There have been plenty of surprises in the early goings within Liga MX. One of these surprises is certainly the lack of wins so far for Club America. It’s essentially the same team that dominated Liga MX for a large stretch of last season. What’s the problem so far? Why hasn’t the team been able to pick up wins this season? There are a couple of reasons that we could actually point to.
There Are A Lot Of Questions On The Defensive End
We’ve been on this for a while now. A lot of people think it’s a personal issue that we have against Nestor Araujo since that article which compared him to Harry Maguire. There’s a reason though that Tano Ortiz who was a center back himself has now benched Araujo for good. Now, it must be said that it’s not like the defense is getting any better. That perhaps is the real concern for Club America.
They let one of their main central defenders walk. Bruno Valdez had been one of the more consistent players for this team in the last few years. It seemed odd that they would let him go. He ended up at Boca Juniors on a free transfer. This looks like one of those cases where an Argentine player wants to go back and play for his boyhood club. He had to forgo his remaining salary at Club America and sign on a free transfer. This is potentially because Club America is likely not in the mood to do business with Argentine teams. Particularly since they have an ongoing lawsuit with Independiente.
Oscar Jimenez also showed some flaws in the most recent game against Toluca. He’s an above average goalkeeper for Liga MX standards, but he’s not top tier. Ochoa had his issues for sure, but the team might miss him after all!
The Team Doesn’t Seem As Explosive Up Front
The front end of this squad isn’t faring much better than the back end either. Diego Valdes was heavily criticized last season for his lack of form. So far he hasn’t gotten any better. Jonathan Rodríguez for his part seems to have taken a step back as well. He had some moments last season, but so far he’s completely lost. Roger Martinez is back to his old self, and not in a good way. He seemed way more engaged at the end of last year. Ultimately with him, it seems like he lacks effort in certain spots. That’s driven a ton of Club America coaches crazy over the years that’s why so many of them have tried to get rid of him.
Henry Martin has gotten caught in this lull that the team’s in. His situation seems eerily similar to that of Oscar Jimenez. He’s a middle of the pack player that can perform well when things around him are in place. Don’t expect him to consistently put the team on his back, because he’s just not that talented. The exact same thing can be said about Zendejas. Although he’s been more present than Roger Martinez and Cabecita Rodríguez for sure.
Where Do They Go From Here?
This team also had some trouble getting out of the blocks last season. So they probably aren’t too worried at this point. It does seem like they’ve lost a step offensively. There’s still plenty of talent on that end of the field for them though. They’ll likely figure it out. It’s actually defensively where they should focus most of their attention. There’s just not a lot of talent on their roster right. Tano Ortiz looks like he’s considering coming back to play center back for the club. They play Puebla and Mazatlan though so they can bounce back at least in the table.
