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Apertura Liguilla Preview: Sunday’s Quarterfinals
The Liguilla continues on Sunday with two encounters that appear to favor the top seeded teams, but that will be marked by a battle of coaching philosophies. Second-place Toluca visit Zapopan to face Tecos. While superlider San Luis will attempt to dethrone the current champion Santos.
Nov 21, 2008 10:08:58 PM
The quarterfinal round of the Torneo Apertura 2008 features a two-leg aggregate-score series between the top eight teams of the regular season.
The encounters are adjusted based on table position, with the first seed facing the eight; second against the seventh; third against the sixth; and fourth against the fifth seed.
Different to other “tie” formats used for the playoff phase, the away goals rule is not utilized.
Instead, a spot in the top five of classification during regular season is rewarded with closing the series at home and the advantage to advance in case of a draw in the aggregate-score.
First Leg
Sunday, 23 of November
15:00 Tecos - Toluca
17:00 Santos - San Luis
Tecos - Toluca
Sunday’s quarterfinal encounters kick-off when the Diablos Rojos of Toluca travel to Zapopan to face Tecos, in an uncustomary match day and time for the locals.
This will be the first Liguilla home match for the Tecolotes since May 2007.
How They Arrive
This quarterfinal fixture features the runner-up of classification, Toluca, against the seventh spot in the general table, Tecos.
Toluca have the pre-match advantage in case of a series draw, having finished in the second spot of Group 3 with 27 points. In turn, Tecos qualified in the third spot of the second sector with 25 units.
In their regular season confrontation, Tecos relinquished an early two goal lead in an entertaining 2-2 draw of the Jornada 7.
Both sides head into this quarterfinal with important victories that wrapped up their qualification in the last week of regular season action. The Tecos ended a negative three week run with a 3-0 thrashing of Puebla, while Toluca demonstrated their home superiority against superlider San Luis with a 1-0 win.
Tecos
The Tecolotes are faithful to their offensive proposal and a testament to that is their league leading 30 goals.
The home side had an impressive run as the surprising leader of the so-called “Group of Death,” but in the last weeks of the Torneo lost steam and suffered several defeats that put their qualification in jeopardy.
Most of the defeats were due to their shaky defense, which conceded 28 goals and labeled them as the second worst defense.
Toluca
After an inconsistent start with many draws, Toluca closed the season in spectacular fashion which allowed them to move up in the third group to the second spot and the best home team of the campaign.
The Diablos have demonstrated a better balance of all their lines, with solid performances from goalkeeper Hernán Cristante, captain and defender Paulo Da Silva, Martín Romagnoli in the midfield and top goalscoarer Héctor Mancilla up top. Also, Toluca received a boost from the return to fitness of talented midfielder Antonio Naelson ‘Sinha.’
The Match
An interesting series with a first leg that will be vital for Tecos, who must not only take advantage of their home field but be careful in the process since they face a team that is notorious for studying their opponent and waiting for the mistake to strike.
If Tecos fail to take advantage from this match, they might as well hand the series over to Toluca, who in the second leg will have the total advantage of playing midday at home, where they have league leading numbers and are practically invincible.
Santos - San Luis
The first leg of the quarterfinals comes to a close with the current champion Santos, trying to defend their title against the superlider of the Torneo Apertura, San Luis.
How They Arrive
Santos was one of the most inconsistent sides of the campaign, which resulted in a last gasp qualification as the tenth seed in the general table. They advanced to the Liguilla because league rules indicate that the first and second spots in a group earn direct qualification, and the Guerreros finished in the second spot of the first group with 22 points.
On the other hand, the Gladiadores of San Luis finished the regular season as the best team of the Torneo and in Group 3 with 29 points. The enjoyed the superlider spot for more than half of the season, which gives them an advantage in the Liguilla to use their table position in case of a draw in the aggregate-score as well as closing the series at home.
Both teams did not earn positive result in the last week of action. Santos suffered more than expected to earn a valuable scoreless home draw against Atlante, while San Luis did not escape unscathed from Toluca and were defeated 1-0.
Their head-to-head encounter of the Jornada 16 ended with a 2-2 draw, in which the superlider rescued a last-minute draw in an intense and exciting game.
Santos Laguna
The Laguneros are not the shadow of last season’s championship team. They were the last team invited to the Liguilla after an irregular season marred by what is called campeonitis, or a lack of ambition after earning a championship.
Coach Daniel Guzmán counted with his complete squad from the previous campaign, but this time around his ‘Lavolpista’ approach of a well-organized defense with dynamic attack, were not as effective.
The fact that they are current title-holders and have grown accustomed to performing in playoff phases, does not count them out of contention and with the incorporation of Cuauhtémoc Blanco, the Guerreros are poised to complicate San Luis in the quarterfinals.
San Luis
For their part, the superlider is a well-balanced, experienced team that has maintained a regular form throughout the campaign and is the second best team on the road with 4 victories.
The Gladiadores have risen to prominence in the Mexican league under the guidance of coach Raúl Arias.
In his third year ahead of the club he has converted them from a relegation-bound team to a protagonist and contender for the title, based on a strict defensive philosophy.
The Match
Unlike the other fixtures, the first leg will be crucial and determinant to advance to the semifinal round because of the participation of the superlider in the series.
Santos is more than obligated to earn a positive result from home that will allow them to manage the second leg away match if they want to continue defending their crown.
However, this will not be easy since San Luis finished the season with great numbers as visitors, suffered only one loss at home, and are lethal on counterattacks. They also count with the extra incentive of benefiting from the top table position in case of a draw in the series.
If the superlider has any weakness this season, it has been an erratic back line compared to other years.
The series also presents itself for a tactical battle between Santos coach Daniel Guzmán and San Luis coach Raúl Arias, who have completely opposing coaching philosophies.
-- César García covers México for Goal.com.
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