HexagonalBlog

Frowns and smiles in both halves of Monterrey

Both sides of the Clásico Regiomontano experienced different emotions during the weekend.

CONCACAF club champions Monterrey were knocked out of the FIFA Club World Cup by Japanese champions Kashiwa Reysol, 4-3 on penalties after the match finished 1-1 at the end of 120 minutes.  Reysol took the lead through their star midfielder Leander Domingues, but the Rayados equalized through Humberto Suazo five minutes later.  Monterrey had control of the match early on, and missed several opportunities for goal (two of them by Suazo), but Kashiwa pulled their way back into the contest through their team speed and organization.  After Suazo's goal, both teams played back-and-forth but with little precision in the final third of the pitch.  Penalties beckoned, and Kashiwa won the shootout despite shooting second, which doesn't always happen. Kashiwa will play Santos in one semifinal; Monterrey will play African champions Esperance on Wednesday.

Later in the day, UANL Tigres ended a 29-year wait for a Mexican league championship by defeating Santos 3-1 to win the finals series 4-1 on aggregate.  The match started in sensational fashion when referee Marco Rodríguez called a penalty in the 12th minute (correctly) and sent off Santos 'keeper Oswaldo Sánchez (incorrectly).  It could have been a devastating result for Santos, who had to take off Darwin Quintero and bring on replacement goalkeeper Miguel Becerra, but Becerra saved Lucas Lobos' penalty.  More incredibly, Santos took the lead and evened the aggregate series on Oribe Peralta's strike in the goal area.  The second half saw Tigres take control of the match and settle the championship tie with goals from Danilinho and Mexican U-20 striker Alan Pulido.  Felipe Baloy of Santos and Israel Jiménez of Tigres were sent off for an altercation in the 70th minute. 

Tigres will play CONCACAF Champions League football next season, and will also enter the first stage of the 2012 Copa Libertadores against a Chilean representative in January.  (Cruz Azul and Guadalajara have berths to the group stage of the Libertadores.)  It's a chance for them to continue Mexican club football's strong performances in South America and make a lot more money than they ever would in CONCACAF.

Monterrey land in Japan for Club World Cup

CONCACAF champions Monterrey landed in Japan this morning in advance of their match against the winner of Japanese champions Kashiwa Reysol and Oceania champions Auckland City.  Monterrey have the slightly easier path to the finals as they would face South American champions Santos in the semifinal instead of Barcelona, but of course they would have to get past the survivor of the preliminary round first.  Pachuca had a team every bit as good as Monterrey in 2007, and they lost to Etoile du Sahel in the first round.  The best CONCACAF performance at the Club World Cup remains that of a non-Mexican club: Saprissa in 2005.

Monterrey will bring their top squad to Japan, including Humberto Suazo, Aldo de Nigris, Walter Ayoví, and César Delgado.  Coach Juan Manuel Vucetich believes that his squad can be competitive due to the experience that many members of his squad have at international club and country competitions, and there is a case to be made about experience being important.  If Monterrey play Kashiwa in the first round -- which I think is very likely -- I would be very interested in seeing how Monterrey's defense matches up against Kashiwa's midfield, especially J-League MVP Leander Domingues.

No word yet on whether the team will eat sushi or shower with bottled water, as other sportsmen who recently traveled within the country have done.

Pachuca once again falls at CWC first hurdle

The matchup between the champions of CONCACAF and CAF has resulted once again in an African victory.  TP Mazembe of DR Congo defeated Pachuca 1-0, the lone goal scored by Mbenza Bedi in the 20th minute.  Pachuca had just seen Damián Manso's shot hit the inside of the post and roll across the goalline without going in, and then witnessed Mazembe score just seconds later.  I was not able to watch the match, but it appeared that Pachuca enjoyed the majority of goal-scoring opportunities but were incredibly wasteful with them.  In the end, the Mazembe goalkeeper didn't have to work that hard to keep the shutout.

Pachuca have made three appearances in the Club World Cup, but have won only one match (4-2 after extra time against Al-Ahly in 2008).  Saprissa still have the best record of any CONCACAF side in the FIFA Club World Cup when they finished third in 2005.

Now Pachuca will play the Oceania club champions, Hekari United of Papua New Guinea.  I'd like to think that the Tuzos will win quite comfortably, but who knows what will happen to CONCACAF teams in this competition.

CORRECTION: Pachuca will instead play UAE champions Al-Wahda, who lost 4-1 to Asian champions Seongnam.  I keep forgetting that the local host-Oceania matchup is a play-in to the actual tournament.

Pachuca getting ready for Club World Cup

CONCACAF club champions Pachuca are making final preparations in Abu Dhabi for their opening match in the 2010 FIFA Club World Cup against African club champions TP Mazembe on Saturday.  Of the 23 players named in the final roster, three of them are American players -- Marco Vidal, Hérculez Gómez, and Francisco Torres.   Torres will have more of a role in this team than he did in 2008, but Gómez and Vidal are making their first appearances.  Gómez is more likely to play, however.

For all of the promise that Pachuca have shown over the 2000s, and especially given the expectation that they would be the club to break the uninterrupted run of European-South American finals, it is surprising that Pachuca have only won one game from their previous appearances at the Club World Cup.  The loss to Etoile Sahel in 2007 is perhaps the most galling result as Pachuca had at the time their best squad of the decade.  This edition isn't as good as that one in my opinion, but they will have one of the best midfielders in the competition in Damián Manso.  And yes, the Tuzos have hopped on the soccer analytics bandwagon, but if any club in Mexican football were going to do it, it would have to be them.

The Pachuca-Mazembe winner will play South American champion Internacional (Porto Alegre) in one semifinal next Tuesday.

Atlante finish fourth at Club World Cup

CONCACAF club champions Atlante finished fourth at this year's FIFA Club World Cup, losing 4-3 on penalties to Asian champions Pohang Steelers after a 1-1 draw.  From reading the press reports, Atlante were unlucky not to win in normal time, as they hit the woodwork at least three times (all by Gabriel Pereyra). 

In the final, Estudiantes gave a gallant effort but fell short against Barcelona, 2-1 after extra time.  The winning goal was scored by Lionel Messi -- with his chest!  This year's Barcelona side have laid claim to being one of the best teams in world club football history; they won every competition that they participated in this year.

Atlante puts scare into Barcelona

It was brief, but for half an hour Atlante were living the dream.  They took full advantage of the one opportunity they had, but it was only a matter of time before Barcelona, with all of their stars, would retake the advantage.  Three goals from Busquets, Messi, and then Pedro secured the win for the European champions. 

Atlante did what they could, and put in an honorable performance for CONCACAF, but once again it will be another European-South American final.  It's almost as if the old Intercontinental Cup was in effect the world club championship.

Atlante advances at Club World Cup

CONCACAF club champions Atlante advanced to the semis of the FIFA Club World Cup after defeating Auckland City 3-0 this morning.  I didn't watch the match, but from match reports that I've read from Mexican and Argentine newspapers it was a comfortable victory for the Potros.

Atlante will now play Barcelona one semifinal, and Korea's Pohang Steelers will play Estudiantes La Plata in the other.  Olé's match summary concluded, "With or without Messi [who has a leg injury], something strange would have to happen to allow the Cancún side to score an upset in the UAE."  That's about right to me; the African and North American champions are the only teams that would have a chance of upsetting the Europeans or South Americans, and both representatives are weak this year.  We'll see what happens on Wednesday. 

Atlante lands in Barcelona's bracket

The announcement of the draw for the FIFA Club World Cup was actually last week, but got buried in my run-up to the first leg of the CONCACAF/CONMEBOL playoff.

Atlante, the 2008-09 CONCACAF Champions League winners, received a beneficial draw when they were paired with the winners of the Al Ahli (UAE) - Auckland City (New Zealand) match.  If Atlante win their first game, they will face Barcelona in the semifinals. 

In the other bracket, Estudiantes of La Plata play the winner of TP Mazembe (Congo) - Pohang Steelers (South Korea).

The match between the African and Asian club champions will be the most interesting of the tournament, but in the end it looks like another European-South American final.

Club World Cup finishes up

The FIFA Club World Cup, better known as the expanded Intercontinental Cup, concluded with Manchester United lifting the trophy after defeating Liga de Quito 1-0.  Wayne Rooney settled the final with a well-taken strike in the 73rd minute.  I had an early morning flight so I wasn't able to watch the match, but from reading the press reports it appeared that Man U were the better side despite the expulsion of Vidic.  The win completes a Premier League, European Champions League, and Club World Cup treble for the English side.  Liga haven't had a great season in Ecuador, but they will always be remembered for being the first Ecuadorian side to win a Copa Libertadores, and Edgardo Bauza will leave the club with that achievement.  At least the fans are still proud of their team, and why not?

In the third-place match, Gamba Osaka defeated Pachuca 1-0 on a goal by Masato Yamaguchi.  The match statistics said that Pachuca dominated possession and shots on goal, yet failed to threaten the Gamba net.  "Profligate finishing" indeed.

This tournament marks the end of an era of Intercontinental Cups and FIFA Club World Cups played in Japan (we'll ignore the bloated 2000 Club World Cup in Brazil).  Next year the tournament moves to Dubai, which promises to be warmer, drier, and even more expensive than Japan.

Manchester United advances to final

Manchester United advanced to the final of the FIFA Club World Cup by virtue of their 5-3 victory over Asian champions Gamba Osaka.  It was 2-0 to United at halftime, but six goals were scored in the final 15 minutes -- and four in five minutes!  United were always going to win, but Gamba kept on battling, and the crowd definitely got their money's worth.  So Man U will make it yet another European-South American final against Liga de Quito on Sunday.  Gamba will play Pachuca in the consolation match to be played before the final.

Of course, the real highlight of the match was Fergie (not Stacy) giving the hairdryer treatment to Real Madrid.