Not good enough for the Rapids

One of the storylines I've followed with interest from the Apertura 2007 season was the play of Alain Nkong. The Cameroonian was deemed unworthy of continuing with the Rapids and tried his luck in Mexico. He latched on with Atlante and was one of the last players signed prior to the start of the season.

Not only did Nkong earn playing time, he was an important part of the championship puzzle as Atlante won the league for the first time since 1993.

Mediotiempo.com looked at the champions, player by player, from the starters down to the bench players. Here's what they had to say about the former Rapids player.

Atlante had a lethal weapon who stepped onto the field when the battle was on its way toward culminating. The African Alain Nkong, a strong forward with exceptional speed and explosiveness and very persistent - he agreed to terms at nearly the final hour - but he wound up as an icon for the Cancun fans. He started eight games but his most important contributions were in the 13 games he appeared as a substitute in which he helped spark the Atlante offense as he took the ball with speed throughout the field. He scored four goals.

¡Campeones del Apertura 2007!

Atlante are the kings of Mexico. Los Potros Hierros, or the Iron Colts, beat Pumas UNAM on Sunday by 2-1 to win the Mexican league title. It's the club's first title since 1993 and, as far as I could tell, the first major soccer trophy the city of Cancun has laid claim to. Atlante relocated from Mexico City to Cancun prior to the start of the season.

Though they aren't a headlining club, Atlante earned their championship and proved to be the best team in Mexico this season. Atlante knocked off a strong Cruz Azul club in the quarterfinals, beat one of the best defensive clubs in Chivas in the semifinals and finished off its successful playoff run by beating the hottest team in Mexico and the giant-slayers of Pumas, who had beaten top seed Santos and second-seeded Toluca in the first two rounds.

Atlante may have caught lightning in the bottle this season. Newcomer Giancarlo Maldonado was magnificent as he shredded opposing defenses and the club's newfound dedication to defense paid off. Also, the move to Cancun helped energize the club. Whether or not Atlante can sustain its high level of play in the Clausura 2008 season remains to be seen but for now the club is the reigning monarchs of Mexico.

Mexican league... yawn... finalists

Although I follow the league closely, I can't say I'm excited for this season's final. Atlante and Pumas will meet twice this week to decide the Mexican league champion. Atlante knocked Chivas out of the playoffs after a 1-1 aggregate result while Pumas knocked off the superlider Santos by a 5-4 aggregate score.



Pumas is among the more popular clubs in Mexico but they've not played like a top team until recently. Atlante, well, they are not a traditional power at all. Their last title was in 1993, when they were led by Ricardo Lavolpe.



I think Pumas will win their sixth league title. Atlante is solid defensively but Pumas is hot right now. And after surviving Sunday's game in Santos, a game they lost 4-2, their confidence should be sky high.

Perfect Pumas

When the InterLiga calendar came out, I was excited that Pumas UNAM would finally be a part of the tournament. Since I began covering the tournament in 2005, Pumas hasn't been a part of the field because of their league results, both good and bad.

Now, though, they may again evade InterLiga once again. Pumas destroyed Santos by 3-0 on Thursday in the first leg of their semifinal series. Pumas need only to avoid a three-goal loss to advance to the finals, where they'd face the Chivas-Atlante survivor.

Pumas upset Toluca in the quarterfinals with a win-at-home-tie-on-the-road formula that they'll try to follow up with on Sunday in Torreon. Pumas, though, wasn't content with settling for just a win. They wanted to take care of business at home, which they did.

All season long, Pumas hasn't been one of the flashier clubs. They certainly weren't as flashy as Santos or Toluca but now they are poised to return to the final for the first time since Hugo Sanchez guided Pumas to consecutive league titles in 2004.

Pumas, incidentally, would qualify for the CONCACAF Champions Cup by winning the Mexican league and thus would be ineligible to participate in Copa Libertadores, for which InterLiga serves as a qualifying tournament. No Libertadores, no InterLiga. Nimodo.

Five alive

In many ways, this upcoming two-week stretch will be a unique one in Mexico.

The Apertura season is down to four teams as Santos will play Pumas and Chivas will meet Atlante in the Liguilla semifinals. But those aren't the only clubs alive in the quest for glory. Club America will play Arsenal de Sarandi of Argentina in the Copa Sudamericana final.

It's not every week that a Mexican club has the opportunity to capture South American glory. Of course, it's happened three years running now in this tournament as Pumas and Pachuca reached the Sudamericana final in 2005 and 2006 respectively.

At least one Mexican club will add to its mantle in the coming weeks. My money's on Santos simply because how dominant they have been all season long. But I also think that America has a great chance of walking away with international glory. Arsenal is a strong opponent - their 2-1 win over Boca Juniors on Sunday and run to the Sudamericana final will attest to that. But America should have as motivation the chance to claim its first-ever South American championship.

Two in, two to follow

Chivas beat San Luis 1-0 and Atlante beat Cruz Azul 2-1 as each team advanced to the semifinals of the Mexican Apertura 2007 liguilla.

The two will now wait for today's results to see who they face next. Santos leads Morelia by a 2-0 aggregate and will host Monarcas today while Pumas visits Toluca also up by 2-0.

Anything can happen in the playoffs, but I'd like to see Chivas and Pumas cross paths at some point. For that to happen in the semis, Morelia would have to upset Santos and I don't see that happening. In fact, I'm not so sure Pumas will hold on to their lead heading to Toluca. Nemesio Diez isn't exactly the easiest place to come away with a result, but then again they need only to lose by one goal, draw or win to go through.

First legs complete

The respective first legs of each quarterfinal series in Mexico are over. There were some surprising results...

Santos 2, Morelia 0. Okay, so this isn't one of them. But it's particularly significant because Edgar Castillo scored a goal for Santos. Can't say for sure but he might be the first American to ever score a goal in a Mexican league playoff game. It was also significant because it was the first goal of Edgar Castillo's career.

The goal is about halfway through this clip. It's about 8 minutes of game action. The goal is in the 19th minute or so, and it's pretty much continuous action.



As for the rest of the games:

San Luis 1, Chivas 1; Chivas just need a draw at home to go through.
Atlante 1, Cruz Azul 0; Atlante played without top scorer Giancarlo Maldonado and get to go home for the second leg. Looks like it's lights out for blue cross.
Pumas 2, Toluca 0; Toluca needs a massive effort at home.

Mexican liguilla

I'm getting ready to watch the Mexican league playoffs. First up is Cruz Azul-Atlante on Azteca America at 5 p.m. SoCal time, then it's San Luis-Guadalajara over on TeleFutura at 7 p.m.

In case you want to follow along and don't know the league too well or want to read up on how the teams are entering the liguilla, check out my SI.com preview.

Liguilla

And now the matchups are set in the Mexican Apertura 2007 liguilla:

Santos-Morelia
Toluca-Pumas
Atlante-Cruz Azul
Chivas-San Luis

The most appealing series at first glance is Toluca-Pumas because of tradition mostly. Pumas hasn't been one of the best teams in the league but watching them go up against Toluca is still enticing. Atlante-Cruz Azul could produce some good games and might be the most even matchup.

You would expect Santos to take care of Morelia simply because of the nature of their seasons but typically things don't go well for the number one seed in the playoffs, last season notwithstanding.

The topic of my SI.com column for this week will be the playoffs so keep an eye out for that.

Solo quedan los recuerdos

I'd like to dedicate this next song to los Tuzos de Pachuca.

Yes, the once-grand Tuzo empire came crumbling down today in glorious manner. Like most empires, the fall of the Pachuca dynasty was epic. Cruz Azul did Pachuca in by a 4-0 second-leg win and a 6-0 aggregate victory in the repechaje round of Mexico's Apertura 2007 season.

Truth is, Pachuca's dynasty was in tatters since the fall of Miguel Calero. But now it's finally over and Pachuca are mere mortals once again.

Anyway, here's one of my favorite depressing songs.

Amor Limosnero:

Yo no quisiera hablar de despedida
me duele mucho, me parte el alma
pero que puedo hacer
ahora recojo mi arrastrado orgullo
hoy me marcho de ti
no lo vas a creer

Yo no quisiera provocarte pena
pues se de sobra que tu alma es buena
por no verme llorar
podias quedarte sin abrir las alas
y en tus alas se ve que ahora quieres volar

Y aqui se termina, aqui se termina
este amor limosnero
me voy de tu vida
porque te quiero
te doy la libertad
de que vueles en voz de tu felicidad

Yo no quisiera provocarte pena
pues se de sobra que tu alma es buena
por no verme llorar
podias quedarte sin abrir las alas
y en tus alas se ve que ahora quieres volar

Y aqui se termina, aqui se termina
este amor limosnero
me voy de tu vida
porque te quiero
te doy la libertad
de que vueles en voz de tu felicidad

No support

Pachuca has regularly played in front of raucous crowds during their magical year-plus run in Mexico. On Wednesday, los Tuzos set out in search of yet another title.

A couple of things happened, though, that haven't happened often.

Pachuca lost to Cruz Azul 2-0 and is now on the brink of elimination. Only a complete turnaround in Estadio Azul on Saturday will prevent Pachuca from crashing out of the Apertura 2007 season.

Perhaps more rare: the attendance for Wednesday's repechaje game was zero.

Following the regular-season finale against Pumas, Pachuca supporters threw objects at the officials. At least one object made contact with an official, and the result was a ban for one match. Supporters were banned from a playoff game and Pachuca lost.

Check out some pictures from the game in this gallery here, including shots of the empty stadium. Seems kinda strange.

Hans gets hung

Hans Westerhof is done.

After returning to Mexico to coach Necaxa over the summer, the former Chivas and Chivas USA coach was sacked by Los Rayos after failing to guide the club to the Mexican league playoffs.

Necaxa was one of the worst teams in Mexico this season. The club' s defense was particularly lousy as Los Rayos' porous defense gave up 32 goals, a figure surpassed by only three other teams.

Westerhof led Chivas to the final of the Clausura 2004 tournament and jumped in to guide Chivas USA midway through the 2005 season. He returned to Guadalajara for the Clausura 2006 season but was sacked midway through that campaign and said upon leaving Mexico for his native Netherlands that he'd not coach again in Mexico.

That changed, though, and now he's out of a job once again.

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.

Playoffs Mexico style

Mexico's Apertura 2007 season is over, at least the regular season part of the campaign. Now, the playoffs are set to commence.

If you're new to the league or just a casual fan, the structure might seem familiar but it's got some haphazard elements unique to Mexico.

First, the teams still alive for the playoffs. The top two teams in each group get in automatically so...

Group 1: Toluca (34 points), Pumas (24)
Group 2: Santos (38), Atlante (33)
Group 3: Chivas (31), San Luis (29)

Now, the four teams with the most points afterward get into what's called the repechaje. One way to translate that would be the wild-card round, which is what I like to use because Americans would be familiar with the term and concept. Also, the play-in games are used or play-in round.

Anyway, the repechaje matchups are:
Pachuca (24 points) vs Cruz Azul (25)
America (26) vs Morelia (22)

Pachuca-Cruz Azul play on Wednesday and Saturday while America-Morelia is set for Thursday and Sunday. Once the round is over, the matchups will be set based on points. Santos, the superlider (the team with the most points) will play the team with the fewest points left so they'll face either Morelia, Pachuca or Pumas. The only quarterfinal matchup that is set in stone thus far is Chivas-San Luis.

The playoff system is a bit crazy in Mexico. There are 18 teams and 10 are still alive after the regular season. So while most leagues around the world are marathons, Mexico's is clearly a sprint.

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.

Ex-MLS players in Mexico

I decided to compile a list of players who used to ply their trade in MLS that are now in the Mexican league and have seen action in the Apertura 2007 season.

This list is compiled by yours truly and I probably left some players off. Actually, I'm almost certain I missed a player. In fact, if you can think of the player(s) I omitted, I'll be grateful.

I limited this to players who saw game action in MLS, not just guys who had tryouts or passed through, like Luis Alvarez who was with Chivas USA at the end of the '05 season but wasn't actually on the roster.

And now the list, in no particular order...


Francisco Palencia, Pumas (ex-Chivas USA); 10 games, 7 starts, 637 minutes, 1 goal, 2 assists, 6 yellow cards, 0 red cards

Daniel Hernandez, Puebla (ex-New England); 6 games, 6 starts, 540 minutes, 1 goal, 0 assists, 4 yellow cards, 0 red cards

Alain Nkong, Atlante (ex-Colorado); 14 games, 7 starts, 857 minutes, 4 goals, 0 assists, 2 yellow cards, 1 red card

Johnnie Garcia, Santos (ex-Chivas USA); 12 games, 1 start, 290 minutes, 0 goals, 0 assists, 4 yellow cards, 0 red cards

Juan Pablo Garcia, Tigres (ex-Chivas USA); 3 games, 0 starts, 98 minutes, 0 goals, 0 assists, 0 yellow cards, 0 red cards

*Jorge Barrera, Santos (ex-Chivas USA); 9 games, 2 starts, 245 minutes, 0 goals, 0 assists, 3 yellow cards, 0 red cards

(* Barrera didn't play a minute for Chivas USA but he was on their roster at the start of the season. I included him because I think it's strange that he couldn't play for Chivas USA but he's gotten plenty of action for the best team in Mexico)

Mexico mourns

... or rejoices depending on what colors you wear.

The four most popular clubs in Mexico met on Sunday as Cruz Azul played Pumas and America hosted Chivas.

Cruz Azul got a pair of goals from Miguel Sabah and beat Pumas 2-1. Later in the day, Juan Carlos Silva scored a pair as America beat Chivas 2-1 in the superclasico, which again lived up to its name.

America got a great performance from Memo Ochoa and the goalposts. Two Chivas shots hit the post and several others were saved by Ochoa. The story above doesn't mention crowd count but during the television broadcast the announcers said there were more than 100,000 people in Azteca for the game.

And just for kicks, here's a picture of Francisco Palencia and Cruz Azul goalkeeper Oscar Perez posing with their sons. Little Tristan Palencia's got a cool little hairdo.

El Rey Nkong

While Colorado struggled futility in front of the goal on Saturday, Alain Nkong buried a beautiful strike against Chivas de Guadalajara on Saturday.

Could've used him

While Colorado bowed out quietly, former Rapids striker Alain Nkong scored a clutch goal in Mexico.

Nkong scored a late equalizer as Atlante tied Chivas 1-1 in Guadalajara on Saturday.

Tecos' stunner

It was bound to happen, but Tecos?

Santos lost their first match of the Apertura 2007 season to Tecos UAG of all teams. Tecos beat Santos 3-1 on Friday.

With the loss, Santos fell to 8-1-3. Tecos improved to 4-6-2.