “In Spain, I faced Frank Rijkaard and Pep Guardiola’s Barcelona. I followed Barcelona, and that’s what made me like the possession game. Because I enjoyed it, I plan my methodology around the possession of the ball,” he said.
He also mentioned his admiration towards managers like Unai Emery and Rafael Benítez. The following days we’ll see how far his León will go, but one thing is for sure, I don’t think he’s been able to best express his particular playing style like he’s been able to showcase it with León.
2. So El Tri will once again participate in the tourney that was formerly known as the Toulon Tournament. Now, it’s called the Maurice Revello Tournament, and manager Jaime Lozano compiled a roster of 25 players, which will be reduced to 22 before the tournament gets underway. Here’s the list:
The list has interesting names such as Sebastián Jurado, Alan Mozo, Adrian Mora, Vladimir Loroña, Erick Aguirre, Fernando Beltrán, Pablo López and Marcel Ruiz, all whom didn’t participate in last year’s tournament. There are several who did participate like Eduardo Aguirre, Sebastián Córdova and Gerardo Arteaga, just to list some names. It remains to be seen if this group will finish among the top three in the tournament, and if there’s any chance that there could be one or two standouts. It’s well known that Diego Lainez’s performance in last year’s Toulon Tournament increased his chances on landing a transfer to a European club in the winter transfer market.
3. Se ha cerrado una etapa increíble en el Atlético de Madrid. En el instante de volver a las recientes glorias del club rojiblanco, varios rostros aparecerán, entre ellos, el de Diego Godín. Cuando se recuerden estos últimos años, en los cuales el club madrileño ha elevado su prestigio global, será imposible no recordarla sin la presencia del caballero uruguayo. Elegante en la marca al contrario, goleador en el área y valiente en los grandes retos, inalcanzable para muchos. Su presencia en la línea defensiva de los colchoneros era de vital importancia para mantener la idea de juego que propone Diego “Cholo” Simeone. Sin él, el Atleti, verdaderamente, comienza una nueva era, llena de incertidumbre para entender a dónde va, y cómo va a llegar. Simeone se enfrenta a un verano, con varias preguntas, y con la gran tarea de armar un equipo que se asemeje a su forma de ver el futbol. No ayudan los rumores que sitúan a jugadores como Antoine Griezmann fuera del club. Hace un año se fue Gabi, ahora le tocó a Godín, sin embargo, la lucha del equipo sigue firme, encabezado por Cholo, quien se prepara para dirigir una temporada sin Gabi y Godín, parte de una columna vertebral que le dio mucho al Atleti.
4. Parece que la fecha, en la cual, se anunciará la llegada de Héctor Herrera al Atleti se aproxima. Con el adiós de Godín, surgen un sinnúmero de combinaciones de lo que podría ocurrir con el club en las próximas semanas. ¿A qué Atleti estaría llegando Herrera? La conexión de Atleti con México crecerá con el hecho de que ahora Atlético San Luis jugará en Primera División. Se habla de que Herrera no participará en la Copa Oro para que llegue en su mejor forma a la pretemporada con su nuevo club. Es un verano de renovación para el Atleti, y uno de los jugadores que acaparará más atención será HH.
5. El futbol es de vivencias, buenas o malas, bellas u oscuras. El Liverpool de Klopp ha mostrado que tiene un carácter difícil de quebrar; entre más confianza fluya, y ésta, sea comprendida por todo Anfield Road, la posibilidad de derrota se fosiliza, haciéndose en algo de otros ayeres, como algo que ya no podrá revivir. La derrota estrepitosa para el Barça, irreconocible en el segundo tiempo, es otro capítulo triste para un club acostumbrado a ganar. Porque, de repente, porque es el Barça, una temporada, con título liguero, se olvida por un sólo resultado. Pero no es cualquier resultado, es uno que le ha cerrado las posibilidades de jugar otra final de Champions, con Messi como su líder absoluto. La realidad es que este Barça actual no se asemeja a la de la época dorada, comandada por Pep Guardiola. Hoy en día, el Ajax de Erik ten Hag, guardando dimensiones, es la que más se aproxima. Quizás, ahí, es dónde se encuentre una de las muchas razones, que expliquen la aparatosa caída en Inglaterra. El Barça, amparado por las exhibiciones de Messi, se ha vuelto un equipo incapaz de sacar resultados, en escenarios que demandan total concentración y confianza, algo que Liverpool portó, con mucha claridad, durante los 180 minutos de una serie frenética, entre dos clubes históricos.
6. We’re always going to come back to this Tottenham-Ajax game. It was the type of series that you will watch time after time, and in each of the repetitions, you’ll figure out something new. What Mauricio Pochettino and Ten Hag gave to the game with this series is unprecedented because, stylistically, the game can’t be played any better. It will be easy to critique Ajax for losing a 2-0 lead, but it wouldn’t have happened without the inspirational performance from Tottenham’s footballers, who defied expectations and never lost faith. Lucas Moura went to look for the chances, and then he did the rest, but Hugo Lloris’ stops were the best possible lifeline to have in Amsterdam. Ajax, at times, lost intensity, but they never failed to their style of play. As Pochettino pointed out to El Pais’ Diego Torres, Ajax’s weaknesses were more towards their collective play, rather than their individual, so intrepid and dynamic, that in more than one occasion Hakim Ziyech could have closed out the series. Collectively, Ajax couldn’t protect the lead, and in the last offensive play for Tottenham, they reached their first-ever Champions League final. It was beautiful. It was exhilarating. It will live forever.
7. It took several years, but we’re finally here. The Champions League and Europa League finals will be played by Premier League sides. None of the clubs’ managers are British, and last year England reached the World Cup semifinals, due in part to more and more coaches from different countries arriving to England to share their ideas about the game. Time will tell if it was only a one year thing, or something that will keep growing and consolidating.
8. I don’t know if it’s good or bad. It’s hard to get it unless you’re in the camp and know all the nuts and bolts of the issue. But the Carlos Vela saga is confusing if Gerardo Martino has to continuously ask him if he wants to be part of El Tri and take on a tournament. If Vela doesn’t want to participate in this year’s Gold Cup because he doesn’t feel like it, well, it’ll be good if he announces his retirement from the national team and not worry about it again. But, I don’t know how this communication between Martino and Vela has been, maybe, it’s so good, that Martino is cool if Vela doesn’t play in the Gold Cup because he doesn’t feel like it.
9. On Thursday, ABC de Sevilla published an article, in which it shared details about Andrés Guardado and Real Betis working on renewing his contract. It’s excellent news for Guardado because it means that he has proven with stats and leadership that’s he’s capable to remain in La Liga, playing at the highest level. Betis’ plan for him is to extend his stay for several years and help Diego Lainez as he adapts to the demands of Spanish football. Lorenzo Serra Ferrer, Betis’ sporting vice-president, has been key in having Lainez and Guardado happy at Betis.
10. Cruz Azul’s start in the first-leg of the quarterfinal series against América was optimistic, but the ending was crushing as it has been in the last years. I specifically watched the first half, and the absence of Orbelín Pineda did take a toll on La Máquina’s offense. There were positives for Pedro Caixinha’s men before and after the 1-1; there was offensive intention, but it could have been better. During those key minutes when Cruz Azul had the ball, Roberto Alvarado had to be more direct with his play, quicker with his decision-making. América head into the weekend with a very comfortable lead, and Nico Castillo will be looking for his first Liguilla goal with Los Azulcremas.
11. The weekend in Monterrey will be different, again. If León, América, Monterrey and Tigres win their series, there will be another Clásico Regio in the upcoming days. With the memory of the CONCACAF Champions League final so fresh, Tigres fans are counting the hours to have another battle against Rayados. But first let’s see if Monterrey can get the result against Guillermo Vazquez Jr.’s Necaxa. It’s not the first time that Necaxa gets in Diego Alonso’s way; there was one Liguilla, the 2016 Apertura, I believe, in which “Poncho” Sosa’s Necaxa knocked-out Alonso’s Pachuca. With Avilés Hurtado out, isn’t it time for Maxi Meza to give us a brilliant performance?