J13 Recap: Super Clasico

America's Clasico | America have bragging rights in Mexico.

Chivas need to thank their savior for keeping them in the game. Luis Ernesto Michel was probably, no, was the best player for Chivas on Sunday.  Michel kept his team afloat with one great save after another but unfortunately for Chivas the offense did not provide.

But farther from individual performance and bragging rights, three points were at stake. Three points that helped each team in their push towards the Liguilla. Chivas would have gotten second place in group one if they would have won, but they didn’t. Instead Las Aguilas go ahead into the second slot in group two and look keen on making it to the Liguilla.  

This game was definitely the make or break point for Chivas. With a win Chivas would have made it to the Liguilla in my book. The win would have given Chivas the momentum needed to close out the regular season campaign on a high note.  

The loss only complicates things for Chivas. The team will not make it now. They do have a chance but the loss to America was a blow that they won’t be able to recover from this season.

Surprises

What would the Mexican league without any surprises? This is why this league is so great. At any given time four of the top teams can go down at the hands of four of the worse teams. That’s what happened this weekend.

First the all mighty Toluca fell to Estudiantes. Then Gallos Blanco got their third straight win against Cruz Azul. Monterrey was shocked by Pumas and Puebla beat out Morelia. It was a tough week for the group leaders.

No major changes occurred in the tables though. Toluca, despite not wining in their last three games, still remains as SuperLider. Morelia is still in control of group 2 and Cruz Azul remained second in group three. The only slider was Monterrey who dropped to third in group 2.

Monterrey have lost their last three matches to Chivas, Jaguares, ad Pumas. Those should have been 9 easy points but now Los Rayados have complicated things. Their last four opponents will be San Luis, Santos, America, and Morelia. Monterrey’s future looks very bleak. They can easily loose these upcoming games and not get into the Liguilla after having a good tournament.

Arias Sinking Chivas

When the news broke out that Chivas had their mind set on signing Raul Arias I laughed. My thought was that Jorge Vergara, one of the most successful business men in Mexico, could not possibly make such a blundering mistake. But he did.  

Raul Arias | Sorry Raul, but you're not the answer.

Apparently Jorge Vergara missed the memo or did not care to notice that Raul Arias had driven Necaxa down to relegation in the previous season. Maybe Vergara saw that Mr. Arias had some hardware attached to his resume.  

The only problem with that is that Arias took over the reigns of an extremely talented Necaxa team at the time.  Even a chimp could have managed that team and still would have won the championship. It’s like taking over a fortune 500 company. Any one with at least grade school knowledge could run it well for the first few months but when the hard decisions come in then that’s when you start seeing the company begin to crumble.

Raul Arias had a perfect team in Necaxa when he took over. He slowly started to drive the team down. Then he went on to San Luis where the team was already bad and had very little success. Same thing is going to happen with Chivas.  

Sorry Mr. Vergara Arias is not your man, he may be a coach but he is not a leader.

Destined 8

1. Toluca -  Need to start wining, they have been lucky that their closest rivals have also suffered in the past games.

2. Morelia - Tough loss to Puebla ended their SuperLider hopes

3. Santos - Also could have taken the Superlider title but Jaguares wouldn’t have it that way.

4. America - Won the most important game in their schedule it should be smooth sailing now.

5. Cruz Azul -  Enrique Meza has turned this team around but not completely since they still show some symptoms from last season.

6. San Luis - If Liguilla entrance was based on points alone the gladiators wouldn’t be here.

7. Monterrey - A three-game skid, can’t say I didn’t warn about this.

8. Pachuca - Amazing how Pachuca struggles but still manages to maintain a foothold on the Liguilla.  

Quote of the week

“Stop trying to look for more, there are two reasons why we won today.

El Cura? | "Father" Sola, an expert on all things biblical.

"The first one is that we are the team who wants it the most and the second reason is because we were the talented team today. God sends the talent, the only explanation that I have is that the Devil used to roam here.

"Not anymore though because we finally baptized my Compadre Lucas on Thursday. So stop trying to find utters on a snake,” said Jose Luis Sanchez Sola after defeating Morelia.

Top 5: Coaches

1. Tomas Boy- Boy has turned Morelia into a power house. Morelia is one of the most feared by opposition as they boast the best offense in the league.

Chucho Ramirez | It took a world champion to turn things around at America.

2. Jesus Ramirez- Ramirez turned around a dying America program. His good deals in the offseason have resulted well for America who looks like they will be making a reappearance in the Liguilla.

3. Sergio Bueno- Sergio Bueno's destiny in Santos looked bleak during the offseason. Santos lost their best forward in Christian Benitez and Vicente Matias Vuoso had nothing going for him. Bueno found a way to group everything together though as Santos lead group three with 25 points.

4. Enrique Meza- Meza left Pachuca behind to take on the Cruz Azul project. La Maquina has improved greatly under Meza but still need consistency in order to really thrive.

5. Jose Luis Sanchez Sola- One of the only coaches in the league, who had no professional playing experience, Sola has done marvels with Puebla. “El Chelis” makes this team better with every season that goes by. His very outspoken manner would leave you to believe that he is just a yammering idiot, but Sola is a bright man with a bright future ahead.

Best Game: Estudiantes vs. Toluca

The need to win prompted a very good match between Estudiantes and Toluca. Estudiantes need the points to stay afloat in the Liguilla race while Toluca tried to get back on terms. Estudiantes had a great first half and Toluca reversed the roles for the second half. In the end Estudiantes held on to win which gave Toluca their first loss since the 6th Jornada.

Player of the week: Aquivaldo Mosquera

Thanks to his game winning goal Aquivaldo Mosquera gets the nod this week. Mosquera had not scored a goal in more than two years before netting it in on Sunday. Mosquera and the America defense also limited the Chivas offense which had a rough night. The Colombian won the Clasico for America.

Team of the week: Puebla

Puebla defeated what could be the best team in the league, Morelia. Morelia entered the game with the best defense and offense in the league.  That did not faze Puebla though. Puebla needed the win if they wanted to survive in group 2.  A 2-1 victory keeps their hopes alive as they try to make one last push into the Liguilla.

Sylvestre Adame's Jornada Recap appears every Monday, or whenever a Jornada is played.

For more coverage of the Mexican league, visit Goal.com.