América boasts the most valuable roster among the 47 teams in the Leagues Cup, a tournament in which it is seeking a place in the Semifinals at the expense of Colorado Rapids.
The Transfermarkt portal values the Águilas squad at 98.7 million euros, just above the most expensive team in the MLS, Inter Miami, at 96.78 million euros.
The reigning champion, where Lionel Messi plays, was eliminated from the tournament.
América, on the other hand, is the Liga MX’s strong card, despite Mazatlán’s surprising performance.
Colorado Rapids do not look, on paper, like the most fearsome rival for the blue-creams.
The Eagles are second in the Concacaf ranking, while their opponent is in 41st place and has one of the most modest squads among the 29 in the MLS, with a value of 32.18 million euros, even less than Mazatlán itself (33.9 million euros).
The American team cruised through the Group Stage after losing 4-0 to Portland Timbers and beating León on penalties. In the knockout round, they dispatched Juárez and Toluca.
“We don’t want it to be a back-and-forth game with lots of goals, because we’re not interested in that, but it’s not that it can’t happen, the St. Louis game ended up being like this a bit because of the rival’s competence. We’ll see if we can plan a more consistent game than the last one and that things go well for us and we can advance,” said coach André Jardine.
The blue-cream coach warned that the MLS will maintain its dominance over the bulk of Liga MX as long as the tournament schedule (when both Leagues have a similar football rhythm) and the competition format in which Mexico is always the visitor do not change.
“I think that in five or six tournaments, if we continue with the same form and in the same period, it will be a phenomenon that we will all see as normal,” he commented.
Mazatlán breaks the mold
Almost nobody expected much from Mazatlán in the Leagues Cup, but here it is, giving its all for Liga MX.
There are only two Mexican teams left in the tournament and one of them is the Cañoneros, who want to continue surprising as the dark horse and continue advancing.
Today they face Philadelphia Union in the Quarterfinals, after causing a surprise by eliminating DC United and Cruz Azul in the previous rounds.
Much of their good performance in the competition is due to the guidance of coach Víctor Manuel Vucetich, who in a short time has managed to embody his philosophy and create a very practical team, which makes the most of its weapons, always starting from the defensive order.
Now the team from the Pearl of the Pacific is very close to what is perhaps its greatest opportunity for success in its short history.
“Instead of pressure, it’s a joy, a motivation to be able to continue and I think that with the satisfaction of realizing that the human group we have been working with has been extraordinary, we are very happy to be able to continue advancing and we will try to continue being the surprise,” said Vucetich before the match in Pennsylvania.
“I find this tournament very interesting because it gives us that parameter to see where we are going,” he added.
Leagues Cup / Quarterfinals
- Philadelphia vs. Mazatlan
TV: Channel 7 and Apple TV / 5:30 p.m.
TV: Channel 9, TUDN and Apple TV / 8:00 p.m.
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