Guadalajara have not had much luck in their two Herbalife World Football Challenge matches thus far.
They fell 3-0 to Real Madrid in their first tilt, and on Thursday, in their second match of the tournament, Chivas were beaten 1-0 by Italian giants Juventus. Still, the Rojiblancos have felt far from losers.
HIGHLIGHTS: JUV 1, CDG 0
“As far as the results, we haven’t done very well. We lost against Real Madrid and today against Juventus,” said Guadalajara manager José Luis Real after the match. “[But] it is an amazing experience that we will take advantage from. When we lose against these teams, we are also winning a lot. This will definitely boost morale because we are gaining an amazing experience.”
Against Juventus, Guadalajara were hard done by one lone error. In the 12th minute, defender Johnny Magallón slipped as he tried to clear the ball, allowing Juventus forward Fabio Quagliarella to swoop in and finish beyond goalie Luis Ernesto Míchel and inside the far post.
Salvo the goal, Chivas went toe-to-toe against the storied Bianconeri, nearly equalizing proceedings in the 80th minute, when Jorge Mora crashed a powerful free kick on the upright.
“I believe we dominated the first half and we lost because of a terrible mistake in the back,” said Chivas forward Alberto Medina. “At the same time, we kept on trying and the only thing we missed was the goal.”
The match against Juventus also saw the professional debuts of Chivas' quartet of Mexico U-17 World Cup winners Carlos Fierro, Luis Solorio, Giovani Casillas and José Tostado.
“The Under-17s, we were waiting for the right moment to let them play and we were very happy with the way they played today,” Real said.
Chivas will now return to Guadalajara to kick off their Apertura 2011 home opener against Jaguares on Sunday. After winning their season opener last weekend and putting up a respectable performance against Juventus, Chivas hope they can beat Jaguares to enter their WFC match against Barcelona on Aug. 3 (8 pm ET; ESPN2, Galavisión) with momentum on their side.
“We’ve had very good games in the Mexican league as well as in this tournament,” said midfielder Edgar Mejía. “We need to have the same consistency that we’ve had in league play because, besides the results, we’ve played very good games [in WFC].”
