Meet the Club World Cup teams: Monterrey

After capturing their first international title in 18 years, Monterrey will have had a month's rest before their first Club World Cup match with Santos looming ahead

8 Dec 2011 16:44:00

More On :  Monterrey, H. Suazo, H. Mier, L. Pérez
Monterrey (Mexsport)
PROFILE
By Eric Gomez

The 2011 Club World Cup is fast approaching, and those taking part are keen to begin their run in the competition, with an eye on the ultimate prize.

The tournament, which runs from December 8 to 18 in Japan, sees the top clubs from all the world's football confederations battle it out for glory, and while most fans are familiar with the likes of Barcelona and Santos, several of the other competitors need to be introduced.

Don't Miss

Goal.com presents all seven teams that will be taking part in this highly-anticipated competition. Here, we profile Monterrey.

SHORT HISTORY
Founded in 1945, the club received a large amount of attention from the public after an unfortunate bus accident claimed the lives of several players only a few days after their first matches.

After enrolling in the Second Division in 1956, they were promoted to the Mexican Primera just four years later. Monterrey would have to wait until 1986 to hoist their first league title, a championship that brought their local derby against UANL Tigres to new heights.

Over the past eight years, Monterrey have enjoyed unprecedented success, winning three championships in the Mexican league and returning to the international fold with their recent Concacaf success.

Monterrey edged out Real Salt Lake in the 2010-11 Concacaf Champions League thanks to a Humberto Suazo strike at the Rio Tinto Stadium that stunned the home side after they had drawn 2-2 in the first leg match at the Estadio Tecnologico.

Previously, Monterrey had won the 1993 Concacaf Cup Winners' Cup.
TACTICS & PLAYING STYLE
Victor Manuel Vucetich, the team's manager since 2009, has long been associated with eye-catching football, employing tactics that make it hard for opposing teams to grasp possession and push forward.

Monterrey's four-defender set-up is usually helped by a trio of hardmen in the middle of the pitch that aid them in recovering possession and stopping attacks. On the wings, it is not uncommon to see designed plays utilising two players close to the touchline in order to haul defenders over and create opportunities towards the centre of the field.

Up front, 'Chupete' Suazo and Aldo de Nigris take care of the goalscoring duties by employing their deadly mix of pace, power and accuracy to account for one of the most complete attacking units in Mexican football.
THE STAR | Humberto Suazo

The Chilean striker has become a legend in Monterrey, amassing over 70 goals with the Rayados in four years. For Chile, the former Colo-Colo and Zaragoza man has suited up twice for the Copa America and wore the No. 9 jersey for Marcelo Bielsa's 2010 World Cup squad. In 2006, he was the IFFHS World's Top Goal Scorer, besting Peter Crouch by just one strike.
THE SYMBOL | Luis Ernesto Perez

Perez is no stranger to international competition, as the 30-year-old has been capped 67 times for Mexico, including appearances in the 2004 Olympic Games, two Confederations Cups, a pair of Gold Cup stints and the 2006 World Cup. A skilled, experienced midfielder, Perez's role is to link defence and attack and distribute the ball to Monterrey's deadly forwards.
THE YOUNGSTER | Hiram Mier

At 22 years old, Mier is already a full international for Mexico, battling for playing time in a backline that includes Rafael Marquez, Espanyol's Hector Moreno, Stuttgart's Francisco Rodriguez and Zaragoza's Efrain Juarez. Mier was vital in Monterrey's Concacaf Champions League win, successfully neutralising Salt Lake strikers in the second leg to see out victory for the Rayados.
THREE FUN FACTS
  • Portuguese legend Eusebio suited up for Monterrey in 1975, scoring one goal for the team in 10 league games.
  • The Rayados did not recognise their 1986 league title up until the mid-1990's, due to the fact that the championship had been obtained in a short season leading up to that summer's World Cup, hosted by Mexico. When the Mexican League switched to a short season format in 1996, Monterrey formally displayed the championship over their crest.
  • The team's badge features a stylised "M" that can also be seen on both the home and away kits. The letter is not only representative of Monterrey, but of the Cerro de la Silla Hill that is seen from the team's stadium. The hill has two distinctive viewing angles that provide visual oddities: When viewed from the west, a saddle-shaped profile emerges. When seen from neighbouring San Nicolas de los Garza, the "M" figure appears.

PROBABLE STARTING XI

Vucetich is fond of strong defensive football, exemplified by his four-man backline that will handle any problems that opposing teams might pose. Up front, the trio of De Nigris, Delgado and Suazo has proven to be one the most effective in recent memory within Mexican football.


Orozco
Basanta, Meza, Mier, Cardozo
Delgado, Zavala, Chavez, De la Pena,
Suazo, De Nigris

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England 1-0 Belgium, Netherlands 2-0 Northern Ireland - follow all the international action LIVE! ahead of Euro 2012
With countries across the continent gearing up for their final warm-up games ahead of Euro 2012, join us for all the action from Saturday's friendlies. Get in touch with us via Twitter with your reaction.

Hosted by Joe Doyle
19:46 BST
Joe Hart has also been giving his thoughts after the Belgium game: "It was a really tough game, a good run out. I thought we played well, [but] we were a little bit bitty at times.

"But, we came through. Obviously there were a lot of changes so it's good to get the result.

"Belgium are a very, very strong side who are going to be really good in the future. Vincent [Kompany] told me about them and said that they were coming good and I totally agree with him."
19:38 BST
Here's Roy Hodgson's reaction to the result and some injury chat: "I'm very pleased, it's been a hard week and we've used a lot of players. There was a lot of disruption in the second-half with substitutions – some forced upon us, some we wanted to do. But it's still a very good end to the week playing against a good Belgian team here. Arguably even stronger than the Norwegian team we played last week and I've got to be more than happy that we've come out with another victory."

"[Gary] Cahill I suppose is slightly more of a concern for me because it is a jaw injury. We're desperately hoping the CT scan doesn't show any fracture and it's just going to be a bruising situation, which will be bad enough, but won't stop him taking part in the tournament. As far as John's [Terry] concerned he felt his hamstring a little bit. Again it wasn't a major thing when he came off but we still need to scan it just to be 100 per cent sure."

Suffice to say, if Cahill has broken his jaw, he won't play any part in the tournament.
19:35 BST
And another point from today: Eden Hazard wasn't great. Don't think you can judge him on one performance though. What do you think? Is it just a case of too much hype around the Chelsea-bound Belgian?
19:32 BST
We're getting plenty of people saying it was boring. PLENTY. But Spain scored seven goals in eight games at the World Cup and I didn't hear too many of their fans complaining. Or as Fran Stinchcombe points out on Twitter: "If we had lost but played free flowing attacking football would these people still have moaned?"
19:24 BST
No, no, no. I'll have none of that Emile Heskey shouting anymore! Hello, it's me, it's me, it's that D-O-Y-L-E. Yes, I'm Joe Doyle, and I'll be here for all the reaction to that England game. First things first, how did everyone see that game? Good performance? A touch boring? Let me know on Twitter.
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