By: Jonny Rico
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A striker coming back from injury which caused him to miss the league’s version of a SuperCup and the season opening match, scores on his first game back, scores on the following match for an average of a goal per game… Pretty good right? Well not for Club America’s Dario Benedetto
The general feeling around the Club America fans is that of slight disappointment in Argentine striker Dario Benedetto. He missed the season opening match against Puebla due to injury but has played in the other two matches and managed to score in both (3-1 loss to Atlas and the 3-0 win over Pachuca). But the fans are left with the numerous misses that the striker has had in front of goal. Especially in the 3-1 loss to Atlas where he had three or four clear chances that could’ve changed the course of the game.
We all know of how deadly Benedetto can be in front of goal. His seven goals in two games were key for Club America to to win last season’s CONCACAF Champions League. He scored four in the second leg of the semifinals against Costa Rica’s Herediano. Club America had to overcome a 3-0 first leg loss. He followed it up with a ‘hat-trick’ in the second leg of the final against Montreal Impact. Club America had fought back and tied the first leg match 1-1 then fell behind in the first half of the second leg. Benedetto’s goals were the catalyst for America to turn the deficit around and win 4-2.
The Argentine striker was a big money signing for Club America from Tijuana Xolos and looks to improve on his first season’s performance. The down side of Benedetto is he is injury-prone, something that he has suffered throughout his career and has already slightly affect him this season. Benedetto had to miss the the Campeon de Campeones (Champion of Champions) match against Santos Laguna and the season opening match against Puebla due to an injury to his ankle suffered during a preseason match in the tournament Guinness International Champions Cup against San Jose Earthquakes.
Benedetto returned in time for the Week 2 match against Atlas. It was also the return of his striking partner Oribe Peralta after having won the CONCACAF Gold Cup with The Mexican National Team. The two looked like they needed an adjustment period to new manager Ignacio ‘Nacho’ Ambriz.
The chemistry between Benedetto and Peralta is still there. They both find each other with superb passes but the accuracy is still not there.
Ambriz arrived to the club this off-season taking over for Gustavo Matosas who was let go last season despite winning the CCL title. Ambriz looks like he is wanting to simplify the overly-aggressive Matosas system. ‘Nacho’ has opted for a simple flat 4-4-2 formation which allows players to play in their respective positions and shine with their individual talent.
Benedetto and Peralta are creating lots of chances in front of goal. After three (league) games they both have scored two goals a piece. This might seem like an acceptable ratio of goals per game. But bad finishing has denied both Benedetto and Peralta to be the league’s best strikers and even some points in the league standings for America.
But at the rate that Club America is creating chances it won’t be long before Benedetto and Peralta start pouring goals game after game. The few goals they have scored so far will help grow their confidence in front of goal. And the fact that America is currently participating in the group stage of the CCL where the level of the opposition offers the chance to score plenty of goals, it will grow that confidence even faster.
Once the Club America strikers find their rhythm we can all expect to see the level of play that we saw in the final stages of last season’s CCL.
