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Early Liga MX games to be diluted by key absences

By Thomas Buckley

Carlos Rodríguez (left) and César Montes (center) are key cogs in the Monterrey machine, but they'll miss the first month of the Liga MX season. (Photo by Omar Vega/Getty Images)
Carlos Rodríguez (left) and César Montes (center) are key cogs in the Monterrey machine, but they'll miss the first month of the Liga MX season. (Photo by Omar Vega/Getty Images) /
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Liga MX early season
Angel Mena reacts after scoring for Ecuador against Brazil during the Copa América. (Photo by DOUGLAS MAGNO/AFP via Getty Images) /

Late-returning Copa América participants a concern

Santos, Pachuca and León will suffer some discomfort at the outset of the Apertura 2021 because they feature multiple players likely to return to camp late after their Copa América adventures.

Losing Liga MX finalist Santos Laguna had three players at the Copa América – defender Félix Torres (Ecuador), winger Ayrton Preciado (Ecuador) and midfielder Fernando Gorriarán (Uruguay) – so it remains to be seen how quickly this trio returns to Guillermo Almada’s starting line-up. In addition, striker Eduardo Aguirre is in Tokyo, while Gorriarán’s midfield mate Alan Cervantes is at the Gold Cup.

For Pachuca, loser in the Liga MX semifinals to eventual champion Cruz Azul, they will be without fullback Kevin Alvarez and midfielder Erick Sánchez (both at the Gold Cup), while Oscar Murillo and Yairo Moreno will return late from the Copa América. Moreno joined the Tuzos from León where he played a hybrid fullback/winger position so he probably will have to adapt to a new role with coach Paulo Pezzolano.

León hired a new coach after Ignacio Ambriz decided to look for greener pastures, so its absent players will have to learn new roles under Ariel Holan. That shouldn’t be too difficult for goalie Rodolfo Cota (at the Gold Cup) and perhaps not a big task for fullback Osvaldo Rodríguez (also at the Gold Cup), but forwards Angel Mena and Jean Meneses might see their free-wheeling roles reined in.

Mena (Ecuador) and Meneses (Chile) are expected return to Esmeraldas camp late after participating in the Copa América, as will Colombia defender William Tesillo. Mena’s situation is complicated by the fact that coach Ambriz is attempting to convince him to move to Spain.

Others returning late to Liga MX after taking part in the Copa América are Colombia goalie Camilo Vargas (Atlas), Ecuador forward Fidel Martínez (Xolos), Chile midfielder Claudio Baeza (Toluca), Peru midfielder Yoshimar Yotún (Cruz Azul), Venezuela forward Fernando Aristeguieta (Puebla) and Paraguay goalie Antony Silva (Puebla).

Next. Top 10 Liga MX transfers. dark

No doubt, these absences will add considerable unpredictability to the early weeks of the Liga MX season. It goes without saying that teams unaffected by roster dilemmas must take advantage of the situation and, if they do so, we could be in for an entertaining stretch run as the above-mentioned teams gradually settle into familiar patterns.

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