Xolos will start the 2017 Clausura with a slight disadvantage. Against Morelia this Saturday, Tijuana will be left without manager Miguel “Piojo” H
Xolos will start the 2017 Clausura with a slight disadvantage.
Against Morelia this Saturday, Tijuana will be left without manager Miguel “Piojo” Herrera.
For those who don’t remember, Herrera was thrown out of Xolos’ last match, a thrilling quarterfinal second leg at home against Leon on November 26th. Down to ten men and without Herrera or one of his coaching assistants, who were thrown out in the first half, Tijuana went on to beat Leon 3-2 in the Estadio Caliente.
Unfortunately, the victory wasn’t enough to overcome the previous 3-0 loss against Leon in the first leg, meaning that Los Panzas Verdes were able to sneak through with a 5-3 aggregate victory.
Midfielder Juninho was also shown a red in that game, but that won’t be much a problem now when you consider that he is currently on loan with MLS’ Chicago Fire.
It’s not exactly a good omen to have your manager missing in the first match of the tournament, and with a few other changes that will need to be made, things could get difficult for Xolos on Saturday.
Kevin Gutierrez, Federico Vilar and Gabriel Hauche, who were all regular starters last season, will also not be available. While Vilar retired and Hauche is on loan with Toluca, Gutierrez finished his loan with Tijuana and is now back with Queretaro.
According to some early reports, this means that Ignacio Malcorra, Juan Carlos Medina and Gibran Lajud will be taking over their spots in the starting XI.
Although Malcorra has the abilities to work well in the midfield or attack, questions still remain over the trust that will likely be put on Medina and Lajud. Medina, who will probably work alongside Guido Rodriguez in center of the midfield, has so far been an underwhelming and non-threatening presence on the pitch for Tijuana.
As for Lajud, it’s tough to know if the 23-year-old will be able to exude the same amount of confidence that Vilar showed in every performance in the Apertura.
Will these subtle changes lead to a loss against a Morelia side that is led by noteworthy striker Raul Ruidiaz? Probably not, but it also won’t be easy for Xolos’ attackers to take control of the match without Hauche in the starting XI and Herrera on the sidelines.
For better or worse, Saturday’s game will be a perfect opportunity to see where Tijuana currently stands without certain key players in the roster. Looking at the backups, it will also be intriguing to possibly see options like Paul Arriola, Henry Martin or Joe Corona take charge during the second half. Especially Corona, who has the talents to eventually work his way into Herrera’s starting XI.
It is perhaps ill-advised to make predictions this early in the competition, but I’m going with a hard-fought draw for Tijuana in the first week of the Clausura.
Predicted score: Morelia 1-1 Xolos
Predicted Xolos starting XI:
