There is little left until we know the winner of the CONCACAF Champions League 2021. October 28 is the date that many Mexicans wait to see the confrontation between Monterrey and America. Of the 16 teams that were present in the competition, two of the strongest teams in Liga MX football reached the definition and will compete for the trophy at the BBVA Stadium, where the Nuevo León team is home.
A few hours before the final of the Concachampions between Rayados and Las Águilas is played, we spoke with Efraín Juárez about his past with both institutions and without mincing words, he gave his opinion on who is going to face this final.
How did each of them reach this final?
America arrived after beating the Philadelphia Union of the MLS in the semifinals and Santiago Solari will have his first final in the azulcrema, which will go for the eighth Concachampions title for the institution. For its part, Monterrey, led by Javier Aguirre, beat Cruz Azul in the series of the best four and will seek its fifth CONCACAF Champions trophy.
Efraín Juárez began his career in the basic forces of the Cougars and for a brief period he played at La Masía, thanks to his good performances in Mexico’s youth teams. He had to return due to extra football problems and made his debut in the Auriazules in 2008. There he became champion of the 2009 First Division. His great performance led him to return to the Old Continent and play for Celtic for two seasons between 2010 and 2012, with a loan in Zaragoza with Javier Aguirre.
For the 2012/13 season, Juárez returned to Mexico to dress in the colors of America, where he became the Clausura 2013 champion. With little filming, his new destination would be Striped, club in which he spent the longest in his career playing five years.
On October 28 the final of the Concachampions is played between America and Monterrey. Who are you going to?
I am very fond of both of them because thanks to them I was able to put food on my children’s table every day. I go to both, I am happy because they are in the final. I would very much like Monterrey to win because I have many friends there. The ‘Vasco’ Aguirre is my friend, he took me to the World Cup and to Zaragoza. I practically played with 50, 60 percent of the squad. If America wins it also makes me happy because it is a big and important club that gave me the opportunity to return to Mexico after my time in Europe.
Who has the greatest need to keep the title?
Both. America is a great team and the one with the most titles at the national level, so it is a must to be in the finals and win them. It is also a club that is lived from day to day. Monterrey for the squad, for the coach, for the form of play, because in recent years it is the one that has won the most Concachampions. It is a final that are two of the best teams in Mexican soccer and the plus is to represent Mexico in the Club World Cup.
What differences do you find in the day to day between both teams?
In America, the press, the fans, the national eyes demand a lot from you. They are focused on the club. You turn on the TV, the radio, the networks and there is not a day that the team is not talked about. In Monterrey it is very similar but a bit more local. It is the same in the sense of pressure and demands. In Nuevo León and in the city, people live for soccer. If you go to a restaurant and you lost, they don’t serve you quickly and make you wait. America is in the capital and 25 million Mexicans live in Mexico City. There are many who like football and others who do not, so you can go unnoticed.
Today you work as a technical assistant in New York City. From your point of view, who is the better coach: Solari or Aguirre?
I can talk about what I know. What I have seen of Solari is that he is doing things well, that he manages the group well and is committed. He is playing football well, he relies on the defensive order to attack. And I can talk more about Monterrey because I know Javier Aguirre and how his teams play. They are defensively ordered, they like to go to the front, they do not allow you the fear of not trying, that is, to play simple or easy. He is a guy who has pushed forward and he has done that in every place he has been. He has a kill or be killed style. With the quality of both teams, I think it is going to be a very even final.
América has Henry Martín, while Monterrey has Rogelio Funes Mori. Which of the two can cause more concern for the rival?
They are both area players, goal players, they can associate with the team. Henry has a little more mobility outside the area, but ‘Melli’ is merely a guy from that area, he understands the moments well, he doesn’t lose the ball. Martín has become more involved with the game. They are both scorers, that is why they are in the Mexican national team and are benchmarks in their teams. Beyond all, they live off what the equipment can produce and in the area they are lethal.
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