Photo Credit: Club America
By: Jonny Rico
Follow Jonny on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Manager Miguel Herrera did not have the homecoming that he wanted with Club America, Herrera had left the club under the best of circumstances in 2013. He was doing such a great job and the team playing so well that the Mexican National Team called on him to take over for the World Cup. Four years later ‘El Piojo‘ is back after leading Tijuana Xolos to consecutive top of the table finishes and looked to pick up where he left off in 2013.
Herrera officially got his homecoming off with a 2-0 loss in the SuperCopaMX title match against Club Queretaro. One week later America suffered another loss to Queretaro this time 1-0 at home in Week 1 of the new 2017 Apertura season of Liga MX.
America were missing many players for that SuperCopaMX title match as well as the season opener and it all seemed like it would take several weeks for the club to find its barrings under ‘Piojo‘ Herrera. America was scheduled to visit the 2016-17 CONCACAF Champions League champs Club Pachuca. The ‘Tuzos‘ held an impressive 29-game unbeaten streak at its home ground Estadio Hidalgo in official competitions. The last time Pachuca were defeated at home was towards the end of the 2015 Apertura season in a Week 12 make up game against Cruz Azul on Saturday November 14th. The visiting Cruz Azul took a 2-1 win over Pachuca that night.
Things did not look good for Club America and their visit to Estadio Hidalgo for the Week 2 match.
But Herrera got a boost prior to the match in Pachuca. His squad started coming together and is now close to complete. Pablo Cesar Aguilar completed his 10-game suspension from last season during the Week 1 match and was now officially back. New signing Guido Rodriguez was also back. The former Tijuana Xolos midfielder had seen a red card on his last game in Tijuana and had to sit out during Week 1 and was now ready for his Club America debut. And the biggest boost to Herrera’s squad came from the misery of the Mexican National Team.
Edson Alvarez return to the club a lot earlier than expected. Alvarez was one of the few highlights for the Mexican National Team during the 2017 CONCACAF Gold Cup. Mexico’s 1-0 loss to Jamaica last Sunday at the Rose Bowl stadium in Pasadena, CA meant that Alvarez got to return to Club America and have all week to prepare for the Week 2 match.
Had Mexico not been eliminated and moved on to the Final of the Gold Cup, Alvarez would not have returned to Mexico City until at least Thursday and would probably have required a few days off leaving him no time to train with the team.
Miguel Herrera took advantage of this and sent 19-year old Alvarez out in the starting lineup. Alvarez was subbed out in the second half to have fresh legs for the final minutes of the match but his inclusion to the America squad along with Guido Rodriguez made a huge difference for America compared to the Week 1 performance.
Another big return that America benefited from was that of creative midfielder Cecilio Dominguez. The Paraguayan had missed the majority of his first season in Mexico with a shoulder injury. He has slowly made his way back from injury and was able to see limited minutes during the Week 1 match against Queretaro coming off the bench in the second half, more out of necessity to find a goal than rehabilitation progress.
Now a fully healthy Dominguez was the key for Club America. Dominguez scored both goals to lead America to its 2-0 win over Pachuca on Saturday at Estadio Hidalgo and looks to be the focal point of the America attack that has been missing that creative spark since the departure of Rubens Sambueza.
Next up for Herrera’s America is the team’s Copa MX debut at home against Atlas FC on Wednesday night before hosting cross town rivals Pumas UNAM in Week 3 of the 2017 Apertura season.
