The semifinals of the Grita México 2021 Tournament are ready: Atlas will face Pumas and León against Tigres, to meet the new champion of Liga MX.
In the quarterfinals of the League, National University surprised by beating America 1-3 overall in the Aztec stadium, while the Rojinegros advanced by their position in the table after equaling 1-1 on aggregate against Rayados.
On the other hand, the U of Nuevo León managed to beat Santos Laguna by the minimum to put 2-2 on aggregate and advance for their best position in the table; finally, La Fiera beat Puebla 3-2 overall.
Here are the four semifinalists ordered from least favorite to greatest:
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ATLAS
Despite being second overall, La Academia had not been installed in this phase for more than 15 years, which shows the few statistics in favor to appear as a wide favorite over the rest.
In addition to this, the Rojinegros have a limited squad without many stars, full of homegrown players and young people to whom the Argentine Diego Cocca He has known how to get their best version out of them.
A point in favor for the Guadalajara is that they were the best defense of the tournament by allowing only ten goals, something they shared alongside AmericaThey were also among the five best offenses, something they also shared with the azulcremas.
Now, that statistic is left aside at the time of the Big Party as it is a new tournament and as well as Cougars threw the Bird, he could also do it with the Foxes, who were not much superior to Monterrey and they took advantage of their better placement on the table.
The best weapons of Atlas They are the Colombian goalkeeper Camilo Vargas, Captain Aldo Rocha, the Argentinian July furch, the Colombian Julian Quinones and the defenders Diego Barbosa, the Argentinian Hugo Nervo, a Peruvian man Anderson Santamaria and Jesus Angulo.
Cougars
Against all statistics, the university students brought the Americanistas down from their cloud on their own court, despite the fact that in recent tournaments they had suffered every time they stepped on the Santa Úrsula Coapa court.
Based on heart and claw, the cats have managed to reach the semifinals, even though no one gave anything for the team in the semester, since they seemed totally eliminated with only a few days left and with the comeback to Blue Cross revived totally, throwing the Toluca in repechage and the Eagles in the quarterfinals.
As is the case with Atlas, National University does not have a sufficient staff that is among the most expensive, but the work of the Argentine Andres Lillini It has been to applaud, remembering that just a year ago he led them to the grand final against all odds.
The team remembered and recalled that as long as there is a desire to play and talent, everything can happen and if they continue with that inertia that they showed against their last three rivals, it would not be unusual for them to reach the defining game for the title again.
Alan Mozo He was the star of the quarters with his triplet of assists, in addition to the Ecuadorian Washington Corozo, but there are more references like the Argentine Juan Dinenno, Arturo Ortiz, Alfredo Talavera, Erik Lira and Leonel Lopez, which is also on in this League.
LION
Even with the departure of Ignacio Ambriz, the emerald team kept its base to bring the Argentine strategist Ariel holan, which, even though it is his first championship, already has his pupils in the lead up to the final.
La Fiera looks like one of the wide favorites to win the champion scepter because he is, perhaps, the best when it comes to dealing with the ball in the midfield, always trying to get out playing and find a way to hurt the rival by creating different strategies.
Those from Bajío were the sixth best offensive, which is not uncommon as they have proven elements such as the Ecuadorian among their ranks. Angel Mena, the Colombian Omar Fernandez, the chileans Jean Meneses and Victor Davila, as well as its great auctioneers, the coffee defenders William Tesillo, Andres Mosquera and Stiven Barreiro.
Likewise, it should be noted that despite not having its two best men, the brain Luis Montes and the multifunctional Fernando Navarro, who come from long injuries, the feline team has managed to capture their good football.
A year ago, Lion he became Aztec football champion, so it is likely that he will be able to repeat that feat, thanks to the fact that the squad is full of experienced players who know how to play this final phase.
TIGERS
It is not at all strange that the U of Nuevo León appears as the wide favorite of the four teams and it is all due to the fact that the Brazilian Ricardo Ferretti They became a group accustomed to fighting for everything, leaving a fairly strong squad.
With the arrival of Miguel Herrera to the bench, the felines managed to position themselves as the best offense of the championship, even when the French André-Pierre Gignac was a long time out of all action, being the Uruguayan Nicolas Lopez who became the benchmark for the goal.
Although they had several problems in the lower part, the regios had a much better defense than Cougars, but matched with that of Lion, between injuries, suspensions and casualties of Carlos Salcedo, Diego Reyes and Hugo Ayala.
El Piojo has sought to make the San Nicolás de los Garza team totally offensive, however, during the quarters he left some doubts, thanks to the first half against Santos Laguna and a few minutes of the second match, sometimes depending on some genius, as happened with Gignac and Salcedo.
The good news for The Incomparable, is that they have many experienced veterans to play the Fiesta Grande such as the aforementioned Gignac and Ayala, the Argentines Nahuel Guzman and Guido Pizarro, the brazilian Rafael Carioca, Javier Aquino, Jesus Dueñas and Chaka ‘Rodriguez.
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