GUADALAJARA, Mexico – Three Americans are in the reckoning for starting places for Thursday’s Liga MX Apertura 2014 final first leg between Tigres and Club América in Estadio Universitario (9 pm ET, Univision Deportes, UniMás).
For Tigres, Jose Torres – more commonly recognized in Mexico as El Gringo – has been a regular for Brazilian Ricardo “Tuca” Ferretti’s side all season and is set to take his place among three central midfielders in the final. Texan Torres (pictured above with the Copa MX trophy) has been both consistent and impressive this Apertura and has been a key piece in Tigres reaching the final.
Herculez Gomez is not as sure of a starting spot, having started two of the four playoff games to date, although Ferretti has tended to select the 32-year-old striker more in the away matches.
Both Tigres players are going for their second personal Liga MX titles; Torres won with Pachuca and Gomez with Santos Laguna.
On the other side of the divide, Club América’s Ventura Alvarado seems set to hold onto his starting place at right back for the final. The Phoenix, Arizona, native came into the starting equation after Las Aguilas’ coach, Antonio Mohamed, dropped Mexico international Paul Aguilar from the squad after the quarterfinal against Pumas following problems between the two.
“I was surprised,” Ventura told MLSsoccer.com earlier this week in an interview on learning he would be starting in the semifinal against Monterrey.
Dual Mexico-US citizen Alvarado can play in any of the defensive positions and is open to a future US national team call, although he had not started a Liga MX game until three weeks ago.
The main storyline for this edition of the Liga MX final is Club América seeking their 12th title, which would take surpass rival Chivas Guadalajara on the all-time list and make Club América the most successful ever in the Mexican game.
Even if Las Aguilas do record a famous title win, Mohamed is unlikely to stay on as coach, indicating in interviews that he does not expect to be offered a new contract at the end of the season.
Ferretti, on the other hand, is secure in his job at Tigres, even if the way he has steered his side through the playoffs by drawing all four games and scoring just twice over the 360 minutes has been much criticized.
Club América won 2-0 when the teams met in Estadio Universitario back on Aug. 9.
The second and decisive leg of the Liga MX final will take place on Sunday at Estadio Azteca (7 pm ET, Univision, Univision Deportes).
