Jornada 9 Recap: Monterrey A Clunker

Surprising Gallos | Not a win, but shutting out America is a feat.

Queretaro broke down America’s attack cutting them short in various instances. But Queretaro cut the very thing that drove most of America’s attacks. Los Gallos Blancos limited the America counter attack.  They did what other teams couldn’t. It was obvious that America’s main form of attack was the counterattack which they executed effortlessly against Toluca and Estudiantes.

It is also true that Queretaro did not attack much, which mean that Las Aguilas were not going to have a lot of chances to run their plays. So the basic formula is not to attack America and they won’t score but then how would you win? America’s counter attack might not be as effective on lower ranked teams who are content with only gaining one point but it is a powerful weapon against teams who posses high powered offenses.

La Volpe on his way out

Atlas has not seen a victory in their last six matches and Ricardo La Volpe put’s himself in the hot seat once again. La Volpe has brought it on himself once more. La Volpe’s ways of coaching are gone. The ex-national team manager calls players out publicly in hopes of injecting some type of confidence in them. Players are more sensitive now though. Just look at Bruno Marioni when he was let go by La Volpe during the offseason, Marioni literally cried. They could have been tears of joy though but who really knows.

La Volpe has recently made comments about Atlas’ very talented U-17 squad. La Volpe commented that it is just an amateur program which gives no credit to their impressive record. La Volpe is turning players against him even before they could debut for Atlas. Atlas has a lot of good young talent and they should consider a coaching change so that talent doesn’t go to waste.

Monterrey good enough for the Final?

Monterrey showed why they are leaders of group 2 by beating Pachuca on Saturday. Los Rayados came from behind to beat Pachuca, who is one of the top candidates to make into the Liguilla but can Monterrey reach the final? Monterrey will definitely get into the Liguilla but will not make it into the final.

Lemon For Sale | Stay away from the Monterrey model, buddy.

Monterrey is like that $1,000 car that you buy off the street. The car is good and dependable for about the first three months, it gets the job done. Then in the fourth month the car starts sputtering and the "check engine" light comes on, but you trust the car so you ignore the little things. Finally that big day comes where you are supposed to be at work for your big promotion. You get in your car and it takes about fve attempts to get it started but it starts.  As you are driving down the freeway you see a big plume of smoke coming out of your exhaust but the car is still running so everything is fine. Then boom, your engine gives out, you’re stuck on the side of the freeway and you missed that potential promotion.

That’s what Monterrey is. They get the job done in the middle of the season and then by the end of it they start struggling but they still make it to the Liguilla. Monterrey may get past the first round but they don’t have enough to go past the semis and reach that final destination.

Quotes of the week

1. “Maybe I should have paid more attention to each player individually. Time doesn’t let you do that though. I tried to save the team, and I did my job at 100 percent. I accomplished my dream of being a successful manager,” said Francisco Ramirez after resigning his post in Chivas.

2. “El Tuca is the head coach of the current champions and if some one told me that I would be champion with my team and then lose eight, I would sign that contract,” said Jose Luis Sanchez Sola prior to the game with Pumas.

3. “We played a very complicated opponent that plays well. The leadership is reflected on the group’s hard work and perseverance,” said Antonio Naelson “Zinha” after defeating Atlas at home.

4. “What I liked the most were the three points, it had been a long time since the team last won. It’s the team’s second victory in the campaign and that’s what I liked. I didn’t like the fact that we generated four or five clear options for goal but could not make the most of them,” said Raul Arias after Chivas’ second win in the tournament.

Emanuel Villa | Cruz Azul suits him more than Derby.

5. “We have to be patient and not go all crazy because we could be left at a defensive disadvantage. They have good quality players that can do some dangerous stuff. We need to be careful in attack because they have players with good feet that can score at any moment,” noted Emanuel Villa days before he went crazy with four goals.

Made for the Liguilla

1. Toluca - Toluca seems to be the clear front runner this season with Pachuca out of the picture.

2. Monterrey - Monterrey still have some tough tests coming up including the unbeaten Puebla. Los Rayados will need to sum up points now because they close out the regular season against Santos, America, and Morelia

3. Morelia - Morelia seem to have faced their stiffest competition already and if statistics don’t fail then Morelia should have no problem cruising into the Liguilla.

4. Cruz Azul - La Maquina’s next opponents are right in the middle of the table but if Emanuel Villa keeps up his scoring then Cruz Azul should be in.

5. America - America are the most improved by far but they left some doubt in the game against Queretaro. They underestimated their opponents and they can’t afford to do that especially not in group 2.

6. Santos - Santos have only lost twice in the season but they have very tough competition coming up. They still need to go through Pachuca, Puebla, Monterrey, and America if they want to reach the Liguilla

7. Chivas - Chivas will be the surprise in the Liguilla. Chivas will sneak into the tournament even though they have opponents like Monterey, Santos, America, Morelia, and Cruz Azul coming up. Their group is very weak and Chivas looks to be a contender.

Christian Gimenez | Chaco and Co. will get a chance at a trophy.

8. Pachuca -Los Tuzos have not had the best start to the season and have three losses already in the Apertura, which is not typical for Pachuca.

Los Tuzos have a tough three weeks coming up when they have to face Santos, America, and Morelia all in that order.

Los Tuzos will find a way to qualify to the Apertura Liguilla, though.

Best XI

GK: Oswaldo Sanchez (Santos)

DEF: Oscar Rojas (America), Duilio Davino (Monterrey), Edgar Dueñas (Toluca), Amaury Ponce (Chivas)

MID: Jaime Lozano (Cruz Azul), Hugo Droguett (Morelia), Luis Perez (Monterrey), and Carlos Esquivel (Toluca)

FWD: Humberto Suazo (Monterrey), Emanuel Villa (Cruz Azul)

Best Player: Emanuel Villa

Emanuel Villa got to 10 goals in the tournament on Saturday. Villa scored all four goals in Cruz Azul’s 4-2 victory over San Luis. Villa has done his job well coming in as a reinforcement for Cruz Azul. Of course Enrique Meza always brings out the best in his players. Villa is a complete striker who is just a monster in the air.

Best game: Pachuca vs. Monterrey

Monterrey mounted a comeback to beat the hosts Pachuca by a score of 3-1. Pachuca was the dominant team through out the encounter but Monterrey made the best of their chances. Pachuca fought hard to get back into the game but were denied by the woodwork twice. Humberto Suazo was the determining factor in the game.

Best Team: Chivas

Not the flashiest team in the Jornada but Chivas had to get a win and they did. The goats also defeated America in a friendly game, which hints at a sign of change. Finally Las Chivas did a very honorable deed for a young man this week despite the ongoing problems with the club.

Sylvestre Adame covers Mexican football for Goal.com.

Visit Goal.com's Mexico section for more coverage of the Apertura 2009 season.