Disgusting game from Chivas last Tuesday. We lost 2-1 in Trinidad, the team thought that just by being present they’d win. Let’s see how they play in the return leg at Jalisco stadium.
The winner of the CCC will qualify to the World Club Cup in Japan in December, so that’s why it’s important that they win the tournament.
Chivas won at the Estadio Azul 2-1, in a game where all our goals came from free kick plays. According to mediotiempo.com, the game was not great, but was well played, and our new goalkeeper Luis Michel made some very important saves, stepping up to Oswaldo Sánchez’s shoes.
The goals below.
“Bofo” Bautista (’29)
“Maza” Rodríguez (’73)
Chivas lost on an injury time goal from Landín at home.
At least the team knows now that they aren’t invincible, so they should keep alert.
In the first game against his former team, goalkeeper Oswaldo Sánchez couldn’t stop Santos from losing at home against Chivas, even though he had some very good saves.
Alberto Medina confirmed his great form by scoring two goals while Omar Bravo also found the back of the net. At the end of the game, Chivas fell back and Santos’s “Hachita” Ludueña scored two. Santos is still prime candidate for the relegation zone.
During a my childhood and most of my teenage years I had a love-hate relationship with football. On one hand, I really liked the sport, and I followed the Chivas de Guadalajara with the kind of passion that having most of your family following the same club can give you. On the other hand, I have always been a terrible player, to the extent that during most of my childhood I didn’t know how to kick the ball in such a way that it would reach the intended player, let alone score a goal.
Later on, I became relatively tall and developed good reflexes from playing basketball, which made me a better than average goalkeeper in the school (and street) playground, so teams would select me, but I still would be lacking technique. I stopped playing football as I was part of the junior high and high school basketball teams.
Then I moved to Finland. Since football is not the national sport there, kids usually don’t play it to such a high standard, and there are teams for all skill levels, so I found one according mine. I played there and enjoyed it immensely, as it was absolutely non-competitive and we could just have fun. Since I had been watching football for so long, I understood many things in the field that I didn’t know when I was a kid, and finally got over my love-hate relationship with the sport.
Now there’s only love left (mostly).
A reload of the Apertura 2006 final, Chivas received Toluca at the Jalisco stadium for the 1st matchday of the new tournament. In between the two games Oswaldo Sánchez, former captain, goalkeeper and idol, was sold to Santos Laguna and Ramoncito Morales was chosen in his place. Chivas was also selected by the IFFHS as the 24th best football team in the world, which doesn’t sound too bad either.
According to the news reports Saturday’s game was entertaining, with Chivas tying at the last minute with a sublime freekick from our new captain.
More information at mediotiempo.com, the video highlights below.
In other news, Hugo Sánchez had his first team training with the national team as new coach today. Twelve players have been called from those that went to the World Cup in Germany last year, and there are 8 players from Chivas.
I really like the new Adidas uniforms. Nike is not providing them anymore as their contract ran out, and the Mexican Football Federation didn’t renew their contract for two reasons: Adidas’s offer was better and Nike had serious problems meeting jersey demand from the public during the WC.
It is said in Mexico that when Chivas does well, the National Team does well. We hope this is the case now that we won the Mexican Championship. To make matters even better, Pachuca won the Copa Sudamericana, becoming the first Mexican team to win a CONMEBOL tournament, where we play as guests.
Now if only Club América had actually done something at the World Club Cup, instead of getting trashed by FC Barcelona and then humilliated by Al Ahly. They don’t even deserve our hate, only our pity (their slogan after they qualified to the WCC was “Hate me in Japanese”… I guess it backfired).
You may have heard about the Day of the Dead, when Mexicans remember their dearly departed. What you may not know is that this view of death as part of life permeates their (our) lives. You may know that we eat sugar skulls with our names on the forehead around those days, but I’ll tell you a story that will leave you speechless.
A young Mexican football fan saw the Mexico 1986 World Cup when he was a kid, and idolised Maradona. He cheered for his local team, UANL Tigres, and his dream was to see his team play in his idol’s country, Argentina. Fast forward to 2005. UANL Tigres goes through to the group stages of the Copa Libertadores, and is placed in the same group as Banfield from Argentina. This fan (who is now in his twenties) is very happy and buys his ticket to go with the supporters group all the way there. However, he dies in a car accident the week before. No matter, his friends say. They do all the paperwork and bring the urn with his ashes all the way to Buenos Aires. The team goes to the field with a big sign in his honour, and they duly win 3-0. His friends sing and jump with his urn in their hands. Why? Because “that’s what he wanted”.
No wonder they sell caskets with the seal of your favourite team in Mexico…
Finally, after a long wait the Mexican Championship is ours in the year of our 100th birthday. I’m overflowing with joy right now.
The match was quite a ride, as Toluca scored first and they’re known for their sturdy defence. All the details at mediotiempo.com.
¡Chivas, Chivas, Chivas!
They almost kicked me out of the internet café where I was watching the game when Bofo Bautista scored the second goal, as a little shout came out of my mouth without me noticing where I was… 😉
Now, we’ll have the publishing break. See you next week.
Update: The goals below. 100,000 people celebrated in Guadalajara, and a couple of thousand in Mexico City. Not bad for a club with 50 million followers.