Three Thoughts: All the spotlight is on Rayados
What went right for Rayados? What went wrong for Tigres?
I’ve decided to focus this week’s newsletter on the Concacaf Champions League final, which saw Rayados beat Tigres, 2-1 in aggregate. A final that ended with a high degree of excitement, that showcased two of the most colorful fanbases in Liga MX, and that left many tactical offerings to analyze.
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1. With CCL victory, Rayados release accumulated pressure
There’s no club right now in Liga MX that has the right mix of talent like Rayados do. From Rodolfo Pizarro to Nico Sánchez; from Charly Rodríguez to Rogelio Funes Mori; from Avilés Hurtado to Jesús Gallardo; from Miguel Layún to Dorlan Pabón. The list is abundant, and their most-expensive arrival this offseason didn’t even start in the final: Maxi Meza.
Heading into this final, Diego Alonso knew that the stakes were high, and that a loss would have been a hard hit for La Pandilla. Another final loss to Tigres at Estadio BBVA Bancomer would have been unbearable to deal with and crushing to their forthcoming title aspirations. However, what this final proved is that they own the necessary grit to be considered the team to beat in the upcoming Liguilla because their best players throughout the 180 minutes were defensive-minded players. Sánchez, Marcelo Barovero and Stefan Medina provided significant plays that boosted the team’s confidence.
Sánchez did the scoring, Barovero made the saves that kept the scoreline in Monterrey’s favor and Medina made serious moves in proving to new Colombia manager, Carlos Queiroz, that he still has what it takes to be part of the national team. If Alonso had known that his best players in the final were going to be Barovero, Medina and Sánchez, he would have signed the agreement right away.
The victory took weight off the shoulders of players like Funes Mori, Pabón and Hurtado, who experienced that league title loss to Tigres and took a lot blame for it. The victory solidifies Alonso’s young project at Monterrey, which has been vitally benefited from the presence of players like Pizarro and Gallardo, whose contributions will only increase in the next months. Pizarro’s level of play has been stupendous since he played for Gerardo “Tata” Martino’s Mexico in March.
Alonso has the right mix of talent to head into the Liguilla as the big favorite to win it all, but that will only take place as long as they don’t get carried away. Competition in the Liguilla will be fierce with clubs like Cruz Azul, América, Tigres, León and even Pachuca in the mix. Nevertheless, as demonstrated by Alonso’s effusive celebrations, he knew that this CCL win would be fundamental for the continuation of his project as Monterrey manager.
2. Giving Charly the starting role, Alonso’s best decision since taking over Rayados
There are players that just appear all of sudden and have this aura that allows them to settle on the field like 15-year-old veterans. With the ability to sense the right pass by pure instinct and not to be afraid to execute it. For them, the idea of taking risks is relevant because their game would be obsolete without it. The presence of Rodríguez in Alonso’s XI considerably impacts their style of play. With Rodríguez on the field, their style of play elevates. Without him, they struggle a bit more.
Throughout Wednesday night’s match, there was something recurrent from Tigres, which was the continuous lateral or horizontal passing taking place. The movement of the ball went side-to-side, allowing Monterrey to hold firm in the back. The side-to-side passing can break lines when done surprisingly, quickly, not so much when it’s just to maintain hold of the ball as the opponent patiently waits in defense. As has been told many times, the pass that breaks lines the best is the vertical one, the one that takes milliseconds to figure out and execute, while the opponent is trying to reorganize in the back.
Pizarro’s play that led to the penalty started thanks to a well-placed vertical pass from Rodríguez. Perhaps, it went on to be his best pass of the night and provoked one of the biggest events of the game. In the second half, when Jesús Dueñas slotted in the midfield and Guido Pizarro as a third center-back, Rodríguez’s influence in the game became more difficult to see, but what he always provided was security to the possession of the ball. When he came off to give his place to Jonathan González, Monterrey hardly connected more than three consecutive passes, mainly because Tigres had become total owner of the ball, but also because Charly wasn’t on the field to give direction to Monterrey’s possession passages.
Looking at his current moment, there’s no better praise for Charly than to admit that his presence in Monterrey’s XI makes Rayados more competitive and harder to break down.
At Pachuca, Alonso didn’t get tired of praising Erick Gutiérrez’s style of play. At the time, he called him the best Mexican player in Liga MX. It would be interesting to hear from Alonso, and his point of view of what he thinks about Charly and what similarities he has to Guti. The clear difference is that one is lefty, and the other righty, but I feel there’s more to it.
Based on the games I’ve been able to closely follow Charly’s moves, I’d risk it and say that the Rayados midfielder has a better feel for the game, a better interpretation of what’s around him and how he can help excel those around him. Charly is very correct with his decision-making; this is not to say that Guti is more imprecise because there’s hardly no left-footed Mexican midfielders with his vision. The power of Charly is that he makes his presence felt in a quicker fashion than Guti. What’s remarkable, though, is that we’re talking about two of Mexico’s brightest young midfielders, and Alonso has been present in both young careers.
3. Tuca’s ability to deal with defeat is an art of its own
It was a tactical decision. That’s the reason why Tuca left André-Pierre Gignac on the bench to start the second-leg of the CCL final. It was an inexplicable answer, but a Tuca one. Deft, straight to the point, the Tuca way.
When we look back at Tigres’ golden age, Tuca’s pissed off dad face will surface. Tigres wouldn’t be what they are today without Tuca, and maybe, just maybe, the legend of Tuca wouldn’t be the same had he not received the keys to make of Tigres his own Tucaesque empire.
There’s always reason to question his tactical decisions, especially after his third CCL final loss, like why did he keep Dueñas as left-back for almost the entire series? Why didn’t he start Javier Aquino and Gignac on Wednesday night when it was crystal clear that when they were on the field the team looked and played better?
But Tuca pleads it wasn’t totally his fault. His team had great scoring chances, blocked by Barovero who played just as he did in that 2015 Copa Libertadores final. But why couldn’t the team get a positive result at El Volcán? Why is it so difficult for his Tigres to get a home win during a two-legged final series? Why didn’t he trust “Paco” Venegas, who has shown great decision-making from the left-back position? Because when he coached El Tri last year, it was all about giving the young generation the chances they deserved. Well, Venegas deserved a shot.
This series of doubts and questions could disappear in the coming weeks. Winning another league title will crush them, but Tuca is heading into the Liguilla with added pressure. He lives off of it. He provokes it, and then manages to find an exit by winning more silverware, reinforcing his empire along the way.
Gignac might not have agreed to Tuca’s decision on leaving him on the bench, but he stuck to it, and came on in the second half and spearheaded an incomplete comeback. That’s the power of Tuca as Tigres’ manager. He has his players convinced that his way is the way, and that when they lose, it’s all his fault because he’s the man in charge of the empire. And that’s an art nobody has achieved in Liga MX. It’s almost ten years running, nonstop.