Monterrey set to begin Club World Cup adventure

Rayados representing Liga MX, Concacaf in UAE

Monterrey is making its fifth appearance in the FIFA Club World Cup, but will debut in this year’s tournament on Saturday with an incomplete roster. Coach Javier Aguirre’s best chance to see hardware is to hope for a participation trophy.

The Rayados arrived in the United Arab Emirates on Monday without 10 players who were on national team duty across North and South America, five of them with El Tri. Coach Aguirre was forced to recruit two players from the Liga MX club’s second division team, Raya2 (get it? Raya-dos), so as to have bodies available for its opener against Egypt’s Al Ahly, also participating in their fifth Club World Cup.

The “missing” players are defenders César Montes, Héctor Moreno and Jesús Gallardo, plus midfielder Luis Romo and forward Rogelio Funes Mori. All five were with Mexico for its three World Cup qualifiers during the just-ended FIFA break, and all five are starters for Monterrey.

The others are Argentina goalie Esteban Andrada, Colombia defender John Stefan Medina, Chile defender Sebastián Vegas, Argentina midfielder Maxi Meza and Costa Rica winger Joel Campbell. The first four are starters.

Aguirre must also replace starting winger Duvan Vergara who was lost for the season to a knee injury in the team’s last match, a 2-2 draw against Cruz Azul on Jan. 22.

Monterrey qualified for the tournament by winning last year’s Concacaf Champions League tournament; Al Ahly is in Abu Dhabi after claiming the African Champions League. The winner of the match moves on to face Brazil’s Palmeiras (the 2021 Copa Libertadores champs) on Feb. 8. Should the Rayados advance, Aguirre expects to have the entire roster at his disposal.

Due to their participation in the Club World Cup, the Rayados’ Matchday 4 (at Toluca) and Matchday 5 (vs. FC Juárez) contests have been rescheduled. They’ll resume Liga MX play on Feb. 18 with a tricky visit to league-leading Puebla.

Liga MX News and Notes

Atlético de San Luis fired coach Marcelo Méndez two weeks ago but had a difficult time finding a permanent replacement. The Liga MX was on hold thanks to the 10-day FIFA break so management figured there was time to bring in a new man.

It was not easy, though. Several candidates turned down the chance to take charge of the league-worst Tuneros, a team that also sits at the bottom of the Liga MX “Relegation Zone” standings.

On Tuesday, team officials announced that André Jardine would be the new manager. The 42-year-old Brazilian led his nation’s team to Olympic gold in Tokyo last year, beating Mexico in the semifinals.

ASL returns to action this weekend as Liga MX Matchday 4 kicks off on Saturday and the Tuneros host América.

Speaking of América, the Liga MX powerhouse has been in the headlines for all the wrong reasons. And that trend continued Thursday.

Team owner Emilio Azcárraga appeared at the club’s training grounds and read his players the riot act, while demanding immediate results from the embattled coaching staff. Manager Santiago Solari knows he must win some hardware this season or be gone.

The Aguilas are off to a slow start this season (0-1-1), in no small part because the front office was slow to address the roster issues Solari identified after another early elimination in the Liga MX playoffs in November. Still, Azcárraga made it clear he has complete confidence in GM Santiago Baños, despite heavy criticism from Liga MX commentators and the América fan base.

Matchday 4 adjustment

In addition to the postponed Toluca-Monterrey match, the Guadalajara at FC Juárez match has been pushed back to a later date.

Ciudad Juárez is expecting sub-freezing temperatures this weekend and Saturday’s Bravos-Chivas match has been canceled by Liga MX officials as a result.