Cruz Azul and Pachuca are heading in different directions as they enter their decisive CONCACAF Champions League final second leg on Wednesday night (8 p.m. ET, Fox Soccer Channel).
American midfielder José Francisco Torres and Pachuca are on a high after snatching the final spot in the Mexican Liguilla (playoffs) last weekend, while Cruz Azul missed out on the postseason after they could only scrape for a draw in their final regular-season match.
Even though they carry a 2-1 first leg lead into Pachuca’s Estadio Hidalgo, Cruz Azul don't even consider themselves the favorites going into Wednesday night’s contest. The head coach of La Máquina Cementera (The Cement Machine), Enrique Meza, says the team will need to overcome the odds to capture the title and salvage its season.
Meza has already won this trophy twice before while at the helm of Pachuca in 2007 and 2008. He helped build the winningest Mexican club of the last decade.
“This game is special for a number of reasons, I have many friends here and it’s a club for which I have great respect,” Meza said to Mediotiempo.com. “Coming back here [to Pachuca] brings back a lot of great memories for me. This is inevitable because I am a very grateful person. But obviously, I need to do my work and try to get Cruz Azul a championship.”
Now with Cruz Azul, Meza has the added task of battling the defeatist attitude that has reigned at the Mexico City club with four titles lost at the final hurdle over the last two-and-a-half years.
“We can’t take on the club’s history,” Cruz Azul forward Emanuel Villa told Record. “I haven’t been here a year and I can‘t take responsibility for the past but only for the present and the poor season we had and what awaits us in the final [Champions League].”
Cruz Azul’s Paraguayan captain, Cristian Riveros, who has been with the club during each of its recent runner-up finishes, is rumored to be playing his last match for the club with a potential move to Sunderland or Wigan of the EPL on the horizon.
After falling to fellow Mexican side Atlante in the 2009 final, Cruz Azul are in the driver’s seat this year with a chance at making their first trip to the FIFA Club World Cup in Abu Dhabi in December.
However, the away goal Pachuca scored last week through Damián Álvarez could turn out to be the determining factor. A 1-0 home win is all Pachuca needs to hoist the trophy.
“If we’re in the Champions League final and we made it to the Liguilla, it’s because this team is on the rise,” Pachuca head coach Guillermo Rivarola told Mediotiempo.com. “We had a dip in form that we were able to overcome … Now we feel stronger than ever.”
Pachuca’s Marco Iván Pérez will take the place of defender Leobardo López, who is suspended for the match. “El Gringo” Torres, expected to be a World Cup call-up by Bob Bradley, will likely start in central midfield for the home side tonight.
Gerardo Torrado (Mexico World Cup camp), ex-Pachuca star Christian “El Chaco” Giménez (cup-tied) and Julio César Domínguez (suspended) are unavailable for Cruz Azul.
While the match represents Cruz Azul’s final competitive match before the offseason and their only chance at redeeming their campaign, Pachuca can look forward to a Mexican Liguilla quarterfinal first leg against top-seeded Monterrey on Saturday.
But first comes the chance to book a ticket to the FIFA Club World Cup for the third time in four years. The achievement would further cement Pachuca’s standing as the most successful Mexican team of this decade.
“I expect a tight game, complicated game,” Pachuca goalkeeper Miguel Calero told Record. “But it doesn’t matter if we play good or bad. All we’re really interested in is winning.”
