A Mexican league friendly with much on the line
Officially it’s a preseason friendly.
But given what’s at stake, there’s likely to be very little friendship on display during Saturday’s exhibition between Mexican league rivals Club America and Tijuana at the StubHub Center in Carson.
For starters, the 5 p.m. match will be the first with Club America for new coach Antonio Mohamed, who left Tijuana last spring, six months after leading the Xolos to a Liga MX title. Then there’s the fact that America, Mexico’s premier club, won the last two regular-season meetings between the teams.
Looming over all that, though, is next summer’s World Cup — and the teams’ allegiances are split there as well. America’s roster includes nine players who were on the Mexican roster when El Tri beat New Zealand in a two-leg intercontinental playoff last month to qualify for Brazil. Tijuana, meanwhile, has three players — midfielder Joe Corona, defender Edgar Castillo and forward Herculez Gomez — who are competing for a spot on the U.S. World Cup team.
For them, Saturday’s game could be an important test — especially if national team Coach Juergen Klinsmann makes the short drive from his Orange County home to see the three in person.
“It’s a preseason game. But, yeah, I guess it’s important,” said Castillo, who was born to Mexican parents in New Mexico and played in eight games for the U.S. in 2013. “I’m going to try to play the same way I’ve been playing.”
Corona, who was born in Los Angeles and lives in San Diego County, agrees.
“Every game is important,” said Corona, who also played eight games for the U.S. this year. “From now on every time we get the opportunity to show Juergen what we’re capable of doing, I think it’s important.”
Twitter: @kbaxter11
