No Memo for you

Just to update our readers on an earlier post, seems Everton won't be Guillermo Ochoa's final destination after all.

Everton boss David Moyes said that Memo was not a player they were interested in obtaining.

That doesn't mean that Ochoa won't wind up in Europe of course. For his benefit and for the benefit of the Mexican national team, Ochoa should go somewhere in Europe. With Carlos Vela and Giovani Dos Santos already in England, the EPL could stand for the arrival of another young Mexican international.

Memo to Everton?

Guillermo Ochoa may become the latest young goalkeeper to move from the New World to the Old.

Ochoa, a star with Mexico's Club America side, is reportedly linked to Everton.

Everton, of course, is Tim Howard's domain. The United States national team's first-choice 'keeper will probably keep his starting spot with Everton, Ochoa or not. But that likely wouldn't stop Everton manager David Moyes from pursuing Ochoa.

As Aston Villa just showed by acquiring two talented goalkeepers, the more depth you can stockpile in England the better.

Pa 'fuera

Mexico's worst club is finally out of Copa Libertadores. America tied Liga de Quito 0-0 in Ecuador but the result was not enough to see America through to the final. Liga de Quito pulled out a 1-1 draw in Mexico City and the ever-important road goal sent the Ecuadorians to the final and the Mexicans back home.

America was hoping to become the first Mexican club since Cruz Azul in 2001 to reach the Copa Libertadores final but it wasn't meant to be.

America draws at home

America played a decent game on Tuesday but needed to come from behind to tie Liga de Quito 1-1. America needs a win or a tie of 2-2 or better to advance to the final.

Bad timing

On June 4, Mexico will play Argentina in San Diego's Qualcomm Stadium. Tickets have sold out.

On the same night, America will play Liga de Quito in the second leg of their Copa Libertadores semifinal series.

Suddenly, those America fans who bought tickets have a quandary. Do they stay home and watch their beloved club try to make history? Or do they watch El Tri do battle against Argentina in person?

The time for the America game isn't set, so it's possible that they could watch both games. But if you've ever attended a game at Qualcomm - particularly one that will draw more than 60,000 - then you know what the traffic is like, and you know that getting early is not an option but a must.

The best scenario for fans would be for the stadium to open its gates early and let those fans who want to watch America-Liga de Quito do so via the scoreboard. Otherwise, it might be a night of anguish for America fans.

America on way to semis

America lost to Santos 1-0 on Thursday but still advanced to the semifinals of Copa Libertadores. Guillermo Ochoa and America's defense withstood a 90-minute barrage from Santos, who got a goal from ex-America star Kleber in the second half.

America will play Liga Deportivo Universitario of Quito in the semis.

Here are the highlights:

Mexico's worst

... may be South America's best.

America finished dead last in the Mexican league table during the Clausura 2008 season, the first time the club has ever finished bottom of the table.

But America is one step away from the Copa Libertadores semifinals. America took care of Brazil's Santos by 2-0 in Estadio Azteca on Thursday. America needs only a draw to get through. Even a loss could see America through.

Here are the highlights. German Villa had a sublime pass to Salvador Cabanas on the second goal, and Cabanas touch and finish were perfect.

Stunning win

America had such a terrible domestic campaign, the only thing that gave their supporters hope was Copa Libertadores. But even after getting past the group stage, it didn't look like that was much of a consolation prize. Flamengo beat America 4-2 in Azteca and coach Ruben Omar Romano didn't survive the night.

America needed to win by three on Wednesday to advance, a tall order for any club. But somehow, someway America reached deep down inside and pulled off a shocking result. America beat Flamengo 3-0 in the Maracana on Wednesday and advanced to the quarterfinals of Copa Libertadores.

Here's how they did it:

Two late daggers

Just when it looked like America was going to down to Brazil with a shot of advancing to the Copa Libertadores quarterfinals, disaster struck.

Twice.

Flamengo scored goals in the 88th and 90th minutes to beat America 4-2 in Estadio Azteca. Flamengo now needs just a draw to knock out America and move on in the Copa Libertadores. Even a one-goal loss would see the Brazilians through to the next round.

America's lone saving grace this year was Copa Libertadores. The league campaign has been the worst-ever in their storied history. And now the club's poor form has finally carried over internationally.

Life after all

America and River Plate played another spectacular match on Wednesday night. America fell behind early but showed life and overtook River, going ahead 2-1. River equalized, but America took the lead again at 3-2. River again equalized but America again took the lead at 4-3 with Salvador Cabanas scoring in the 69th minute and America made this lead stand.

America, who is the worst team in league this season, is now sitting atop the Group 5 standings with nine points. They haven't clinched a spot in the knockout rounds yet but all they need is a draw to get through.

It remains to be seen whether this will help their abysmal league campaign. I don't even know if mathematically America still has a shot at the playoffs. But it's clear that Copa glory is still very much something America can strive for.

Heads will roll

Club America president Guillermo Canedo White has announced his resignation, effective after the season. Club America is in a terrible crisis, having compiled just two wins after 12 weeks of the Clausura 2008 season. Already coach Daniel Brailovsky saw the axe in week 6 but replacement Ruben Omar Romano has won zero games in six league games and two out of four Copa Libertadores matches.

The playoffs are out of reach at this point, so America's only hope is to throw all of its efforts in Libertadores, where they sit even with Deportivo San Martin on six points, and hope to make something out of this wretched season.

Under Canedo, America won the Clausura 2005 title as well as the 2006 CONCACAF Champions Cup. Also, America were beaten finalists in both the Clausura and Copa Sudamericana a year ago.

Change is necessary; the only question being how severe. With Canedo's resignation it appears, however, that the change will be drastic.

Giants in crisis

The crisis among the giants has reached a new low. The league's richest team has officially bottomed out, after suffering a 4-0 loss to a club barely considered "top flight;" in fact, the club has struggled to compete in the league and should be relegated.

Finger pointing is rampant but there doesn't appear to be anything the club can do except reach deep down inside, find some fortitude and play like their fans expect them to year in and year out.

Panic button? That's already been pushed time and time again, and coaches and some officials may be lucky to still have paychecks in the coming weeks.

Such is life for Club America, after losing at lowly Veracruz by 4-0 on Saturday.

Big game

Sometimes, Copa Libertadores gives you not-so-enticing matchups. Atlas fans probably will be more enthused about Boca Juniors than San Jose of Bolivia, for instance.

Tonight, though, is one of those games that comes around only once in a while: Club America vs. River Plate.

So while I won't be down in Tijuana for the match, at least I'll have a chance to watch this clash of gigantes.

Dem's fightin' words

Atlas beat America 1-0 in Guadalajara on Saturday, and the loss apparently affected America's Richard Nuñez quite a bit.

This what he had to say after the game:

Without a doubt, Atlas is a small club. They demonstrated as much in the second half when they fell back (to defend), and losing against a small club hurts a great deal. When a great club like America attacks, the rival retreats just like Atlas did.

Arsenal steals first leg

America attacked ferociously and scored two goals. Arsenal did a lot of defending and scored three. Thus, Arsenal heads home with a 3-2 edge in the Copa Sudamericana final after Friday's pulsating first leg.

Here are the highlights, where you'll see America give away many chances and Arsenal take advantage of three dead ball situations aided by America mistakes.

Sudamericana or nothing

Turns out three goals were too much to overcome, even at home.

America lost to Morelia in their repechaje series by a 3-1 aggregate. America won Sunday's game 1-0 but was eliminated nonetheless. Perhaps the worst moment for America on Sunday was when Rodrigo Lopez missed two penalty kicks within minutes of each other. First, Moises Munoz dived and blocked Lopez's attempt but the linesman penalized Munoz for leaving his line early and Lopez got another chance. However, he launched it over the crossbar.

A goal would have made it 3-2 in the aggregate and could have given America more life but it wasn't meant to be. Now America will have only Sudamericana to play for while Morelia moves on to face Santos.

A dream final ruined

America held up their end of the dream Copa Sudamericana final but River Plate did not.

Arsenal de Sarandi beat fellow Argentine side River Plate in penalties to reach the Sudamericana final on Tuesday.

America, who beat Millonarios a day earlier, will host the first leg of the final on Nov. 28. Arsenal will host the second leg on Dec. 5.

This is the third consecutive year that the Sudamericana final will feature a Mexican team and the third time Mexican and Argentine teams have met in a South American club tournament final. Boca Juniors, though, took care of the other two Mexican teams, first beating Cruz Azul in the 2001 Libertadores final and then dispatching of Pumas in the 2005 Sudamericana final.

Arsenal, though, does not quite have the history of Boca or River, but that did not matter in the semifinals of this tournament.

Here's how the Argentine press saw the result:

"Cuenca's Crime"


Incidentally, Arsenal's goalkeeper, the player pictured above, is Mario Cuenca.

America in the finals

America beat Millonarios of Colombia by 2-0 on Tuesday and reached the final of the 2007 Copa Sudamericana.

America can join Pachuca as the only Mexican clubs to win a South American club tournament.

American fatigue

If Club America can pull off either the Copa Sudamericana title or the Apertura 2007 championship, they will only add to their already grand lore. But if the club can pull off the double, they will set a new standard that even Pachuca didn't achieve.

America is currently alive and well in two campaigns. Today, the Mexican club will host Millonarios of Colombia in the second leg of their Sudamericana semifinal series. America pulled out a 3-2 win in Colombia last week and need just a draw to go through to their first-ever Sudamericana final.

The club gets no breaks, though. America is in the repechaje of the Apertura and will play at Morelia on Thursday.

While Pachuca held both the Sudamericana and Mexican league titles at the same time, los Tuzos did not pull off the double when winning Sudamericana. America has a chance to top Pachuca's grand run to finish off 2006 when they won the Sudamericana and reached the semifinals of the Apertura 2006.

America might be running on fumes though. Since Sept. 22, America has played 15 games in 53 days. By Sunday, they will have played 17 games in 58 days. That's about one game every four days, and that calendar has included games in Colombia and Brazil and all over Mexico. In fact, here's how they've fared over that time:

Sept. 22 at San Luis (1-2 L)
Sept. 25 at Pachuca (4-1 W)
Sept. 30 Cruz Azul (2-2 T)
Oct. 3 Pachuca (0-2 L)
Oct. 7 at Toluca (1-3 L)
Oct. 10 Vasco da Gama (2-0 W)
Oct. 14 Veracruz (0-0 T)
Oct. 20 at Pachuca (2-1 W)
Oct. 24 at Vasco da Gama (0-1 L)
Oct. 28 Chivas (2-1 W)
Oct. 31 at Atlante (1-2 L)
Nov. 4 Necaxa (1-0 W)
Nov. 7 at Millonarios (3-2 W)
Nov. 10 Monterrey (1-0 W)
Nov. 13 Millonarios
Nov. 15 at Morelia
Nov. 18 Morelia

It's a taxing schedule to say the least but so far America has come away with excellent results.

America over Millonarios

America took the first leg of their Copa Sudamericana series against Millonarios by 3-2 in Colombia.

Now, America needs just a draw in the return leg next week to advance to the final, which would be their first-ever in a South American cup tournament.

America has a league match on the weekend - a Saturday date in Monterrey - so the club will be quite busy in the coming days and weeks. Trying to play in both tournaments might be costly - it might knock the club out from both. But if America focuses on one tourney, they may have a shot of winning it at the expense of the other.

The domestic campaign is not a strong one, though America has a foot in the repechaje, or wild-card, stage. Going for domestic glory is always a must. However, if international success is within reach, it might not be a bad idea to go full guns blazing in that tourney either.

America has the roster to field strong teams in both tournaments. Playing the same 11 could eventually catch up to las Aguilas.

It's a quandary new coach Daniel "Ruso" Brailovsky must face. It may be best if Ruso plays his top players in Sudamericana and uses a mix of backups and those who can get away with playing every 3-4 days (Memo Ochoa, Juan Carlos Mosqueda) in league.