Photo Credit: Club America
By: Jonny Rico
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It was a very difficult week for Club America. Losing the SuperClasico to arch-rivals Chivas during Week 7 of the 2017 Clausura season of Liga MX did not sit well with the fans. Fortunately for Club America next up on their agenda was local Mexico City rivals Cruz Azul.
After losing a Clasico to Chivas, Club America fans would have normally protested by not showing up to the next home match. But the America-CruzAzul match up is a big enough rivalry for the fans to show up and see if their team can turn things around.
There was plenty of support for the away side as well, being that both clubs reside in Mexico City. Cruz Azul fans desperately needed to see their team beat a rival like Club America after the struggling start to the Clausura season.
Both Ricardo La Volpe (Club America manager) and Paco Jemez (Cruz Azul manager) have been feeling the pressure of a struggling season with a marquee club. And a loss by either would get them closer to the unemployment line.
At the end of the Saturday night match at Estadio Azteca, it was Club America who walked off the field with the win and three points. Mexican international Oribe Peralta scored twice for the home side to lead America to victory over its local rivals.
The win gives Club America a little breathing room and releases some of the pressure it had been facing recently. The three points takes them to 10th place in the league table with 10 points after eight match. They are now only two points away from a playoff spot (8th place Queretaro with 12 points).
The loss drops Cruz Azul to second from bottom of the league table with six points in eight matches. But more concerning is the fact that Cruz Azul are now only 10 points above last place Monarcas Morelia in the relegation percentage table.
This is not the first time Club America uses their neighbors as a rebound after struggling times. Just last season during the 2016 Apertura Club America suffered a loss at home to Chivas Guadalajara in the SuperClasico. One week later it traveled across Mexico City to face Cruz Azul.
The home side Cruz Azul took a 3-0 lead in that game against America. It all seemed like life was piling on Club America and that their then manager Ignacio Ambriz would not survive and be fired after two consecutive losses to rival teams. But America turned it around. Club America came from behind to defeat Cruz Azul 4-3 and save Ambriz’s job (at least for one week because he was fired one week later after losing to Club Leon).
The frustrations of being a Cruz Azul fans are notorious. The term ‘cruzazulear‘ is a verb commonly used in Mexico. It means: “to not be good enough to close the deal”.
Cruz Azul have not won a league title since 1997, despite their five league finals that they have reached since. And losses to rival teams like America after holding a three goal lead only pile on the stigma. A stigma that reached its peak in May of 2013. Both Cruz Azul and Club America reached the final of the 2013 Clausura season. Cruz Azul held a two goal lead over 10-men America in the 88th minute. But at the end of regulation the aggregate score was 2-2 thanks to a diving header by America goalkeeper Moises Muñoz. America went on to win the championship in a penalty shootout.
No matter how difficult things get for Club America. They can always look forward to their match against Cruz Azul to rebound from anything. America is currently undefeated against Cruz Azul in the last five match ups, winning four of them and drawing the other.
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