A2006 Quarter Finals - Pachuca home

Pumas v Pachuca
CU
26th November 2006

Video Highlights

A bit of a disappointing end to the season, really. I was more than satisfied at nil all at half time, even if we had not seen much football. This Pachuca team is clearly excellent, but they really did not concern me. In the end, they scored a scrappy goal, we had a clear penalty on Velarde turned down.

The last twenty minutes was all Pumas, starting with a superb central ball from Velarde met brilliantly, strongly and bravely by Parejita, and all 55,000 people in the stadium, including Parejita himself were convinced that it was in. However their keeper, and man of the match, Calero had somehow stuck out his left foot and diverted it wide. An amazing save. Overall I was disappointed with how unurgent we seemed as the clock ticked down, but Scocco mis-controlled a ball in a good area, as he had Friday night, and Reinaldo had a great shot which could have converted his season, and his standing, but the post denied him. Scocco headed down for Gonzalez who could not quite reach it, and Reinaldo headed close deep into injury time. So overall I cannot bring myself to think we deserved to go through – but I barely feel Pachuca did either. At the close several players came over to both sets off supporters, and Parejita (sporting a fetching new box) threw each of his yellow boots and his shirt into the crowd, and led the last “goya” of the season. He’s a smashing lad.

Anyway, our objective this season was always to work against the descenso, and the Apertura and these quarter-final games have shown that we have the qualities necessary for a relegation fight.

Bernal – 7 – good solid return, very good effort with goal

Espinosa – 6 – decent (subbed off 64 min)
Pikolin – 7 – lots of effort, little to show for it
Veron – 7 – solid
Velarde – 7 – another good showing

Sancho – 7 – better than Friday night (subbed 83 mins)
Leandro – 8 – MOM – best of the day, also showed most ganas
Castro – 6 – much the same as Friday
Parejita - 7 - good game, could not believe his header was saved

Chupa – 6 – Tricky says he is quicker than Scocco – the one time I saw him run this season he did look it (subbed half-time)
Gonzalez – 7 – at least he ran a lot again

Subs
Scocco – 6 - half time - missed a good opportunity again, but about, and linked well with Reinaldo
Reinaldo – 6 – 64 mins – looked a bit fitter, linking better, hit the post. If that had gone in …..… well, if “ifs” and “buts” were pots and pans, there’d be no trade for tinkers
Alex Diego – 5 – 83 mins – nothing much

DT
Tuca Ferretti – 7 – credit it to him for drawing the most potent attack this season; lets not forget Pachuca are still reigning champions, and finalists in the Copasudamericana. However, attacking-wise he lacks something, and needs to make up his mind about his strikers. If he wants Gonzalez and Chupa, play them, but whoever he decides on they need 90 mins a few weeks on the run. Scocco’s bench-warming is clearly having an affect on his sharpness.

Cards:-
Pumas
Pikolin 37 mins – not warranted
Scocco – 52 mins – not warranted
Veron – 54 mins – not warranted
Leandro – 85 mins – not warranted

Pachuca
Cabrera – 13 mins – not warranted
Rodriguez – 50 mns
Chitiva – 57 mins – not warranted
Cacho – 59 mins – not warranted
Caballero – 89 mins – not warranted

Goal:-
0-1 – 53 mins – A far post cross from Chitiva was hit by Rodriguez onto the post, the rebound hit Pikolin, and fell to Gabriel Caballero, who hit it left footed into the goal. Bernal made a valiant effort to kick it off the line, but it had clearly crossed.

Crowd:-
55,000

Elsewhere in Mexico:-
A couple of exciting games, and two less so. Toluca pass by Monterrey 2-1, a loss that led the fat and sweaty Miguel “Piojo” Herrera to resign. His nickname means “nit” or “louse”, and I’m not sure why he is thus called. Cruz Azul gave a good battle to Chivas, the game finished 2-2, so Chivas go through. Atlas needed a big result at The Azteca to overcome the 3-1 home loss v America. At 3-0 up, three splendid goals, it looked like it was on. But Cuautemoc Blanco showed his class, as he did against us, and scored a nice goal on 70 mins. Two further came, to finish 3-3 on the day, 6-4 overall.

Next Up:-
Well, we are now looking to the Clausura 2007, and the first game will be Atlas at home. No date yet. As for the semi-finals, they will be a repeat of the summers Champion of Champions, Toluca v Pachuca, and the big Mexican classic – Chivas v America.

A2006 Quarter Finals - Pachua away

Pachuca v Pumas
Estadio Hidalgo
25th November 2006

Video Highlights

This game gave us pretty much what we expected, but had quite an explosive ending.

Starting with Chupa up front, Pumas clearly were in the mood to draw the sting of this Pachuca team, who many describe as the best team in Mexico. They had won well in the semi final of the CopaSudamericana on Wednesday night, and came out all guns blazing tonight.

It seemed they had noticed that we concede most of our goals in the first 20 minutes or so, and had decided to gamble all or nothing. The high tempo of the game was of their making, and will suit us more, especially as all these games begin to take their toll on Sunday.

Overall we looked pretty good and solid at the back, a few scares, but as the match wore on we could see them fading. In the centre of midfield neither Castro nor Sancho could make an impact, and Pachuca were winning this battle. Late in the first half, as we were growing Rodriguez had a terrible foul on Parejita (no card), and from the free kick rebounds Sancho scored but was correctly ruled offside.

Going in at nil all we were satisfied, and really felt they had blown their chance, when the ref gave a free kick down by the corner flag – another awful decision. A well worked, and badly defended free kick resulted in a goal. This was very hard, and felt that we had weathered the worse of it, only to give this away.

Minutes later, however, a fine long ball into the box from Leandro was met superbly by Chupa in the air, who sent the keeper the wrong way and side-footed into the net. There was a strong suspicion of offside, but the pictures show he was clearly onside when the ball was played. A great goal. After this I really felt that from now on we could be the only winners, but 1-1 was a fair reflection, and a great way to go to the home leg.

Iñiguez and Scocco came on late, only for Iñiguez to receive two very very harsh yellow cards.

The frustration that our method of playing builds in the opposition showed at final whistle when “El Chaco” Gimenez started pushing and shoving Veron. RoRo Rodriguez had had an average game, but his passion for this team has been instantaneous, and he wasn’t having any of this. He came flying in and smacked Chaco right across the chops. Lovely stuff. A post-match sending off, but Bernal was on the bench for this game, which shows he is almost ready.

The Pumas faithful had been in amongst it as well up in the stands, and a plastic seat came hurling onto the pitch. Chupa Lopez, looking more than ever like a Watford player, sidled up to throw it off the playing area. Tuca, described the fight as “ a mans thing, a football thing”, and said about the crowd, “Como no te voy a querer aficion” – playing on the famous Pumas song, meaning, How Could I not Love You.

Ratings:-
RoRo – 7 – OK game, at fault for goal I felt. Good right hook

Velarde – 9 – MOM – another excellent game, so assured on ball, great at going forward, linking with Leandro, and kept the ship steady at our most problematic times. His duel with Chitiva was pivotal, and Efrain won it
Pikolin – 7 – decent game
Veron – 8 – As Tricky says, you expect it. also did a great job on Chitiva
Espinosa – 7 – another good game here for him

Parejita – 8 – I thought he hustled well today, not sure why he came off (subbed off 76 mins)
Castro – 6 – knocked off the ball too easily
Sancho – 6 – not commanding enough
Leandro – 8 – good game, real Leandro stuff, great ball for goal

Gonzaelez – 7 – ran and ran and ran and ran, never lets them settle
Chupa – 8 – low work rate again, but in there, and a very very well taken goal (subbed off 76 mins)

Subs
Iñiguez – 6 – very unlucky to be sent off
Scocco – 7 – always in it again.

DT
Ricardo Tuca Ferretti – 8 – got it spot on, except Scocco’s talents are wasted coming off the bench.

Cards:-
Pachuca
Mosquera - 17 mins

Pumas
Pikolin – 17 mins – typical bottle decision from ref, one each, when only Mosquera deserved one
Castro – 68 mins
Sancho – 78 mins
Iñiguez – 80 and 90 mins RED
Velarde – 87 mins
RoRo – 88 mins, plus expulsion after the event.
You can see from the times off those bookings, it was just the ref losing control, none off them really deserved a card at all. Pachuca got away with loads.

Goals:-
1-0 – 60 mins – From a free kick down by the right corner flag, Chitiva played it low into the box, where appeared, unmarked, Juan Carlos De La Barrera, and slotted it passed the flapping RoRo
1-1 – 64 mins – from half way into their half, Leandro played a lovely central ball, up popped Ariel "El Chupa" Lopez to score with his right peg.

Crowd:-
27,000 – CU Pebetero already sold out, we have had the highest average gate in Mexico this season, and the game at the Azteca was the highest gate anyway – 98,000

Elsewhere in Mexico:-
Chivas got a solid 2-0 home victory against a Cruz Azul who still look very assured going forward. Toluca will probably be happier with the nil all away than Monterrey, but Toluca’s decline continues. America’s 3-1 away win at Atlas practically ensures them a place in the semis…. but remember last year?

Next Up:-
Quarter-Final second leg, Pachuca CU Sunday 26th November 12 midday. Remember a draw overall will see us through.

Apertura 2006 Regular Season Review

It was the best of seasons, it was the worst of seasons; a season of highs, a season of lows; a season of tension, a season of joy, a season of records, a season of omens.

Really we can just call this a great season. We finished second in the general table. Our descenso situation is much better than it was, and we look a tight well organised outfit.

Tuca:-
When the directors offered him the job they told him they wanted at least 26 points from the Apertura 2006. And Tuca got 29. And make no mistake about it, he dragged those points as if from stone. It took us, and the players, a while to really get into his style, but I love it. I think he does not have a great record in liguillas, he is more suited to a campaign. But that’s fine, we need, at all times, to concentrate on the descenso, and he has done that.

I genuinely enjoy his method, of soaking up pressure, playing possession football, probing and testing weakness, building, building pressure, until the opposition cracks. He has always shown himself incisive and accurate in exploiting weaknesses. The only time this has failed is when we concede first, especially early. This was our problem in out mid-season malaise, 3 points in 4 games. But he kept true to his system, his players responding more and more week on week. A great performance.

Descenso:-
This has hung over us all season, and will continue to. In all the celebrations following the Tigres match both Mahbub and Tuca pointed out that we are only half way there, still 17 to go. Mahbub did say, however, he hoped for a great liguilla, because “The lads deserve it”. And they do, too. It seems, distinct to previous years, that the three points knocked off for failing to play young Mexicans for 765 minutes in the tournament will count towards the descenso. Happily San Luis and Queretaro failed to, so we start thus:- 1.2235 Tigres, Tecos and PUMAS 104 from 85; 1.961 San Luis 61 from 51; 1.1176 Santos 95 from 85 and 1.0588 Queretaro 18 from 17.

“Build From The Back” – Record Defence
As Cloughie said, football is like life, you build from the back. This seems to be Tuca’s philosophy too, and he guided Pumas to second spot whilst conceding only 11 in 17 games. Given his pre-season comment “We don’t need to worry about losing Beltran, we have Marco Antonio Palacios” it seems incredible. To put this in perspective, not only is it the lowest conceded this short season, it’s the lowest conceded in any short season, matching Atlante’s from Winter 1996 tournament. And we finished joint 10th in the goals scored, along with America. We have been mocked for being boring and rubbish all season, not least by Americanistas. How sweet, then, to finish higher than them, with the same goals scored.

The Cantera
Another thing we have been knocked for this season is that we no longer produce players from the cantera. This season we finished second only to Atlas in terms of minutes played by young Mexicans. Of course defence is a whole-team responsibility, but look at the players who have played in defensive roles this season:- Dario Veron excepted. Israel Castro, Fernando Espinoza, Marco Pikolin Palacios, Hector Moreno, Efraín Velarde:- all five “born in CU”, all five born in the 1980’s. In goal Bernal is also puro Puma, RoRo a recent acquisition. But we can be proud, that defensive record was truly HECHO EN CU. We have also had run outs for various young forward players, often in tense situations. Not many teams would do that with the Descenso breathing down their necks.

Omens
Last time we finished second was in the Clausura 2004, when we went on to win the Championship……

AWARDS:- would be great if you could all post your own awards.
Best Game: - We have seen some great games this season, Monterrey, Veracruz, Tigres, etc, but I will plump for 0-0 v Toluca. Why? it is not, I assure you, just to annoy Frank. It was early on, and Toluca and Marioni seemed unstoppable. We were just getting used to what Tuca was trying. In this sparky confrontation we began to see how Tuca’s plan of building from the back, testing teasing and probing could work. We also enjoyed a great display full of promise from Scocco. Fascinating battle of wits between Tuca and Tolo Gallego
Worst Game:- Pachuca. Sin duda.
Best Performance:- We have seen loads of great individual performances this season, Gonzalez v Monterrey, Espinosa coming on for the injured Sancho v Cruz Azul, Velarde v Monarcas, RoRo v San Luis to name but four. However I am going back to the Toluca game. He promised us he would be a “wall” against his old team mate, Marioni, and so Dario Veron proved to be. Awesomely solid.
Worst Performance:- Its very tempting to go for Pikolin v Pachuca, or even Veracruz, but our defence has been so good I would feel bad for that. Also Reinaldo will get enough grief elsewhere, so I will leave him alone, although he was particularly rotten v Chivas. So El Chupa Lopez gets my vote, I really wanted to say v Atlante, because he was awful that day, his first touch, after twenty minutes, was to put a simple 5 yard pass into touch. However he did take the disallowed goal well that day, so I will go for his outing v Queretaro. Just didn’t really look like a footballer.
Best Moment: - There has also been some great moments throughout this tournament, but for me it is the moment the ball hit the back of the net v Cruz Azul. An historic win, joy was unconfined.
Worst Moment:- Check the video:- it is sickening within four minutes v Atlante we lose a goal, and worse, Bernal’s arm snaps back horrendously. We never recovered in that match, despite a great Pikolin showing. We did not know then that RoRo would do so well, it looked like our season was over.
Turning Point of Season:- Our worst part of the season, three draws followed by a bad loss at home to Atlante. Next up, struggling Tecos. We were in control, but seemed to be lacking confidence. We got the break we needed, a penalty. Scocco stepped up and takes a moment for his thoughts. He buried it, if not, I could see us crack and fizzle out of the season. As it was we went on to win 2-0, and ultimately finish second overall.
Best Goal:- Again some great goals amongst the 21, Gonzalez v Queretaro, Chupa v Monterrey, Parejita and Scocco v Tigres etc. However, I am going back to the first home game of the season, and Leandro’s “All Terrain” effort v Veracruz. Glorious individual goal, and his first for a couple of years.
Most Improved:- No question, the big man himself Marco Antonio Pikolin Sideshow Bob Palacios Started dodgy, but grew and had some awesome games, Monarcas, Atlante, San Luis, his ball control got better, his distribution, and I don’t think he has lost a header in about 5 weeks. After the debacle of Pachuca he did extra training, and the legend has it that when Tuca said he was not dropped, the Big Man grabbed him and gave him a kiss. No one can question his passion; watch him during the himno, raring to go. He has concentrated hard, and we were delighted when he was rewarded with his goal v Tigres. Only he and Castro played every minute of this season, and he got only one yellow card, great stuff for a big centre-back.
Broken Bird Award:- for the player who spent most time lying on the ground like a broken bird. Parejita seems sometimes to be made of straws, but he always managed to continue, even after some very hard challenges. Strangely cannot find a single photo of him crumpled.
Player of the Season:- The most prestigious last. I know you all think I will go for Scocco, but I am choosing a player more true to our roots. A player who has also improved, but plays with a maturity way beyond his age. Like myself, a full-back, a position where you need to be good in more departments than any other. A great hustler, he covers the ground quickly, and has a strong tackle. His distribution is superb, and he is very comfortable on the ball. Week-in week-out he has been solid for us, with some highlights, such as the awesome game he had v Monarcas. In the end it is his consistency that led me to favour him, and the fact that I have not once thought about Gonzalo Pineda this season. Step forward El Chispa himself:- Mr Efrain Velarde

Even if you can’t post all your awards, do stick up best player, at least. We can have a vote.

Ratings:-
OK, so here they are, the average ratings this season, followed by games played (whether as sub or not), goals, mom, minutes played, and goals per min (scored, or conceded for keepers)

7.47 Ignacio Scocco 17-6-4-1138-(190)
7.25 Dario Veron 16-0-1-1435
7.17 Rogelio Rodriguez 6-(2)-0-533-(266.5)
7.12 Parejita Lopez 17-4-2-1501-(375.25)
7.07 Ariel Gonzalez 15-4-2-1090-(272.5)
7.07 Leandro Augusto 15-1-2-1286
6.94 Efrain Velarde 17-0-1-1502
6.90 Antonio Sancho 10-0-1-779
6.77 Hector Moreno 13-0-1-733
6.76 Marco Antonio Palacios 17-1-1-1530
6.67 Fernando Espinoza 9-0-0-663
6.60 Fernando Morales 5-1-0-218
6.58 Sergio Bernal 12-(9)-0-997-(111)
6.41 Israel Castro 17-0-1-1530
6.25 Oscar Alanis 4-0-0-107
6.20 Alex Diego 5-0-0-244
6.00 Ariel Lopez 12-3-1-548-(183)
6.00 Pablo Bonells 1-0-0-19
6.00 David Toledo 2-0-0-90
5.87 Reinaldo 15-1-0-644
5.56 Ismael Iñiguez 9-0-0-210
5.50 Pablo Barrera 2-0-0-19

Very pleased that Paisano Gonzalez came so high, he did start slowly, and fans seemed to be on his back all the time, but he really works so hard, and I have said it before, defences hate playing against him, he’s so lively. Maybe you are correct about my view of Chupa being tainted, but I am not impressed overly.

Next Up:-
The Quarter-Finals. If Toluca beat Jaguares, we get Pachuca, the worst loss this season. If Jaguares win, we get the winner out of Chivas v Veracruz. Toluca have a tough time, as they play the first leg of this in Chiapas on Thursday night. They also play the first leg of the South America Cup semi final in Santiago (Colo Colo) on…. Thursday night…. hmmmmm……..

Game 17: Tigres home

Pumas v Tigres
13th November 2006
CU

Video Highlights

“La Fiesta Grande” arrived early in CU. A real “schools out” feel in the stadium. After a long hard term the teachers (Tigres) had had enough, and just wanted to get it finished. Following months of hard work the pupils (Pumas) turned up in that mood, found the teachers not interested, so they relaxed and had some fun.

Toluca lost on Saturday, so a win would see us straight in the liguilla whatever else happened – “a win, we’re in; ganamos y pasamos”. I have to apologise to Tuca Ferretti – its seems Morales is injured, and this is why we haven’t seen him. However, I will not apologise for simply not believing that he can start with Chupa Lopez ahead of Scocco – is he blind? So we started 4-4-2, Gonzalez and Chupa up front, Castro and Sancho central midfield, Pareja on right, Leandro on left. Back four: - Velarde, Veron, Pikolin and Espinosa. RoRo in the net.

Tigres have had a rotten season, their new manager, Mario Carrillo, has a good reputation, and last week they had an excellent, hard fought win against Queretaro, their 3rd win this season. They have some fine players, but it has not been working at all this season.

Tigres kicked off, Chupa won the ball and played Gonzalez through. Hernandez in the Tigres goal came out, realised his mistake, back-pedalled, but it was too late. Ariel had played a beautiful forced lob into the net. The official timing finally put it at 12 seconds. What a start! The sixth fastest goal in Mexican football history, the fastest ever for Pumas. Ten minutes later Gonzalez was clean through again, only to be brought down by Ramirez. The ref gave a penalty, but only a yellow, which was plain wrong. In the absence of Scocco Chupa stepped up, and took it well.

The referees have a new boss at FMF, Padilla, and he seems determined to sort them out, after years of protection from the previous incumbent, Yamaski. Several had failed their physicals (not unusual, it seems), but Padilla made this public. This upset them, and they threatened to strike. FMF talked about getting refs in from another country, and the referees backed down, It looks set for a fall-out, amidst accusations of incompetence and corruption, it seems Mexican football is finally prepared to look at one of its biggest problems: - Chacon today was always well off the pace, got lots wrong, a yellow for a foul on the last man, then, later a straight red for talking back! Ridiculous.

Two nil down, Tigres really just crumbled, and never really threatened. Sancho kept Gaitan in a box, and I just don’t know what has happened to Chamagol, he’s not the player he was at Atlante at all.

After an age waiting for the unfit ref to get up with the play, we were awarded a free kick on the edge of the area. Many fans were calling for Tuca to take it, a reminder of his goal (the “Tucazo”), which beat America at CU in the 2nd leg of the championship final 1990-1991.In the end Parejita took it, and despite a seven man wall the keeper had to pull off a good save. From a free-kick down by the corner flag seconds later Leandro played it in, and the Big Man, Pikolin Sideshow Bob himself rose wonderfully at the back post, and put in a “top draw” header, three nil after 25 minutes, and Tigres visibly just wanted to go home. Pikolin has undoubtedly grown this season, and as he shook hands with every one of his team mates, the whole stadium was delighted for him, his second goal for us, his first coming in our last best match, 4-0 v Velez Sarsfield.

Tuca’s biggest problem really was keeping the lads concentrating and playing, which they did right to the final whistle. But it must be hard to keep going, we were in complete control. He had brought that hungry young man, Scocco, on for Chupa, and at 62 minutes the ref didn’t like something Walter Gaitan said, and showed him a straight red! Tuca has been criticised for being over-defensive, but he proved that wrong today, three nil up at home, against ten men, he immediately brought his midfielder captain Sancho off for Iñiguez, in a clearly attacking move. And it paid off, a lovely cross ball into the box from Iñiguez was met by a flying Parejita, who finished superbly, his fourth goal of this campaign. Minutes later, Scocco leaned into one, with unbelievable nonchalance launched a beauty into the top right corner from fully 35 yards. From his very first game his long shots have been close, and slowly getting closer, culminating in a lovely strike that hit the upright v Monarcas. His laid back non-celebration suggests he felt he owed us one.

So a great performance five nil, which leaves us SECOND in the general table. My only regret being that many of our dear friends were not there, notably Tricky and Ken, how they would have enjoyed it! It made me think of some of the hard times, the last 5-0 at CU, for example, losing to Cruz Azul.....uuurggghhhh...... a truly great send-off for the regular season from the lads.

Tricky’s Ratings and comments [and my comments]:-

RoRo – 6 – not much to do

Espinosa – 7 – now looks more comfortable at right back
Pikolin – 7 – good goal, solid defence, but one horrendous miss [harsh, we all enjoyed it in the stadium, really poor!]
Veron – 8 – never gave Chamagol an inch
Velarde – 7 – pretty tidy

Parejita – 7 – getting back to early season form
Castro – 6 – OK job, but had little pressure
Sancho – 8 – great job on Gaitan and controlled midfield (subbed 66 mins)
Leandro – 7 – a bit isolated on the left but did OK

Chupa – 6 – worked hard and nice pen but still needs to move more [I disagree with this, Trick gave him a 7, I changed it. He put in some nice balls, a few bad ones, but just does not work; lazy and static] (subbed 59 mins)
Gonzalez – 8 – MOM – great finish for the first goal and won the pen [and worked very hard – compare his movement and work-rate with Chupa’s] (subbed 72 mins)

Scocco – 7 – 59 mins - fantastic goal but too little time to do much else
Iñiguez – 6 – 66 mins - good linking work on left and good cross for forth goal
Reinaldo – 5 – 72 mins - still searching for form

DT
Tuca Ferretti – 8 – loved the way he made an attacking switch after the sending off even though we were three up [I would give him 7 – it is obvious to anyone that whatever Chupa has to offer, Scocco also has, but better, and actually has more to his game, except for “looking like you might be from Watford”, Chupa wins that hands down]

Cards:-
Pumas
58 mins – Leandro

Tigres
10 mins - Luis Ronaldo Ramirez – for bringing the last man down in the box
45 mins – Javier Restrepo
54 mins – Mario Ruiz
62 mins – straight red - Walter Gaitan – for chat!

Goals:-
1-0 – 1 min – El Chupa Lopez won the ball from the kick off, and filtered through to Ariel Paisano Gonzalez in full charge, who spotted the keepers hesitation, and finished smartly.
2-0 – 11 mins – once again Gonzalez is released, but this time brought down. Ariel Chupa Lopez takes a good penalty just inside the right post
3-0 – 25 mins – an excellent cross from a free kick by Leandro is met by unmarked Marco Antonio Pikolin Palacios, who heads it perfectly into the onion bag
4-0 – 76 mins – an Iñiguez cross is met wonderfully by Jose Luis Parejita Lopez, whose finish could not be bettered.
5-0 – 79 mins – from 35 yards out, Ignacio Coco Scocco genuinely strokes a superb long shot into the top corner

Crowd:-
40,000

Pumas Morelos:-
Also had a good win, 3-0, Pablo Bonells, however, waiting until the third minute to get his first of two, and Pablo Barrera get the other. With two games left they are well poised to make the liguilla.

Elsewhere in Mexico:-
Cruz Azul beat Santos to finish super-leaders, Toluca lose to Monterrey, leaving them in a play-offs for the liguilla (see below), America beat Monarcas to be the other qualifiers from our group, Chivas and Verazcruz win, the other games being drawn. So what does this mean? Well the top two from each group go straight to the liguilla (marked with *), and the four highest non-qualifiers in the general table (marked +) play off for the last two places, called the “repechaje”. Oh, and a little matter of PUMAS winning group 3 and finishing second in the overall table:-

*1st Cruz Azul 30pts +7
*2nd PUMAS 29pts +10
*3rd America 29pts +6
+4th Toluca 27pts +11
*5th Monterrey 27pts +6
*6th Atlas 27pts +6
*7th Pachuca 26pts +10
+8th Chivas 26pts +8
+9th Veracruz 26pts -5
+10th Jaguares 23pts +3
11th Atlante 23pts -1
12th Monarcas 23pts -2
13th San Luis 20pts +2
14th Queretaro 18pts -5
15th Necaxa 17pts -8
16th Tigres 14pts -23
17th Tecos 13pts -13
18th Santos 11pts -12
NB both San Luis and Queretaro have had 3 points deducted for not playing under 21 year old Mexicans at least 765 minutes. I am sure this doesn’t count towards the descenso, but Record says it does.

So the seedings are based on where you finish in general, we are second seed. Depending on who gets through the repechaje we will play Pachuca, Chivas or Veracruz. The higher seeding has two advantages, 1) home leg second, and 2) except in the final, if the tie ends as a draw the higher seed advances.

The Repechaje games are this Wednesday and Thursday, and second legs Saturday and Sunday. Veracruz v Chivas and Jaguares v Toluca.

Descenso bottom 6:-
Its nice to have a couple of games without worrying about this, still 17 games to go, but we are very healthy compared to the start (these figures assume that the young player rule does not count):-

1.2549 San Luis 64 from 51
1.2353 Querétaro 21 from 17
1.2235 Tecos 104 from 85
1.2235 Tigres 104 from 85
1.2235 PUMAS 104 from 85
1.1176 Santos 95 from 85

I am going to post up a season review, but just like to point out that the 11 goals conceded by us is not only the lowest this season, but the joint lowest ever since “short” seasons started. Great, great performance.

Next Up:-
Quarter-Final. Damn it, I’ve lost the dates, but I think it will be a week on Wednesday, and we will play Pachuca if Toluca win, if however Jaguares win we will play the winner of Chivas v Veracruz. Away leg first.

Player Profile:- Ignacio Scocco

Picture the scene: - a cold a blustery May night in the small town of Hughes, Santa Fe in the heart of Argentina. At last a tiny scream rips through the air.
“What is it?” eagerly questions the panting young mother.
“Congratulations, Mrs Scocco,” answers the midwife, “it’s a striker.”
The elderly and much respected Doctor – who had delivered with his own hands both the parents of this young kicker – looks slightly concerned, “One minute,” he muses, “I think it’s an attacking midfielder.”
Twenty-one years later this quandary lives on.

The Newell’s Old Boys youth program quickly picked this young man up, and he was just nineteen when he made his debut in the Argentinean top flight v San Lorenzo de Almagro. In that Apertura 2004 season he came on as a sub 5 times (meanwhile, in Mexico Pumas were winning the first half of the bicampeonato). In the Clausura 2004 he started 14 games, and came on in the other 5, scoring twice. These goals helped Newell’s win the league, just as Pumas were winning the league in Mexico.

He was now a regular fixture in the NOB setup, and during the Clausura 2006 season he scored 9 goals in 18 games, but better was to come in the 2006 edition of the Libertadores, the one in which Pumas got 1 point in 6 games. Newell’s Old Boys did better, getting past the group stage. Scocco’s 4 goals in just 5 starts were crucial to their campaign. As you can see from these videos (video 1 video 2) he did this wearing the number 32 in the famous red and black shirts. This was the same number Dean Ashton wore for City in his first season.

When Tuca took over Pumas, and his main, yet ineffective, strikers Botero and Marioni left, he went forward-buying-crazy. Amongst these he was more than happy to spend two and a half million US dollars on Scocco.

As he arrived at Pumas they had a pre-season tour of Cancun ¡Que lindo!. From very early in the season it was clear that this young man was special. The first thing to notice is how exciting he is on the ball. In this he is refreshingly old-fashioned. There are none of the tiresome showboating antics of step-overs etc. He trusts his pace and ball control, and has a very deceptive cut back. Very exciting with his runs, they often finish with a blistering long shot.

He has a wonderful ability to steal the ball off defenders, which constantly keeps the pressure on them. His incisive and visionary passing can be breathtaking, and a joy for fellow forwards. He also possesses the quality of an out and out striker. He can peel off defenders like a phantom, and his first three goals this season were all headers, a beautifully placed header v Veracruz, after losing his man. A well won and blistering hard header v Cruz Azul and a wonderfully controlled header after finding space v Necaxa. He also has the classic poachers instincts, thinking a split second ahead of everyone else, popping up in the right place (incorrectly disallowed goal v Cruz Azul), and a range of finishes from the lethal killer, to the delicate (v San Luis) He has immediately stepped up as our number one penalty taker. His preferred method is that of the young, confident and skilful. He hits it very very hard into the roof of the net, as we have witnessed twice this year, v Peñarol, and v Tecos.

A handsome young man, with a Rush-like nose, he plays his football with joy, his floppy hair always topping a smile filled face. He has been selected for the Argentinean under 20 team and proudly wears the national flag tattooed on his right calf. At Newell’s he preferred the perennial cool-footballer’s rolled down socks, but maybe the rules are tougher in Mexico. Already this season he is Pumas top scorer with 5, but the arguments are raging as to whether he should play as a striker, in the hole, or as a midfielder. He is happy to play anywhere. In an interview in January this year, he mentioned that in the youth team he had often played in the hole, not as an out and out striker, often setting up goals, or making fakes for others to score. His last season in the juniors saw him second highest scorer in the league, and in the end he was joint 3rd in the senior Clausura 2006. His goal celebrations are understated, again no showmanship, simply reeling away arm aloft grinning, almost giggling, occasionally kissing his ring and the exuberant jigging run of a young man in a hurry. For me he is a proper forward, and should be played up front. He has been our best player and instrumental in our best season since 2004. I see a tremendously exciting future for this young footballer, but I feel “El Coco” will need to leave us for Europe in the next year or two to develop. I am writing to Peter Grant today.

Ignacio Martin Scocco
Date of birth: - 29th May 1985
Place of birth: - Hughes, Santa Fe, Argentina
Height: - 1.76 metres (5’ 9”)
Weight: - 71 kgs (11 stone 2 pounds)

Newell’s Old Boys:-
Shirt no 32
Started 62
Subbed on 19
Subbed off 31
Complete Games 31
Goals 20
Yellow/Red Cards:- 15/1

Pumas (up to 5th November 2006)
Shirt no 10
Started 13
Subbed on 3
Subbed off 7
Complete Games 6
Goals 5
Yellow Cards 5
Minutes played 1107

Total
Games 97
Goals 25

Game 16: San Luis Away

San Luis v Pumas
Estadio Alfonso Lastras
4th November 2006

Video Highlights

A great save, an awful miss and a wonderful poach gave Pumas their first ever victory v San Luis here, and planted one foot firmly in the Liguilla. Over night, we even shared the super-lider on 26 points, with Toluca, Cruz Azul, Atlas and America. It could be said that we had some luck, and their strikers should have finished us off. However we displayed Tuca’s favourite traits of patience, control and concentration, and deserved this win.

Tuca opted to start 4-4-2, but with a couple of surprises, Espinosa kept at right back, Castro as defensive midfielder and Sancho ahead of him, pushing Leandro further left. Partnering Gonzalez up front, was Chupa Lopez, much to my disgust. Both the Ariels received warm welcomes, Gonzalez as a San Luis old boy (16 goals in 36 games), and Chupa had worked under their manager Raul Arias at Necaxa.

Arias also changed his usual 5-3-2 for 4-4-2, and the first half was not of the highest interest. We really managed to stop them, and their strikers didn’t really see the ball at all. The first chance was a tricky one for Gonzalez after more than half and hour. A strong encounter, with a midfield battle, but not lots to tell.

No changes at half time, and San Luis came out brightly, and a twenty minute period of real danger for us started, which we weathered in a variety of ways. First at 52 minutes Pereira met a cross in the heart if the area, and headed it very well, very strongly. “RoRo” Rodriguez, of whom I have had some harsh words (esp v America), leapt to his right at full length and got enough hand on it to send it up to the cross bar. This was a truly magnificent save, and RoRo knew it, grinning wildly at the bench, and pointing at himself. But why not, he had kept us in it; single-handedly.

However, just two minutes later Castro failed to stop a diagonal ball into the box, where Navia met it and scored… only to be correctly ruled offside. Credit to Pikolin for tracking him, yet forcing him into an off-side position. Just one minute later, Pereira had been allowed space deep in the box, and fired a low cross through the defense to a waiting, onside, and free Navia, with an open goal a metre in front of him. He failed to even make contact, and the faulty foot shuffle on the slow-mo is well worth a laugh. Another good chance went begging for them on 60 minutes, Guerrero should have at least made RoRo make a save.

Tuca then did the obvious and brought Scocco on for the once more static Chupa. Immediately you could see his touch and class, and it makes you wonder how Tuca can even think of not playing him from the start. The game became more even, although old Puma hero Ailton Da Silva came on and hit a cracker from long range, forcing RoRo into another good save.

On 74 minutes Tuca made a rather odd change, bringing a subdued (but determined) Parejita off for Moreno. This defensive move looked as if Tuca was going to go for a nil all, after all. However, the very first thing Moreno did was to meet a corner kick very strongly with his head, down and goalwise, it got a deflection off a defender, and as the keeper went to block it, Scocco popped up with the delicatist of touches to see the ball home.

Whilst Scocco is a very creative player, and it would be tempting to play him as an advanced midfielder, he has clearly shown time and again he also possesses the poaching instincts of a striker. We have seen him many times lose his man in the box at corners, and the instinct to pop up at the right place is in his blood. Witness how he peeled off his marker to score v Veracruz. Another poach off a knock down from a corner was wrongly adjudged off-side v Cruz Azul. He came very close in similar circumstances v Toluca. For me he has the makings of the complete forward, he also has great vision, an ability for the defence splitting pass, a lovely long shot, and a lethal finish. We have to play him for a full 90 minutes every game.

This goal settled us and we never really looked in a lot of trouble afterwards. In fact, the still out of shape, out of touch, and out of confidence Reinaldo had a couple of chances to finish it. He didn’t.

All in all, a great win, and controlled performance, rode the storm well, and took all points with a sneaky goal (tm Tricky)

Ratings:-
Rodriguez – 9 – a couple of good saves, one great one, assured on crosses, in control of his defence, and some brave keeping to boot. Missed out on MOM by a whisker.

Espinosa – 7 – decent, solid
Pikolin – 9 – another great performance, good in the air, distribution good, didn’t get beaten, and a remarkable assault on the ball rolling into touch scores him highly.
Veron – 7 – solid and decent, but today outshone by his partner, Sideshow Bob
Velarde – 8 – he plays like a player with 10 years experience, not in his first full season.

Sancho – 8 – decent game in the centre of the park. Would rather see him in contención, with Leandro in this role.
Castro - 7 - has really grown in this role this season, because of Sancho's injury and suspension, although I do not understand playing him here when Sancho is available
Leandro – 7 – is wasted on the left, so stayed more inside, creating an odd shape. Tuca has to understand the gem that Leandro is, and use him correctly. He is too blinkered in his love for Sancho.
Parejita – 7 – another slightly subdued game for him, but once again showed great ganas, great heart, and kept high concentration levels to the end. (subbed off 74 mins)

Lopez – 6 – after a good game v America, in which we saw him move for the first time, he came back and didn’t really do much. Too static again, too willing to stand with his hands on his hips pointing. (subbed 63 mins)
Gonzalez – 8 – another good hustling performance. As I said last week, I really think defences hate playing against him. Always moving, always chasing, had a couple of decent attempts at half chances too. (subbed 85 mins)

Subs:-
Scocco – 10 – MOM – 63 mins - great touch, great movement, a class act. A wonderful poached goal of his turned out to be the difference and got us the points.
Moreno – 7 – 74 mins - good solid performance, and a strong head to put the defence in trouble, allowing Scocco to pop up.
Reinaldo – 5 – 85 mins – actually in amongst it for the 5 mins he was on, strong work to put himself in the clear with a one on one, but looked slow of foot, and slow of head, and stuck it way over the bar. Also had a good heading chance which he fluffed.

DT
Ricardo “Tuca” Ferretti – 6 – good to switch to 4-4-2, but got the personnel wrong. Should have had Castro at right-back, Sancho defensive midfielder, Leandro running things in front of him, Pareja out right and Morales out left. Also, he must be on some very strong drugs to prefer Chupa Lopez to Scocco, that is unforgivable, I think. The Moreno substitution looked odd, almost admitting defeat, but we scored straight away, so it looks inspired.

I think he is so fond of Sancho he is miss-using Leandro, and we are losing out because of it. Leandro should be the midfield general, with Sancho behind him, however, it should free him up to create down the middle, but wastes too much time deep left. Also he must understand that the correct partnership up front is Gonzalez and Scocco. And he must give them plenty of playing time together. If not, I fear a team that respects Scocco’s talents more may come knocking sooner rather than later-

Cards:-
San Luis
26 mins – Navia
75 mins – Tahulan

Pumas
40 mins – Castro – very harsh, not a booking
41 mins – Chupa
50 mins – Espinosa.

Goal:-
75 mins – Following a corner kick that San Luis defence could not deal with, Ignacio Scocco appeared, and pushed the ball over the line, very controlled to avoid a foul on the keeper.

Crowd:-
32,000 – they always get a great support down there, even in the Primera A they were selling out, which is extremely rare in Mexico.

Pumas Morelos:-
Just like the senior team, a good 1-0 away win v Tigres, with a goal from David Toledo. Odin Patiño is skipper of this team, and playing today were also Jehu Chiapas, Ben Mosco, Jaramillo, Franco, Alcantara, Orlando Pineda, Gaston Caprari (arg), Pedro Solis, Pablo Barrera and Israel Moreno, Pablo Bonells and Daniel Alanis came on as subs. Definetely time Tuca gave Solis a run out in the senior squad. They are now 5th in Group 2 with, I think, a good chance to qualify for the liguilla. Heres a video from a few weeks back, losing 3-4 at home. Gaston wears 44, Solis (40) sets up his goal, and Barrera (who came on v Tecos and Monarcas) scores a nice goal wearing 18.

Elsewhere in Mexico:-
Once again the most highly paid strike force in Mexico fail, as America draw 0-0 “away” at Atlante, in the Azteca. This means we have the same points and GD as them. They have only scored 4 away from home, we now have 5!. In an exciting game Veracruz come back from behind to beat Chivas 3-2. Chivas seem certain that Bofo, Bravo and Medina will all go to Europe soon, and are wooing Kikin. Jaguares draw with Monterrey 1 each, making their classification a little complicated. Monarcas put on a little pressure in Group 3, by beating Tecos 2-1, remember they still have a chance of 6 points, and will play the last 50 minutes v Necaxa on Wednesday night. Atlas beat Necaxa 2-1, in a bright and open game, notable mainly for the appalling refereeing. Our last match is v Tigres, they have struggled this season, and the directors have promised a big clear out at Christmas. Against Queretaro both Walter Gaitan and Sebastian “Chamagol” Gonzalez missed several sitters, but still won 3-2, this pulled them away from us in the relegation zone. The top of the table clash was an interesting match that finished honours even, Toluca 1 Cruz Azul 1, with neither of those in the hunt for top goalscorer adding to their tally, Marioni on 11 and Sabah on 9 hoping to overtake him and become the first Mexican to win this since Jared Borgetti at Santos in 2001. Pachuca and Santos played out a 1 all draw, which leaves Santos 6 points behind us in the relegation zone. There is talk of Borgetti going back at Christmas to help them, but I feel this is a pipe-dream.

We are now 5th in the general table, one point off the leaders, so thats something for the press here, who have knocked Pumas all season, to think about. We are also on our own as the best defence, with only 11 conceded. OK, we have not scored many, but as Cloughie used to say:- "Football is like life; you build from the back" (although this does not explain Mark Crossley). I really think we should be able to get this award at least, by keeping a clean sheet v Tigres.

Group`3:-
Toluca pld 16 27pts +12
America pld 16 26pts +5 (scored 19)
PUMAS pld 16 26pts +5 (scored 16)
Monarcas pld 15 20pts -3
Tigres pld 16 14pts -18
Santos pld 16 11pts -11

Descenso bottom 6:-
1.2600 San Luis 63 from 50
1.2500 Queretaro 20 from 16
1.2381 Tigres 104 from 84
1.2262 Tecos 103 from 84
1.2024 Pumas 101 from 84
1.1310 Santos 95 from 84

Next Up:-
At home 12th November 12.00 CU, v Tigres. Very important. I am pretty sure that a draw will see us in the liguilla. However, if we win, it means we will start the Clausura 2007 with the same points on the descenso. If we keep our concentration levels up, we should be able to; they have the joint fewest goals scored this season with 14, and have conceded 32, 2nd most, behind Tecos.