The most obvious answer to why Rayados’ great campaign has been somewhat forgotten is because Club America had a better season. Now, both of the teams are evenly matched enough in points to where it would make sense for them to share the spotlight. However, Club America is a much more popular team, and to be fair the main stream media in Mexico is extremely centralist, in the sense that they give the 4 major clubs in Mexico, (America, Chivas, Cruz Azul, and Pumas) way more coverage than any other squad. Those are the reasons why Rayados’ good season has flown under the radar in the media.
Where they haven’t flown under the radar has been on the field for sure! The team won 10 games including 3 out of their last 5 during the regular season while only losing 2 games. Their only losses were to Chivas, and Santos, also they were one of the few teams to beat Club America this season. Although the main stream media may be sleeping on them, they are decent title contenders. What would need to happen though for this team to be able to lift the trophy?
Just Keep Doing What You’re Doing
Some of the games that Rayados have won haven’t been extraordinary. They had sublime moments though, against Cruz Azul for example. They looked superb when they got out to the 2-0 lead. Then they squandered the lead though, so that’s certainly something to watch out for. In their game against Leon they also blew that team out of the water completely. Other than that they’ve played some pretty close games, but they find a way to come out on top more often than not.
There may be a bit of a concern that they let bad teams hang around, and that has lead to unexpected results like their 0-0 draw with Mazatlan, and their loss to Chivas. It’s not an excuse, but in many of these off games they’ve had they were using a B side. In many parts of the tournament they just cruised, so if they keep doing what they’re doing, and put their foot down when they need to they should be fine.
Who’s Going To Play Upfront If Funes Mori Gets Back?
One of their biggest issues could come from within. Rodrigo Aguirre was a great singing he provided a spark to that Monterrey offense many times during the season. At the same time he’s gotten used to playing with German Beterame up top. Is Vucetich willing to mess with that mojo to fit Rogelio Funes Mori in the team? That remains to be seen, but logic does dictate that you should go with the hot hand. Maybe leave Funes Mori for emergency situations if you find yourself down in a game. This is a dilemma that head coach Victor Vucetich is going to have to contend with throughout the playoffs. He’s proven though that he knows how to manage his teams extremely well.
What Could Be Their Undoing?
Plenty of Rayados fans would love to see the team lift the trophy after beating Tigres in one of the playoff series. That could serve as a bit of revenge for Rayados who recently lost a final to their bitter rival. In reality though, that’s probably the matchup that they would like to avoid. These types of games tend to be highly emotional, and they come down to which team is able to play a cleaner game. Perhaps this time around Rayados has more talent on the roster than Tigres. That hadn’t happened for the better part of ten years. In any case a matchup against Tigres could be even more dangerous for Rayados than one against Club America, with whom they matchup rather well!
