We were down 1-0 in the 20th min thanks to a penalty given away by Ocampo. We were already down 2-0 from the first leg at homeand this gave us an even bigger hill to climb. Ridiculous because up until that point we had been getting in close to the Inter area and were looking a little dangerous.

Then, with a free kick in the 36th minute we were down 2-0(4-0 AG) by a free kick. Hugo Hernandez was not having the best night.

Medina then got sent off in the 41st for a silly tackle from behind. We were already being humiliated and at the point this was the cherry on top of the cake. 10 men from this point on.

A minute before the break Inter added another to leave us at 3-0(5-0 AG) going into the locker room. This was a horrible try by Hugo Hernandez. He punched the ball up, but not away and left it clear to go into the back of the net. Although, by the curve it was taken it could have been an Olympic goal.

The final goal of the night came on the 70th minute by a really nice play that ended up flying over Hernandez. 4-0(6-0 AG). We were done. This was just humiliating.

Props to Inter, they kept on playing their game instead of just putting men behind the ball, and well that is the kind of respect that teams should give each other. It sucks to say it, but I’m sure if the situation had been reversed we wouldn’t have done the same.

It’s safe to say that no one put effort into this match. We were supposed to have our whole concentration on this game(its why we didn’t qualify for the Liguilla) and we threw it away in a couple of minutes. I’m very disapointed in the players. At one time the Chivas was supposed to represent love and pride. Last night it seemed to represent money for many. They didn’t put any effort because, hey, at the end it just means they get to go on vacation early.

I applaud Hernandez for giving us hope for a while. He stepped up many times with fantastic saves and it gives us more confidence if Michel is ever injured again. Plus it gives competition between both keepers so that is bound to help.

I’m also sorry to say that Efrain Flores should be looking for a new job. Vergara is not going to let him stay much longer.

However, we are down in that tournament after this week’s loss at home. Worst of all is the away goals rule. Anyways we’ll see how we do or our season will be definitely over.

The Lineups against Indios looked like this:

Guadalajara

30 Hugo Hernández
6 Omar Esparza
20 Édgar Mejía
4 Héctor Reynoso
29 Juan Ocampo (YC 13′) (Antonio Olvera 48′)
18 Xavier Báez
11 Ramón Morales
8 Marco Fabián (Édgar Solís 78′)
10 Alberto Medina (YC15′)
21 Sergio Santana (Sergio Ávila 68′)
9 Omar Arellano
DT Efraín Flores

Indios

13 Cirilo Saucedo
2 Juan Carlos Franco
3 Juan de la Barrera
24 William Hernández
25 Sindey Balderas (YC 54′)
7 Andrés Chitiva (Jorge Rodríguez 62′)(YC 85′)
8 Tomás Campos
15 Edwin Santibañez
23 Manuel Pérez (Julio Frias 68′)
26 Juan ramón Curbelo (Daniel Campos 34′)
9 Carlos Maggiolo
DT Héctor Hugo Eugui

First half we scored in the 29th by Marco Fabian. It all started with a lovely build up by Santana who went around the goal kepper and then back heeled the ball back to the youngster who stared down the ball and put it in the back of the net. Lovely indeed.
We went in for half time up and then the players found out what they needed to do to get into the short tournament.
Out the players came and scored in the 66th again with build up from Santana but scored by Medina. After, it was a whole bunch of missed chances and time dwindled away as did our hopes of classifying on our own. The game ended and all we could do was wait until today to see the results of Morelia and Toluca. And well as you know they didn’t turn out favorably and so here we are betting everything on the Sudamericana. Come on, please boys. Win this weekend. We’ve been without a trophy for a while now. Have a safe flight.

We all know the story with Chivas. They put you on a high on moment, give you a few headaches and heart attacks in between, all to finish it off with a nice flair of disappointment. Yesterday night was no different. We went into the game feeling confident. We had of course disposed of River Plate and we were on home turf. What did we have to worry about? Sven hadn’t called up any of our players and it seemed like we were throwing ourselves whole heartedly into the competition. It all made for a bigger disappointedly in the end.

Lineups

Guadalajara

25 Hugo Hernández
6 Omar Esparza (YC 25′) (Alberto Medina 46′)
20 Édgar Mejía (YC 77′)
4 Héctor Reynoso (YC33′) (Sergio Ávila 75′)
3 Juan Ocampo
18 Xavier Báez
5 Patricio Araujo (YC 21′)
16 Édgar Solís (Marco Fabián 57′)
11 Ramón Morales
9 Omar Arellano
21 Sergio Santana
DT Efraín Flores

Internacional

22 Luro Batista
3 Marcos de Lima (YC 38′)
5 Pablo Guiñazú (YC 72′)
6 Marcos Skavinski
8 Edimo Ferreira
9 Nilmar Honorato (Taison Barsellos 83′)
10 Alex Mescchini
11 Marcos Rodrigues
13 Fabian Guedes
17 Andre Luiz (Rosinei Adolfo 85′)
24 Álvaro Maior
DT Tite.

Already in the 5th minute Inter came up with a good shot only to be called offsides seconds later. However, it did provide us with a glimpse of Hernandez’s great abilities.

Again in the 12th we were attacked and another great save by Hernandez saved our skin. The Inter player lofted the ball over Hernandez who was already on his knees, only for him to somehow stretch up and block the ball with his fingertips.

In the 19th we had a good chance with 3 of our players in the Inter area but a good save by their goal keeper saved them. Right after in the 20th min, Pato Araujo continued his disciplinary problems from the weekend and tackled a player right outside the Inter area and gave away the ball as well as received a yellow card.

The 27th turned out to be a moment of the game as a counter was started by Chivas which led to Arellano being right in front of goal only to miss because of a hit by a defender. Up until now this would have been a sure 1-0.

In the 29th there was a scramble in the Inter box and the Chivas players once again missed their chance to put away the goal and make a change in the scoreline.

The 43rd min proved to be full of panic as Inter scored but were called on a dubious offsides.

Again in the 45th min Arellano came up alone on a header only to miss another opportunity. This was by far the clearest of the game.

Then in extra time in the 46th we were awarded a free kick only to have it taken away because there was not enough time left.

Overall we had a really good first half. Our defense had looked decent, Hernandez looked superb, we were pressuring Inter quite a lot and it felt like any little improvement would make a difference during the 2nd half. By this time we would have been able to be up at least 2-0 but misses from Arellano had prevented that from happening.

The 66th min again could have seen us go up. None other than Omar Arellano, missed the goal.

Then we became unlucky as Inter scored their first goal in the 70th min. They were 1-0 up.

The 72nd min turned to to be a hair pulling moment. We had 3 players(THREE!) in front of the goal and none had been called offsides. But of course all of the missed as the ball flew in front of them it seemed like all 3 were stuck to the floor as they were unresponsive.

In the 78th Inter took advantage of us and they added another to make it a 2-0 lead.

The end went blah because Inter were happy with their lead and Chivas could not afford to go down any more. The first half we played very well but we fell apart in the second. Arellano went from being a hero to being a villain in this game. There are still 90 mins left to play as we down to Brazil next Wednesday but we also have to hope that by then Sven doesn’t decide to call up any of our players.

On Saturday we play Indios and that game is a determining factor on whether we qualify for the Liguilla or not. If we don’t,well the copa Sudamericana seems to have become a little more difficult. If we lose either then we lose any chance of gaining any silverware this season. And well, that seems to have the case very often.

This deal comes as a surprise as only a few weeks ago, the player claimed to have no interest in playing in the America’s. His mind was changed according to de la Torre based on his previous days’ experience of training with the team, the installations, and his observation of the game against River Plate. If the deal goes through he may play at the Jalisco Stadium Saturday evening against Los Indio de Ciudad Juarez.

Now the game against Puebla that seemed to guarantee our entry into the Liguilla seems to be behind everyone. Several players were rested Sunday for the anticipated game against Inter on Wednesday night. Efrain Flores is taking the blame for the teams bad performance but he is not entirely to blame. Everyone, including the young ones were so sure of themselves they once again underestimated the opponent.

Puebla

1 Jorge Villalpando (YC 49′)

2 Óscar Rincón

24 Sergio Jiménez

58 Óscar Zea

44 Adrián Sánchez (YC 30′)

7 Sergio Rosas (Juan Hernández 82′)

15 Cesáreo Victorino

14 Luis Manuel Noriega

17 Walter Vilchez

13 Álvaro González (Fabiano Pereira 71′)

9 Walter Peralta (YC 13′)

DT Mario Carrillo

Guadalajara

30 Hugo Hernández

6 Omar Esparza (Javier Hernández 66′)

20 Édgar Mejía

33 Mario de Luna (YC 26′)

29 Juan Ocampo

17 Antonio Olvera

5 Patricio Araujo (RC 39′)

13 Sergio Ávila (Sergio Santana 59′)

8 Marco Fabián

15 Jesús Padilla (Omar Arellano 59′) (YC 74′)

10 Alberto Medina

DT Efraín Flores

The captain, Pato Araujo received a red for a terrible tackle which was more of a result of anger more than actually trying to get to the ball. Before that, both goals had already been scored and it showed that our defense was full of inexperienced players. In the very end(91st min) it was Sergio Santana who gave us the consolation goal.

After the first leg in Argentina, we seemed comfortable lead of 2-1 with the away goal rules. Yes, there were still 90 minute left in the game but Chivas was in the mindset to win and advance.

Guadalajara

30 Hugo Hernández
6 Omar Esparza
4 Héctor Reynoso (YC 56′)
20 Édgar Mejía
16 Édgar Solís (Marc Fabián 46′)
5 Patricio Araujo (YC 39′)
7 Gonzalo Pineda (Alberto Medina 46′)
18 Xavier Báez
11 Ramón Morales (Antonio Olvera 71′)
9 Omar Arellano
21 Sergio Santana
Efraín Flores

River Plate

1 Juan Marcelo Ojeda
4 Paulo Ferrari (Rodrigo Archubi 76′)
2 Gustavo Cabral
16 Raúl Quiroga
3 Cristian Vallagra (YC 74′)
8 Matías Fernández
5 Oscar Ahumada (YC 6′)
11 Matías Abelairas (YC 24′)
10 Diego Buonanotte (YC 53′) (Gustavo Bou 62′)
9 Radamel Falcao
13 Sebastián Abreu
Diego Simeone

The game finally started with much anticipation. From the very opening seconds of the game River let Chivas know what they were there to do. Quickly they set themselves up for the attack and Chivas gave away a free kick. Reynoso should have received a yellow for the foul but since it was early in the game the ref let it slide. The River free kick was sent out by the wall and now Chivas had to worry about a corner. Unfortunately, they did not worry enough because it was only the second minute and Chivas were down 0-1. With this scoreline they would advance due to they away goals rule but they had to be very cautious now.

The game continued with River looking dangerous. In the 9th min Pato Araujo had to leave the field to get his head bandaged.

Our right side looked weak and River soon noticed and they got us again. It was the 20th minute and we were 0-2 down at home. There was absolutely nothing that Hugo Hernandez could do about Falcao’s shot to the lower right side of his goal.

The 28th minute showed a small fight break out between players as Buonanotte fouled Esparza and the latter retaliated. Somehow the whole group got involved and the already dirty game became more tense.

In the 42nd we had what should have been a penalty. River’s Ojeda clearly held on to Santana as he went into the area and wrapped his arms around him preventing Santana from getting the ball into the unattended goal. The ref didn’t mark this and tension mounted again.

The first half showed a bad Chivas. They constantly fouled, were overtaken by a River side, and were not working as a team. It was bad, bad, bad.

For the second half Edgar Solis and Gonzalo Pineda were taken out for Alberto Medina and Marco Fabian.

During the 59th we showed some signs that we were going to continue fighting for our place in the semi finals. We scored by a nice effort by Omar Arellano who received a long ball, looped it over defender, which fell to Marco Fabian who slotted it in. 2-1 and we were going to penalties.

Minutes later we again achieved what we were meant to do. It was the 64th and we tied 2-2 thanks to a play by Arellano to Medina who scored. With this score we were guaranteed to go through and we only had to endure the time that was left.

The rest of the time Hugo Hernandez became confident again and his performance was elevated. Time after time he made saves that kept us in the game. Any other scoreline would not have meant penalties. It was do or die. River continued to look dangerous and with 4 minutes of extra time it was worrying. The back line of the Chivas players seemed tired and let go of ball after ball. Finally it all ended.

We were lucky enough with the result because at any time, River could have easily made it 3-0, 4-0, etc. Fortunately, in the second half their finishing went down and Chivas played a bit better. Overall, it was down to luck and for a while Hugo Hernandez.

The game had definitely been tense and it showed all the way to the Managers. Both Efrain Flores and Diego Simeone were sent away during the course of the second half and on the field it was not much better having foul after foul.

Now, we face Internacional de Porto Alegre during the semi finals of the Sudamericana. Scheduling changes however pose a problem. With our possible qualification into the Liguilla we face squad depletion because of the short time in between games. Add in our international players that are sure to be called up for the games against Ecuador on Nov. 12 and the ever important World Cup Qualifying match for Mexico at the end of the month and we’ve got a problem.

A match report from a different perspective is also up here.

With Morales coming back injured we said goodbye to our captain and perhaps the most experienced player for this match. Luckily, it didn’t seem like we missed him too much. A win at the Azteca stadium seemed a bit daunting especially since we were away from home. A win would give us 3 much needed points, but a draw wouldn’t have been too bad either. A point is a point and it would have helped on the table. Anyways we started with
Guadalajara

30 Hugo Hernández
6 Omar Esparza (Alberto Medina 56′)
20 Édgar Mejía
4 Héctor Reynoso
19 Jonny Magallón
16 Édgar Solís
5 Patricio Araujo
18 Xavier Báez
8 Marco Fabián (Gonzalo Pineda 52′)
9 Omar Arellano
21 Sergio Santana (Sergio Ávila 64′)

and America with
1 Guillermo Ochoa
15 Jesús Sánchez
2 Ismael Rodríguez
5 Enrique Vera
6 Sebastián Domínguez
4 Oscar Rojas
20 Alejandro Argüello
25 Juan Carlos Silva (Juan Carlos medina 46′)
8 Federico Insua (Juan Carlos Mosqueda 79′)
7 Alfredo Moreno (Enrique Esqueda 68′)
9 Salvador Cabañas

Up to the 10th min we constantly attacked and troubled America’s defense. Solis also came down on the edge of the area and we were awarded a free kick which flashed across the goal.

In the 11th Arellano scored a goal which could have gone in as easily as not. It came off a cross/shot from Santana and we were up 1-0.

During the 24th minute Arellano and Fabian had a good combination up front but the moment was wasted by Fabian who fired a weak shot, one that could have done more damage.

The 26th min saw danger in our area. An America player played the ball in to our area with so much pace that as it rebounded off the top corner of the post, the “crack” was clearly heard. In the process Hernandez hit his jaw and had to be treated but was luckily able to continue.

Unfortunately, bad luck landed in our area when a corner headed by Dominguez went into goal. He had two defenders on it but our tallest, Reynoso, was overcome by him anyways. Hernandez dove the right way but was unable to get to the ball. It was the 32nd min and we were level 1-1.

In the 39th Araujo received a yellow for a foul on Insua.

Another scare in the 40th as Salvador Cabanas rounded the goalkeeper and scored but he was offsides. Still, it scared me.

So, half time came and the game was exciting. The constant attacking by Chivas had been welcomed although America slightly leveled after their equalizer to make it more of an even game. Despite the young age of the squad they were coping in the big game.

In the 2nd, the line up stayed the same for our side.

In the 5th min there was a great build up by Fabian and the shot rebounded and was shot by Santana. He was offside and he sent it over goal but it was a good effort.

The 7th min saw a HUGE mistake from America in which they missed a goal due to bad communication. Or confusion. It seemed like they were defending on the wrong side of the pitch.

11th min and Esparza went out injured and Medina came in.

The same minute saw an incredible save by Hernandez on a shot by Magallon which could have easily been an own goal.

19th min Santana came off for Avila.

In the 26th we saw an incredible goal again by Arellano. He ran and shot the ball over Ochoa for a spectacular shot and the 3rd goal this week.

The 44th we saw Magallon go out injured and it seemed like he hurt his arm as he was carried off in the little ambulance car. We had no more subs left and we were down to 10 men for the remainder of the game.

So, the game ended and we won 2-1. A great win away from home and a good addition to our points tally. Arellano scored both and it seems like its become a tradition to scored in the Classico’s for his family(both his grandfather and father did as well in their day). Hernandez didn’t have as great as a performance as he did in Argentina but then again America didn’t have as many great of shots. I was impressed with this game as I usually am with all the other classico’s but hopefully this week was a turn around to a winning streak.

The only bad thing, terrible thing actually, is that Johnny Magallon fractured his arm in a Michel-esque way. So he’ll be about for 2-3 months. Out of La Liga, Sudamericana, and El Tri. I wish him speedy recovery because he is a player that we’ll definitely miss. A rock that one.

An update on the Nery Castillo saga. It’s not only the players who don’t want him to come, it is him as well. At the time he has no desire to play in the America’s. My message to him: If you were regularly playing in Europe with Man City great. But unfortunately my friend you are not. It doesn’t seem like the time to be picking and choosing where you want to play. Wherever you can get minutes seems adequate. But perhaps Vergara will stop seeing as how Arellano has had some great performances this week. You missed out and we will gain from it.

We flew down to Argentina feeling quite well. On Saturday we had just won against Atlante 1-0 and we also had the knowledge that we do very well on Argentine soil.

The game started out shaky. River was on the constant attack and it looked like a goal seemed not too far away. Now, for me the player of the match was our goalkeeper Hugo Hernandez who pulled save after amazing save out of nowhere. Thumbs up to Efrain Flores for putting him in goal after blunders by Sergio Rodriguez. He came out when he needed to and kept the back steady.
In the 44th min our persistence paid off and Omar Arellano scored. We went into half time feeling quite well about ourselves.
As play developed it was evident in the 2nd half that the mindset of the game had been set to be more offensive and it paid off again in the 82nd when we came up and gave the perfect cross to Marco Fabian to make it 2-0.
All seemed to be going well. However, it is Chivas and it wouldn’t be Chivas if there wasn’t an incident that made your heart flutter. In extra time, at the 91st, Olvera jumped up with both hands in the air and gave away a penalty. He protested but the replays showed his hand slapping the ball as he went up for the challenge. As my mom blurted out, “Siempre tiene alguien que salir con sus **********.”
Hugo Hernandez went the right way as Sebastian Abreu put it into the right bottom corner, but the ball simply had too much pace to be stopped. If he had pulled off the miracle, I’d be at the head of a petition demanding his place on the national team.
A win down in Argentina was good. Unfortunately, that unnecessary goal was given away literally at the end of the game and that will give River a sense of hope when they come up to play at the Jalisco Stadium in 15 days time. We have a leg up on them but we should be cautious.
The game was entertaining and nerve wrecking at times but over all the team worked very well. Defense did what they were supposed too and didn’t commit too many blunders. They jelled well together and it influenced everyone up. That is how we need to play in La Liga and we’ll see if this can translate on Sunday.

River Plate

1 Juan Marcelo Ojeda
4 Pablo Ferrari (Rodrigo Archubi 72′)
2 Gustavo Cabral
6 Eduardo Tuzzio (AM 24′)
3 Cristian Villagra (AM 69′)
8 Augusto Fernández (YC 23′) (Mauro Rosales 54′)
25 Leonardo Ponzio (YC 87′)
11 Matías Abelairas
10 Diego Bounanotte
9 Radamel Falcao (Santiago Salcedo. 76′)
13 Sebastián Abreu
Diego Simeone

Guadalajara

25 Hugo Hernández
6 Omar Esparza
20 Édgar Mejía (YC 41′)
4 Héctor Reynoso
19 Jonny Magallón
16 Édgar Solís (YC 21′) ( Antonio Olvera 60′)
5 Patricio Araujo (YC 78′)
18 Xavier Báez
11 Ramón Morales (Marco Fabián 71′)
9 Omar Arellano (Alberto Medina 83)
21 Sergio Santana
Efraín Flores

And….the Nery Castillo saga continues. He wasn’t able to come to Chivas soon enough to participate in this game due to the English FA and transfers involving 2 different clubs but apparently the deal is going along well and he should be lining up to play for Chivas…allegedly.

Lineups
Guadalajara

30 Hugo Hernández
6 Omar Esparza
20 Édgar Mejía (Sergio Santana 56′)
4 Héctor Reynoso
19 Jonny Magallón
16 Édgar Solís
5 Patricio Araujo
18 Xavier Báez
11 Ramón Morales
9 Omar Arellano (Omar Arellano 74′)
10 Alberto Medina (Marco Fabián 67′)
Manager Efraín Flores

Atlante

3 Federico Vilar
2 Javier Muñoz Mustafá
4 Luis Venegas
6 Gerardo Espinoza
8 Alan Zamora
15 Arturo Muñoz (César Fragoso 85′)
19 Mariano Trujillo (AM 89′)
28 Fernando Herrera (Ismael Valadez 67′)
18 Christian Bermudez
11 Luis Gabriel Rey
17 Daniel Guerrero (Raymundo Torres 42′)
Manager José Guadalupe Cruz

We won against Atlante 1-0 thanks to a goal by Sergio Santana in the 60 min. Overall we did quite well and after the first half the score was 0-0. Despite it being a goal less draw it was still very entertaining as Chivas was constantly attacking and looking very threatening.
I didn’t get to watch most of the 2nd half due to a school function but I did see the goal and having become a rarity, I say it was spectacular. I didn’t watch much after that to be honest,

Four players did get yellow cards. Edgar Ivan Solís (20′)
Héctor Reynoso (45′)
Xavier Ivan Báez (87′)
Ramón Morales (90′)

Now, during midweek we get to play River Plate down in Argentina for the Copa Sudamericana. River are coming off a 1-0 defeat to Boca Juniors so it will be interesting to see how this game goes down.

And Sunday night EL CLASSICO. Come on boys, clip those eagles’ wings!