J14 Recap: Top Teams Return To Form

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Humberto Suazo - Monterrey (Mexsport)

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Christian Riveros | Raise your hand if you're overrated.

Cruz Azul is good but they are not great. They have a lot of the weapons that are necessary to have a championship team. They have a great coach in Enrique Meza and of course good players like Gerardo Torrado, Jaime Lozano, Jose de Jesus Corona and their high potent striker Emanuel Villa.

These players build the nucleus of Cruz Azul and could make an impact if put on any other team in the Mexican League. But even with these great players Cruz Azul still struggles.

The problem is not the production of these players but rather the inconsistency of Cruz Azul’s youth.

“This is a logical process where everyone would love to have the team hitting on all strides. We have a lot of youngsters with experience but who cannot find equilibrium. There are times where their final decision is not all that good but that will get better with experience,” said Meza in a press conference after the game against Atlante.

The Liguilla will provide even more pressure for these youngsters who might crumble under it.  But just getting to the Liguilla is an achievement that they have to be proud of especially because they were able to turn the team around in such a short amount of time.

La Maquina is headed in the right direction and with a little bit more experience Cruz Azul could no doubt be Champions in the upcoming Clausura.

Teams Back To Winning Ways

After a three game skid two of the top title contenders got back on track during the weekend. Both Monterrey and Toluca had gone three games without a win and finally saw day light in this Jornada.

Rayados de Monterrey | Group hug, muchachos.

Monterrey had the worse skid out of the two. Los Rayados had lost three straight prior to their encounter against San Luis. The worse part of the losses is the opponents they encountered in that three game skid.

Monterrey faced Pumas, Jaguares, and Chivas, which should have been an easy 9 points for Monterrey that would have also given them the SuperLider spot.  Now Monterrey, who is the third spot in Group 2, could slip even further. Los Rayados still need to face Santos, America, and Morelia to close out the regular season. What makes things worse is that the next two games will be played under a double Jornada.

Toluca also had a three game skid but it wasn’t as bad as Monterrey’s. Thankfully Toluca had amassed a good amount of points that the skid did little to hurt them. Toluca had two ties and one loss and still kept the SuperLider position. It was not just the amount of point that helped them but luck was on their side as well.

With the weekends win Toluca was the first team to qualify into the Liguilla. Again there will be a double Jornada coming up so look for a conservative Toluca in the upcoming games.

Indios Never Going To Make It

Who did not see the inevitable down fall of Indios coming? Even before the team made their first appearance in the Primera Division they were doomed.

Indios' Liguilla run | One of few bright spots in Indios' dreary existence.

Indios might have had a nice Cinderella run in the Liguilla last season but apparently it was all a fluke. Indios are yet to win a single game this season and look to carry that streak until the end of the tournament.  This season’s team might just be the worse team ever.

Who can blame Indios though? They do have a good fan base despite the losses but new teams always bring in the fans. Besides Ciudad Juarez isn’t a football town. They love their baseball in the northern Mexican states. If anything a baseball game would be more attractive to see than a winless football team.

Fans want the most for their money especially in these tough times. The Indios experiment was dead before it even started but next season should bring an end to their misery.

Toluca +7 | Edgar Dueñas and Co. are first to the Liguilla.

Destined 7

Toluca was the first team to secure a spot in the Liguilla but seven teams are still fighting to get in.

1.  Morelia - Has almost clinched it but group 2 is a hard one

2. Santos - Said good bye to their tattered stadium (it even hurt to watch TV games there.)

3. America - Las Aguilas are still struggling in the late stages of the regular season.

4. Cruz Azul - If everything goes right one more win should be enough to win them their ticket.

5. San Luis - San Luis needs to win if they want to make it, they’re lucky that they are in such a weak group.

6. Monterrey - Los Rayadaos finally took care of their losing streak with a good win over San Luis.

7. Puebla - The last spot is panning out to be a race between Puebla and Pachuca. Both have the same points but Puebla has an edge in goal differential.

Season in Numbers

0 - games will be played in Estadio Corona

1 - Number of goals scored by Atlante, Atlas, Pachuca, Chivas, America, Jaguares, Santos, and Pumas in their last game.

3 - Dates are left for the regular season to end and also are the number of wins the current champion has.

4 - Coaching changes for this season (almost as much as Chivas had last season alone.)

8 - Number of times Puebla has tied this season and number of own goals scored this season by all teams.

9 - Encounter in which Santos hasn’t lost.

13 - Goals scored by league leading scorer Emanuel Villa

28 - Goals have been scored on the worse defensive team. No not Queretaro or Indios but rather Estudiantes.

-18 - Goal differential for Indios thus far.

331 - Goals scored this season.

500,000 + - amount of money (pesos) Jose Luis Sanchez “El Chelis” has been fined this season.  

Player of the week: Humberto Suazo

Chupete Suazo | Standout performance by standout player.

Humberto Suazo converted two good goals to finally rid his team of their losing ways. “El Chupete" was the only man in the attack for Monterrey in the game against San Luis. Suazo converted his first with a low driven shot. His second was a marvelous piece of skill something which we have not seen form the Chilean striker in quite some time

Game of the week: Morelia vs. Chivas  

Chivas got the lead in the first half but Morelia came back to win it in the second. Morelia scored their three goals in the second half which included a spectacular bicycle kick fro Luis Gabriel Rey. Morelia showed once more why they are the top dogs or butterflies in group 2.

Team of the week: Morelia

The resiliency of this team never seizes to amaze you. Morelia will not go down with out a fight and they gave one to Chivas on Sunday. Morelia took control of the second half and never looked back as they came from behind to win 3-1.

Sylvestre Adame covers Mexican football for Goal.com.

For more coverage of the Mexican Apertura 2009 season, visit Goal.com's Mexico page.