Snak

Inspired Pachuca Look to Ride Belief to Top Santos Laguna

"We are are mentally ready to be in the liguilla." This was what Rodolfo Pizarro declared after Pachuca had lost at home to a Puebla side that no longer had any real reason to play the season, other than to complete it. The loss was Pachuca´s third in its last four matches at the time.

Pachuca would need to go to La Corregidora the following week and grab an away win against a Queretaro side that had not lost in five straight matches, and who came alive once 2013 MLS Golden Boot winner Camilo Sanvezzo was fully integrated into the team. and scoring goals. By the 70th minute, Pachuca were down 0-3 to the home side. That would be the moment Pachuca found their inspiration. Braces by Enrique Esqueda and Dario Carreno in the last fifteen minutes of the match propelled the Tuzos past the Gallos Blancos 4-3, securing Rodolfo Pizarro´s side a trip to the playoffs.

But entering the playoffs, Pachuca did not seem right. The Clausura´s golden boot winner, Enner Valencia had gone without a goal since his brace against Crul Azul in Week 15. Until that Queretaro match, Puebla had not found a way to continue scoring without Enner Valencia finishing those chances. Pumas had looked forward to getting back captain Dario Veron and their leading goalscorer in Martin Bravo. Though Pumas did not have either to inspire confidence in their side, Pachuca´s own inability to finish plagued them--especially Enner Valencia, who had a first half penalty saved in the first half, and could not seem to find the target.

After Javier Cortes provided the last minute equalizer in the opening leg, Enrique Meza explained his team needed to remember that "every minute has 60 seconds," in an effort to get his team to keep playing for the entire match. And while it would be easy for his side to be rattled by the last minute goal, Meza´s side played inspired--thrashing a timid and tentative Pumas team 4-2 on the back of a hat trick from their leading scorer Enner Valencia.

What happened? Why was Pachuca playing and finishing with such confidence? While some point to an emerging and confident attacking midfielder in Hirving Lozano (and his confidence to employ trickery against Pumas defenders may have forced defenders to open up attacking space for Valencia and others to have better looks on goal), others will look to Pachuca´s comeback victory against Queretaro as the moment when the Tuzos started to believe in themselves. Grupo Pachuca vice president Jose Fassi was one of those. "What happened in Queretaro gave us confidence," Fassi explained, "the team show quality in the [late phases] of the regular phase [of the Clausura] despite our poor form. But now we have aspirations to be in the Final, even before the Pumas [tie]."

But what may have revived Enner Valencia? Enrique Meza had hinted of a slight injury to the Ecuadorian striker after the opening leg draw against Pumas. It could also be that Meza moved Valencia from a central-attacking-midfield role in a 4-2-3-1 to the central striker role in a 4-3-3 that provided him with more looks on goal, and only required his creativity to score goals and play others in, rather than worry about playing the perfect final ball, or doing a lot of defensive work. Maybe Valencia recovered from the knock he suffered during the opening leg. Or, it could be that Enner Valencia´s own upbringing, and his time growing up helping his family raise cattle in his native Ecuador and having to sell enough milk to be able to afford a decent pair of footballing boots. Or it might be a combination of all of those.

La familia del Tuzos will have another mountain to climb in the Semifinal round in Santos Laguna. Liga MX´s most freely-scoring side knocked America out of the Liguilla with a 3-1 win at the Estadio Corona and in part thanks to the away goals they scored at the Estadio Azteca. That 3-1 score line was coincidentally the score by which Pachuca lost to the Guerreros when they faced each other at the Estadio Corona in the Clausura regular season. Pachuca will want to look to what they did in 2013, when they went 1-1-0 in its two matches against Santos Laguna in 2013, one match at the Estadio Corona and the other at the Estadio Hidalgo.

But this Pachuca side, unlike the sides that were shut out of La Liguilla in 2013, may be willing to risk a few breakdowns in its defensive organization to be able to pressure Santos Laguna on the ball higher up the pitch and score a few more goals. It might be something Los Tuzos need to do. This ability for Tuzos to punch and counter-punch will be something an inspired crowd at the Estadio Hidalgo will want to see--that is if they manage to make it to the stadium. It might not look pretty from the standpoint of away goals (which is still the primary tiebreaker at this stage of the Liguilla), but it is one that would reflect the character of the team.

To set up their counter-punch, Pachuca will have to find a way to close down the space afforded to playmaker juan Pablo Rodriguez and to striker Darwin Quintero. They will have to outwit the tactics of a Jose Mourinho disciple /student in Portuguese manager Pedro Caixinha. Caixinha may not make the same complaints that Pumas manager Jose Luis Trejo made when regarding the logistics of the game, so solving him and his Coahuilan side will be much more difficult than against Pumas. But this would not be a task impossible for this Tuzos side full of belief. After all, the Tuzos have relied on it to get to this point.

Racing: Alvarado se rompió los ligamentos

BUENOS AIRES -- En el primer entrenamiento de la semana en Avellaneda, Racing sufrió la baja de Pablo Alvarado. El club confirmó la lesión: rotura de ligamento cruzado anterior de la rodilla derecha. El zaguero central, que sólo llevaba jugados seis partidos en este semestre, no volverá hasta fin de año.

Por otra parte, aquellos que no jugaron ante River el domingo, hicieron fútbol en espacio reducido. Bruno Zuculini, afectado por un esguince de tobillo, realizó kinesiología, movimientos en el campo y luego trabajos en el gimnasio. Claudio Corvalán también hizo tareas de kinesiología y será sometido a un análisis debido a una distensión en el recto anterior del abdomen.

Además de la ausencia de Alvarado, el entrenador Reinaldo Merlo tampoco podrá contar para el partido del sábado ante Rosario Central con Matías Cahais ni Esteban Saveljich, ambos suspendidos por acumulación de tarjetas.

Racing se ubica 17° en el Torneo Final y suma apenas 16 puntos. La Academia lleva dos derrotas consecutivas en el campeonato local (ante Quilmes y River).

Lanús: esperan por Leandro Somoza

BUENOS AIRES -- El jueves, el Lanús dirigido por Guillermo Barros Schelotto se jugará una final anticipada ante Bolivar de Bolivia y, de cara a dicho partido, está en duda la presencia de Leandro Somoza, por una sobrecarga muscular.

El volante central trabajó de manera diferenciada durante la mañana del martes y si bien la idea del cuerpo técnico es que sea titular, su evolución se ira evaluando en las 48 hs. previas al partido, para determinar cuál es su estado físico.

Mientras tanto, Barros Schelotto tiene programadas cuatro modificaciones tácticas con respecto a los once que fueron titulares en el partido del domingo, ante Gimnasia y Esgrima La Plata. Los mismos serían los ingresos de Maxi Velázquez, Diego González, Oscar Benítez e Ismael Blanco, en lugar de Nicolás Pasquini, Jorge Valdez Chamorro, Alejandro Silva y Santiago Silva, respectivamente.

Cabe recordar que el delantero uruguayo arrastra todavía una fecha de las tres fechas de suspensión por su expulsión ante O´Higgins de Chile en el último partido de la fase de grupos. Podría reaparecer en la revancha de los cuartos de final.

En definitiva, de llegar en condiciones Somoza, Lanús formaría con Agustín Marchesín; Carlos Araujo, Paolo Goltz, Carlos Izquierdoz, Maximiliano Velázquez; Diego Gonzalez, Somoza, Víctor Ayala; Oscar Benítez, Ismael Blanco y Marcos Astina.

Lanús recibirá a Bolivar desde las 19:45 hs. del jueves y con el arbitraje del peruano Víctor Hugo Carrillo. El "Granate" está haciendo historia ya que jugando los cuartos de final superó sus mejores actuaciones en Copa Libertadores que habían sido participando en los octavos de final.

Caruso Lombardi: "Hubiera preferido no ser juez del campeonato"

BUENOS AIRES -- Ricardo Caruso Lombardi, director técnico de Quilmes, rival de Gimnasia y Esgrima La Plata y River Plate en las últimas dos fechas del torneo Final, reveló el martes que "no quería ser juez" del torneo Final ya que su equipo aún pelea por la permanencia en la categoría.

"Hubiera preferido no ser juez del campeonato en este momento. Hubiera sido mejor ser un `cuatro de copas` y no pelear nada. Si tuviéramos tres puntos más serí­a lindo, pero ahora estamos muy apretados con el promedio", manifestó Caruso Lombardi en la previa del trascendental choque del domingo, como local, ante uno de los punteros del campeonato.

El Cervecero, que lucha por quedarse en la máxima categoría, enfrentará en las dos últimas jornadas a los punteros del torneo Final pero el excéntrico entrenador no se siente cómodo con el rol que le tocó.

A su vez, en diálogo con Radio La Red, el DT, confeso hincha de Estudiantes de La Plata, descartó que el duelo ante los dirigidos por Pedro Troglio sea un "partido especial".

"La cadenita con el escudo (de Estudiantes) me la robaron. No es especial este encuentro. Era más hincha de pibe, ahora me dedico a esto y quiero ganar siempre", remarcó.

Y cuanto a las posibilidades de la salvación remarcó: "Cuando llegué me habí­an dicho que con 21 puntos nos salvábamos, pero seguimos con problemas. Depende mucho de los otros resultados, pero estamos muy ilusionados con zafar".

Por la 18va. fecha del torneo Final, Quilmes recibirá a Gimnasia y Esgrima La Plata el domingo desde las 17.10 en el estadio Centenario.

Leon vs Toluca: Leon Chasing Second Title in Six Months

As Leon’s deflated players left Club Bolivar’s Estadio Hernando Siles two weeks ago, their season looked in tatters. Eliminated in the Second Round of the Copa Libertadores and lying outside the top eight in the Liga MX, the reigning champions had gambled on a strong continental performance at the expense of their domestic title defence.

After exiting the competition on away goals following an underwhelming 3-3 draw, their gamble appeared to have backfired spectacularly. Yet an unlikely culmination of results in Round Seventeen saw Morelia, Atlas and Queretaro all lose, letting Leon sneak into the eighth and final Liguilla spot at the expense of their more fancied rivals.

Leon had their lifeline and weren’t letting go. Pitted against Superlider Cruz Azul in the quarterfinals, Los Panzas Verdes once again found themselves with their backs against the wall only to emerge victorious. After a 1-1 draw in the first leg at the Estadio Leon they headed into the return fixture trailing on away goals. They found themselves further behind following a dismal opening twenty minutes which saw them concede twice, but they managed to fight back and secure a 2-2 draw – a result which saw them controversially progress on the away goals rule.

After sending the regular season’s strongest side crashing out, the reigning champions now face CONCACAF Champions League Runners-Up Toluca in the semifinals. Los Diablos Rojos finished second in the regular season, just four points behind Cruz Azul but seven clear of Pumas; they are arguably the favorites to win the championship and after Cruz Azul’s elimination they can lay a strong claim to being the best side in North America.

HISTORY

History is not on Leon’s side. They were beaten 2-1 by Toluca less than a month ago in La Bombonera, while 2013 saw them face each other twice in the Estadio Leon with the hosts losing 2-1 in January and conceding a 86th minute equalizer to draw 2-2 in October.

It’s actually more than twelve years since Leon beat Toluca, but in a season where Leon have consistently taken advantage of unexpected situations, this could yet work in their favor.

It is difficult to take meaningful conclusions from this year’s regular season after Leon frequently fielded a reserve side, but they still emerged with the joint-second best defense after only conceding seventeen goals in their seventeen games.

If Leon can get past Toluca they would be supremely confident of dispatching either Santos or Pachuca in the final and claiming a seventh domestic title.

KEY PLAYERS

Mauro Boselli

The 28 year old Argentine striker was instrumental in Leon’s quarterfinal victory over Cruz Azul, and the club will once again look to his direct and penetrative style of play to unlock the league’s strongest defense.

He scored four goals in eleven games in the regular season, and after grabbing Leon’s first in their dramatic comeback in Mexico City on Saturday night he will be confident of adding to his tally on Thursday night.

Rafa Marquez

It’s always difficult to know which Rafa Marquez will turn up – the cool, calm and collected defender that forged a global reputation as one of the finest centre backs of his generation, or the hot-headed and reckless veteran who is prone to violent outbursts and inexplicable fouls.

Leon will need and want the earlier of those two versions to be on show for the next two weeks. In the quarterfinal first leg he was Leon’s best performer, showing a positional sense that accommodates his lack of pace and offering an aerial threat from set pieces that was a constant thorn in Cruz Azul’s side.

Carlos Pena and Luis Montes

For so long the beating heart of the Leon midfield, the duo have been instrumental in everything positive about Leon for the last eighteen months.

Worryingly for fans of both club and country, Pena’s form has wavered in the second half of the Clausura, though it has been counterbalanced by Luis Montes’ continued excellence. With people now questioning in place in El Tri’s starting eleven, don’t be surprised in Pena turns in one of his best performances of the season on Thursday night.

POSSIBLE LINE-UP

4-4-2

GK William Yarbrough
CB Rafael Marquez
CB Juan Gonzalez
LB Edwin Hernandez
RB Jonny Magallon
LM Jose Cardenas
RM Luis Montes
CM Jose Vazquez
CM Carlos Peña
ST Matias Britos
ST Mauro Boselli

*Klask*

Racing: Merlo renunció a la dirección técnica

BUENOS AIRES --El entrenador Reinaldo Carlos Merlo renunció hoy a su cargo de director técnico del plantel profesional de Racing Club y no dirigirá al equipo en las dos últimas fechas del Certamen Final ante Rosario Central y Godoy Cruz.

Merlo, quien tenía contrato hasta el 13 de octubre próximo, se presentará en el entrenamiento que el equipo desarrollará esta mañana en el estadio Presidente Perón, en la ciudad de Avellaneda, para despedirse del plantel.

Merlo, campeón con la `Academia` en 2001, renunció a causa de los malos resultados. Racing es el peor equipo de la temporada con 32 puntos en 36 cotejos, sumado a la falta de apoyo de la dirigencia que le había expresado que no lo tendría en cuenta para la temporada 2014/2015.

Racing afrontaría esos dos últimos compromisos con el entrenador de la reserva, Jorge Cordon, como técnico. Este fue el tercer ciclo de Merlo en Racing y ahora comenzarán a conocerse los nombres de probables entrenadores para reemplazar a `Mostaza`, siendo Ricardo Gareca, Facundo Sava y Gustavo Alfaro algunos de ellos.

BUENOS AIRES, ROME AND BIRMINGHAM

Fans of the Premier League, cast your minds back to April 12th, 2008. It was the day that Mauro Zárate truly caught the attention of English fans, following up goals in March against Reading and Manchester City, with a sumptuous free kick to equalise late on against Everton for relegation threatened Birmingham. Zárate’s brief cameo in England’s second city was just one of several unusual stops in what has been an intriguing, frustrating and often perplexing career.

Having started life in his native Argentina, Zárate was always destined to be a footballer, coming from a family with real sporting heritage. His Chilean father turned out for Independiente, his brothers, Ariel, Sergio and Rolando played for Malaga, Nuremburg and Real Madrid respectively during points in their careers. It was no surprise then when Zárate showed an aptitude for the family trade at an early age, quickly outgrowing the age groups at Velez Sarsfield to make his debut for the first team at just 17. It was a club for which his brother had made well over 100 appearances and scored 50 goals. If Zárate felt the burden of expectation, he did not show it. He played a part-time role in Velez’ capture of the 2005 Clausura as a teenager, before hitting 19 goals to share the title of top goal scorer for the Apertura with now Inter Milan striker Rodrigo Palacio in the 2006-7 season, his first as regular starter for Velez, and also his last for the club before moving abroad.

In the same year in which he was making headlines domestically for his goal scoring form, he earned global recognition, winning the FIFA under-20 World Cup with Argentina in Canada. It was team-mate Sergio Agüero who stole the limelight, earning the both the competition’s Golden Ball and Golden Shoe awards for best player and top scorer, as well as a place in the All-Star team. Nether the less, Zárate stood out at the tournament in and amongst future world stars including Arturo Vidal, Angel Di Maria and Gerard Piqué as a talented young forward, notching a goal in the final against the Czech Republic. Zárate’s future seemed well laid out for him, an oft trodden path taken by Argentinian players of shining domestically before jetting off to the big lights of Europe.

It was at this point that Zárate’s career took one of several unusual terms. The in-demand forward ignored advances from European sides, and the option to continue to forge a reputation at home, in order to make the move to Al-Sadd of Doha, Qatar. This initially puzzling move is perhaps explained by the careers of his brothers, in particular Sergio. Although Rolando had a brief spell at Madrid, none of the Zárate brothers ever made it at a huge club. With Sergio acting as his agent, the move to Al-Sadd came with a reported fee of around £13 million and a lucrative contract, setting Mauro up financially. This Middle Eastern sojourn was to be short lived however, with Zárate making only 6 appearances for Al-Sadd, in which he still managed 4 goals.

Unusually then, Zárate made his debut in Europe in a defeat to Sunderland for a desperately struggling Birmingham. Not the most exotic locations for a silky skilled, fleet footed Argentine attacker to announce himself. Despite this though, and even though Zárate was unable to fire Birmingham to safety, a handful of impressive goals in just over a dozen appearances left him with no shortage of suitors. Zárate’s next step was to a more suitable stage for his abilities, the Stadio Olimpico in Rome, the Eternal City and home to Lazio. On an initial loan, Zárate immediately set about impressing at Lazio, leading owner Claudio Lotito to label him “better than Messi” and endearing himself to the fans with a goal on his debut, followed by another in a derby victory over Roma, and another in the Coppa Italia final against Sampdoria.

It was the start of a genuine love affair between Zárate and the Lazio ultras. On the field he continued to delight with his skilful play and eye for goal, finishing the season with 16 in all competitions; off it he mocked hated rival Totti, and even watched matches he wasn’t involved in with the fans, a practice that would result in much controversy in 2010. During a loss to Bari, Zárate was pictured making a Nazi salute, an incident for which he would preposterously claim ignorance of who Hitler or Mussolini were and that he "did not realise the significance of his gesture". His performances on loan were enough to convince Lotito to stump up approximately £17 million for Zárate to buy out his contract, an arrangement that would later surface as yet another of many controversies that plagued his career.

The good times at Lazio didn’t last for Zárate. For all of the positives, Zárate faded in his first season, revealing a selfishness to his game that although not an issue when he was firing, became problematic when he was off his game. Unfortunately, it was this Zárate and not the one that had made such a good first impression that returned to preseason the following year. The new manager, Davide Ballardini was not as patient with Zárate as his predecessor Delio Rossi, and publicly criticised his player for his selfishness with the ball, a trait has seen Zárate chastised by coaches since his days as a youth player. One particularly notorious incident whilst still at Velez, saw Zárate come off the bench, having been left out for too often opting to go alone rather than pass. Zárate beat numerous players, rounded the keeper, but refused to score, betraying a petulance and immaturity that would rear its head at Lazio.

With Lazio fighting at the wrong end of the Serie A table and Zárate struggling for form in a season which he only notched 3 goals in the league, things finally came to a head in January. Zárate had returned to Argentina early before the official Serie A winter break without permission in December, Ballardini was outraged and made his feelings known to the press. Unapologetic, the reaction from the Zárate camp was for Sergio to demand that Ballardini be given the sack, or else Lazio would face losing Mauro: “Lotito will have to decide who goes”. Lotito stuck by his big money, mercurial forward and Ballardini was relieved of his duties on February 10th, 2010.

Unfortunately for Lazio and Lotito, Zárate didn’t get on much better with Ballardini’s replacement Edoardo Reja. Zárate began to gain weight and his form became more sporadic, despite 9 goals in the 2011-12 season, Zárate’s moments of brilliance became less frequent. Earlier in 2010, Zárate had cost Lazio and Lotito yet more money. Lazio were ordered to pay solidarity payment to Velez Sarsfield, fees that the club believed they had avoided by giving Zárate the money to buy out his contract at Al-Sadd rather than pay the club a transfer fee. Zárate had always been a luxury item, but now he was an underperforming luxury with dramatically declining economic worth. Lotito finally decided to cut his losses and sell his prize possession. However, Zárate’s reputation as a troublemaker preceded him and potential suitors balked at Lazio’s valuation. Eventually a loan move to Inter Milan was arranged with the option for a £13 million permanent transfer.

With just 3 goals and 3 assists during his spell with Inter, Zárate returned to Lazio with yet another chance for a fresh start, with a new manager, Vladimir Petković. However, once again Zárate fell out with the hierarchy at Lazio and found himself frozen out, in part by choice. Rumours surfaced that Zárate had refused call ups to Lazio squads, unhappy sat on the bench, a place he has avoided his entire career. Zárate began angling to leave the club, clamouring for a transfer termination. After a deal with Dinamo Kiev fell through, Zárate and his brother began claiming that Mauro’s contract had been breached by denying him the right to play football. Lotito and Zárate have both blamed each other for the transfer falling through, Lotito arguing that it was a contractual issue between Zárate and Dinamo, and Zárate arguing that Lotito demanded more money after a fee had already been agreed.

It is worth noting that Lotito and Lazio have previous in regards to this issue. In 2009, Zárate’s then colleague Goran Pandev announced his desire to leave Lazio and was consequently frozen out of the club for months by Lotito. Once a move to Zenit St Petersburg was scuppered by differing valuations of the player, Pandev moved to have his contract terminated, with Lazio eventually having to pay the Macedonian for emotional distress. Pandev then of course went on to win the treble with José Mourinho’s Inter Milan. Whether Lotito does unfairly treat his players, or just has a penchant for signing troublemakers is up for debate. However, in the case of Zárate, it is certainly feasible given the players track record for misbehaving that he played a role in the collapsed deal with Dinamo Kiev.

In July, Zárate finally got his way, ignoring overtures from Sunderland and Tottenham to sign for former club Velez Sarsfield. Early in July, Zárate took to Twitter to declare "From now on I’m free, finally I can go and play elsewhere”. Although disputing reports stated at the time that Zárate was still under contract at Lazio, it would appear that his move to Velez was legal. Zárate has rediscovered his form since his return to Velez. Replacing Fernando Gago as the big name in the dressing room, Zárate is free to indulge his selfish desires and has hit 15 goals so far, leading the way in the Torneo Final stage of the Primera División with 9. However, Velez have struggled this season regardless. Having won the Primera División last term, Velez have found it hard without Gago and last year’s top scorer Facundo Ferreyra. They finished 3rd in the Torneo Inicial, but have suffered their traditional Torneo Final slump, currently sitting 8th.

Upon leaving Lazio for Velez, Zárate thanked the fans and declared that “I have always given my all to the Lazio shirt.” It is a patently untrue statement, between weight gain, nights out, on pitch selfishness and constantly resisting ever being a substitute, during his time at Lazio it is obvious Zárate played for himself. Unfortunately for Lotito, Zárate is not better than Messi, and cannot afford to show so little disregard towards playing for the team. There is no doubt that on his day, Zárate is a pleasure to watch and if he could just resist that little voice inside his head that tells him to take on just one more man, or shoot rather than pass, he has all the qualities to be a top, top player. At 27 years old, Zárate should be at the peak of his powers theoretically, and on just a two year contract at Velez, if he can maintain the form he is currently in, he will get another chance in Europe. Zárate could still have the career that beckoned to him early in his career, but will need to convince the world that his petulant ways are behind him if he ever wants to be more than just a big fish in a small pond.

SOMBREROS, MASKS AND YELLOWHEADS: REMEMBERING TOROS NEZA

Nezahualcóyotl was the monarch of Tetzcuco before the Spanish conquest in 1492. Poet, architect, warrior and philosopher, he is one of the most notable rulers of Mexican history. His face can even be found on 100 pesos bills, alongside one of his poems.

The municipality of Neza, or City of Neza, as its name states, was born in the 1960’s as part of the independence of some of the districts around the Lake of Texcoco. It took years of discussions and compromises, but as of 1963, the City of Nezahualcóyotl got its recognition and started to grow. Hospitals, parks, schools, and houses were built and the population increased.

Being such a new and young municipality, a football team and stadium would probably lift their sense of identity. Furthermore, Coyotes de Neza were in need of a stadium. As a result, the Estadio Neza 86 was built with the name “Estadio José López Portillo”. It was one of the venues of the World Cup of 1986, in which Sir Alex Ferguson coached two of his three Scotland matches, and also where Michel Laudrup and Enzo Francesoli scored a goal each in Denmark’s 6-1 trashing of Uruguay.

But it was the second city’s team that really left a mark in the 90’s in Mexican football. Not as a dominant force, not as the base for the national team, perhaps only in part for the generation of players and now managers that played in that famous team of 97, but mostly because they were unorthodox, non-traditional. They were rebels, they were charismatic, talented, somewhat overbold, mostly irreverent, and they had a big bull in the front of their shirt.

Toros Neza was founded in 1991 and started from the bottom in the Second (which is actually the third) Division. They got promoted in 1993, despite having to play the home leg of the final at Cruz Azul’s stadium, because somehow the Mexican FA questioned the Estadio Neza 86’s suitability... even though it had hosted a World Cup 7 years before. And so, as soon as 1994, Los Toros were already making their debut in the First Division.

And their very first game would be against America, Mexico’s wealthiest, most powerful and popular team, away at the Azteca. Within 15 minutes they were 1-0 down. José Luis Malibrán got the equalizer for Neza, but America took the lead again right before the break. Only five minutes into the second half, though, America got a penalty. Would 3-1 be game, set and match for America at the Azteca? Up Germán Martelotto, with the number 10 on his back, stepped, but the Swiss keeper Toros Neza had signed, Jörg Stiel, saved the kick and it was game on. Still, 2-1 down and with less than 20 minutes left, not many thought Toros could get a point back, and nobody would actually blame them. But in the 75th minute, Manuel Negrete (mostly remembered for his bicycle-kick goal in the World Cup of 1986) got another equalizer for Neza. Could they pull it off? They could probably sit back and go back home with a point from the Azteca. No, it wouldn’t be enough. It wouldn’t be sassy. In the 89th minute, José Luis Malibrán scored the winner for the visitors. 2-3 Neza. Welcome to the league.

It was all uphill from there, and they made sure they were noticed.

Toros Neza were the new kids on the block. They had a project, they were recruiting talent and they got their very own Eric Cantona in the figure of the eccentric Antonio Mohamed. The Argentine made a name for himself from the very first moment he stepped on the pitch. He was as talented and creative with the ball as much as he was spontaneous outside the pitch.

He made his debut in Argentina with Huracán, and after a great couple of years he was part of Fiorentina’s triple signing of Batistuta, Diego Latorre and himself. He was, however, loaned back to Argentina with Boca Juniors, where after a disappointing year he was sent to Independiente and then snatched by Toros Neza. And boy did he make an impression!

“El Turco” Mohamed was a key part of the dressing room. He inspired confidence on the pitch and kept the spirits high off it. “Juan Antonio Hernández gave him a camera as a present... quite a mistake!” recalls Chávez Carretero, Enrique Meza’s assistant at the time, about Mohamed. “Everything was a joke to him. Don Juan gave him some centenarios (commemorative coins) one time, so he could give them away to the rest of the team, but he came into our office and offered us to keep them without telling the team... we refused, but the catch was that he was actually filming us with his camera! After the games, we used to watch his pranks”.

96 was a great year for Toros Neza. After 2 years of settling, they went all they way to the final of the League Cup, which they ultimately lost to Víctor Manuel Vucetich’s Cruz Azul. But that was just an omen. The following season they would kick it off, and with the new system of competition implemented (two short seasons in a footballing year) Toros Neza got themselves all the way into the semifinals of the tournament.

They had assembled a team around their white-shoed star Mohamed, managed by the now renowned figure of Enrique Meza. Pablo Larios, Rodrigo “Pony” Ruiz, Germán Arangio, Guillermo Vázquez, Javier Saavedra, Federico Lussenhoff and the current Mexican national team manager Miguel Herrera were all part of that team. They had to go through a play-off in order to get to the play-offs (don’t you just love Mexican system?) and successfully beat León 4-2 on aggregate. They would go on and face the leaders Atlante in the quarterfinals, and they would absolutely batter them, 9-2 on aggregate. However, they couldn’t hold off Santos and lost 5-2 in the semis.

And yet, Toros Neza got the attention of the country not only because they were good, but also because of their ingenious eccentricities. One day they all showed up to a game in dyed, yellow hair. Mohamed already used an uncommon look, with only the upper part of his head in yellow and the sides all black. He then decided that all of his teammates ought to dye their hair as well, so he drove a stylist to the ground and chose a color for most of them (he even unsuccessfully tried to persuade Enrique Meza into it). Almost every playing member of the team bar Miguel Herrera (who happens to be blonde) showed up with a yellow (or red, some black) head for the following game, and the pre-match photograph appeared in every newspaper, magazine and TV of the time.

But it didn’t stop there. Such had been the hype around the first picture (and watching them playing with their heads in yellow) that for another game they all showed up wearing sombreros. Mohamed had run into a sombreros seller, liked them and bought them all. He thought it would be funny to appear in the pre-match photograph with the whole team wearing sombreros. But could he step it up a notch? At another game the team showed up wearing masks. Some of them were of known political figures such as the former president Carlos Salinas de Gortari, another one was Bart Simpson, someone else wore Gene Simons’ Demon Kiss mask, and some of them were just average Halloween ones.

This team had put Ciudad Neza in the map. Their fans were passionate about the local club, which not many years before didn’t even exist. The identity of the relatively new municipality lied in every step this team took inside the pitch, in every picture circulating in the papers, talked about on TV, radio stations, on the streets.

Toros Neza were hitting it off on and off the pitch. They went all the way to the final of 1997, beating Pumas and Necaxa in the quarterfinals and semis respectively. They had the full support of the neutrals. There they were, a team that showed no fear, no respect for the big boys, who dared to visit legendary Mexican grounds and pass around the ball, give it to Mohamed who’d, even sometimes overweight, pull a magical, off-the-hat pass. Within 3 years of top-flight football they had a real chance of winning the league. Chivas, the other most popular team of the country, separated them from putting their hands on the trophy.

The first leg was played at the Neza 86, and the visitors would take the lead in the 26th minute until Carlos Briseño equalized from a Mohamed assist in the 79th minute. The final would be decided at the Estadio Jalisco.

After 45 hectic minutes of the second leg, Toros Neza crumbled. Chivas scored in the ‘50, ‘51 and ‘55 minutes, and then added another one in the 62nd and yet another in the 74th. By the time Arangio got one back, they were already 5-0 down, and Chivas even scored again to add to the final 7-2 aggregate score. They fell so hard it was almost foreshadowing of what would happen to the club a couple of years later. It was all downhill from there.

After 2 seasons in the middle of the table (barely reaching the play-offs’ play-off), they spent 5 seasons in the lower part of it. Mohamed left for America in 1998, and although in 1999 they signed Brazil international Bebeto, with the hype built around a World Cup winner coming to play to Mexico, he only managed 8 appearances and 2 goals before allegedly going back to Brazil because, as he would later reveal, the then president-owner of the team, Juan Antonio Hernández, “had been threatening” him (he was the only player being paid, and story goes his teammates asked him to interfere for them, which infuriated Hernández).

The players left. “Pony” Ruíz, Miguel Herrera, Mohamed, Lussenhoff, and manager Enrique Meza were all gone by 2000, when Toros Neza got relegated. They played a couple of seasons in the second division, even managing to get to a final (winning meant they had to play another final for the chance to get promoted), but they lost 5-3 on aggregate against La Piedad, who would ultimately play in the first division the following season.

In 2002 Juan Antonio Hernández sold the club (something amazingly common in Mexico, as teams change name, location, badge, and move all of their players along – they can even avoid relegation by doing so) and Toros Neza became Gavilanes de Nuevo Laredo. Gavilanes played one season and got relegated, then played a second one in the second division and disappeared after, and with them, what used to be Toros Neza. The city of Neza had climbed high, but as if the fall hadn’t been hard enough when they got relegated, they watched their team sold and disappeared.

In 2010, with a couple of moves and changes of reserves teams (like in Spain, reserve teams can play in the second division), Neza FC appeared (they had to play as Neza UTN one season), reminiscent of Toros Neza, with the new badge in the form of a couple of horns making the “N”. But they weren’t really the old Toros Neza, not in essence, so people didn’t get as involved with them. Not that they had time, either. In 2013 they played the final to get promoted against La Piedad, but lost... and the following year Neza FC was bought and became Delfines of Ciudad del Carmen.

But in Mexican football you can never say a team has really passed away. Someone might buy a club and change its entire structure, location, name and it can become whatever you want it to be. Last month a group of entrepreneurs announced their plan to bring Toros Neza back. Allegedly, Juan Antonio Hernández would be, again, the president, and plans include remodeling for the Neza 86 Stadium.

Everybody that lived and watched football in the 90‘s in Mexico remembers that Toros Neza team, they were the heart of the decade even though they didn’t have a trophy to show for it. In a time where Mexican football lacks spontaneity, impertinence, if only a glimpse of magic, the memory of that team looms almost as a shadow, looking at what it has become: monotonous.

Bolivar have reason for Libertadores optimism

U.S.-based businessman Marcelo Claure is the money man behind the company that administer Bolivar, one of Bolivia’s leading clubs.

When Bolivar qualified for the Copa Libertadores, there was some media speculation that Claure´s friendship with David Beckham might mean the Englishman would be lured out of retirement to play in the tournament. It never happened. Instead, with no gimmicks, Bolivar have become the first club from their country to reach the competition quarterfinals since 2000.

Bolivar are from the city of La Paz, 3,600 metres above sea level. Conditions there, high in the Andes, are very difficult for unacclimatised opponents, who find themselves gasping for oxygen in the rarefied mountain air. Even visiting goalkeepers, who do not have to run around, have huge problems because the ball can fly through the air quicker than usual. Use of altitude was clearly a factor in that campaign 14 years ago, when Bolivar reached the last eight before falling to America of Mexico.

The striking thing about Bolivar this year has been the strength and quality of their away form. So far they have scored more goals away from home than in front of their own fans in the Hernando Siles stadium. After an uneasy start, the turning point was the first game under the command of the veteran Spanish coach Xabier Azkargorta, when Bolivar stunned Flamengo of Brazil with a 2-2 draw in the Maracana. The team were compact and composed, neat in possession, with enough individual talent to pose a threat to the opposing defence -- and these virtues have got them into the quarterfinals, with a great chance of making the semis.

In front of them are Lanus of Argentina, their hosts in Thursday’s first leg -- when, with the altitude of La Paz to come a week later, another good away performance will leave them carrying realistic hopes of reaching the last four. If making history were not motivation enough, Claure has given the team an extra powerful incentive -- he has promised to take them back to the Maracana for the World Cup final on July 13.

Bolivar’s progress is an appropriate symbol for a surprise year of the Libertadores. No one predicted that they would get this far, and the same applies to Nacional of Paraguay or Arsenal of Argentina, neither of whom have ever got this far before. Defensor of Uruguay have also exceeded expectations.

Indeed, of the eight teams left standing, only two have previously won the competition -- an eloquent demonstration of the difference between the contemporary club game in Europe, where the same giant teams hoover up the world’s best players and tend to reach the closing stages of the Champions League year after year, and South America, where constant selling of the outstanding talent makes things more fluid.

There is clearly one standout tie in the Libertadores quarterfinals: San Lorenzo against Cruzeiro, the reigning champions of Argentina against the reigning champions of Brazil. Some are seeing this as an early final.

Perhaps. The truth is, though, that both sides have had to struggle like mad to reach the current stage. Both flirted with elimination in the group stage, just sneaking through on goal difference. And both needed some luck to get past their second-round opponents, San Lorenzo needing penalties to eliminate Gremio of Brazil and Cruzeiro less than 10 minutes from going out against Cerro Porteno of Paraguay.

Whoever comes through this clash will be installed as favourite to win the title. But Bolivar hope to be there waiting for them, keen to add another surprise to the narrative of the 2014 Copa Libertadores.

VM truppen blev som forventet, men Henrique istedet for Dedé (!!!!)