Fansided

How Aguilas regained flight: Playing with clipped wings

By Thomas Buckley

Enrique Esqueda of America flops to the ground after a challenge by Gerardo Espinoza of Atlas during a match as part of the Apertura 2010 at Azteca Stadium on August 15, 2010 in Mexico City, Mexico. (Photo by Hector Vivas/LatinContent via Getty Images)
Enrique Esqueda of America flops to the ground after a challenge by Gerardo Espinoza of Atlas during a match as part of the Apertura 2010 at Azteca Stadium on August 15, 2010 in Mexico City, Mexico. (Photo by Hector Vivas/LatinContent via Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit

Just over a decade ago, Club América was a mess. The Aguilas hit historical lows, churning through two GMs and 11 coaches from 2004 to 2011. This is a five-part series reliving América’s crash and return to relevance. In Part II, the Aguilas hit bottom.

Michel Bauer took over as team president in summer 2008 after América’s embarrassing last-place finish in the Clausura 2008. The Aguilas went through three coaches that season: Daniel Brailovsky, Rubén Omar Romano and Juan Antonio Luna combined to produce a 3-2-12 record, scoring 12 goals in 17 games and conceding 27.

Bauer was hired to turn around a team in complete disarray. His first decision went from a bombshell to a bomb.

More from Viva Liga MX

Ramón “Pelado” Díaz had guided San Lorenzo to the Argentine league crown a year earlier after winning five league titles and a Copa Libertadores at River Plate. A disciplinarian and a noted tactician, Díaz would return América to glory.

The plan blew up in Bauer’s face as the Aguilas only improved to 13th place, missing out on the playoffs for a second straight season. When Pelado’s Aguilas lost to Pachuca in Week 4 of the Clausura 2009, falling to 1-1-2, Bauer canned Díaz.

The team went from a legendary coach to a first-timer. Jesús Ramírez was brought in to rediscover the magic of the 2007 Under-17 team (featuring Carlos Vela and Gio dos Santos) he coached to a World Cup title. But Bauer hedged his bets, giving “Chucho” only a 6-month contract.

Fans objected to the tactics of the new coach. Ramírez preferred discipline and balance between offense and defense, while die-hard fans wanted flash and sizzle.
“Chucho” lasted 51 games, getting the Aguilas into the playoffs twice, but never threatening to win the title.

Bauer went to his “déjà vu” card, bringing in Manuel Lapuente, a taciturn man who led América to the title in the Verano 2002 season. “Manolo” then did a 1-season encore in 2006, but was let go after the Aguilas lost to the Chivas in the semifinals.

Michael Bauer: Aguilas hit bottom
Michel Bauer, center, has been called the worst team president in América’s history. (Photo by Hector Vivas/Jam Media/LatinContent via Getty Images) /

Lapuente’s conservative style did not inspire enthusiasm from the fans, many of whom scoffed at his promise that América would “defend like Inter and attack like Barça.” Fans also had not forgotten that in 2003 “Manolo” had dismissed criticism from América fans who hated his style by saying “If you want entertainment, go see the circus.”

Lapuente lasted just over one season this time around. The Aguilas made the playoffs as the No. 6 seed before Santos Laguna dismissed them in the semifinals. A Week 3 loss to the Tigres in Estadio Azteca on Jan 23, 2011, was the last straw and Bauer was looking for a coach again.

This time, he would turn to an “Americanista” in a last-ditch effort to revive flagging fan support and inspire the struggling team: “El Maestro” Carlos Reinoso. When that didn’t work, he hired another “Americanista,” Alfredo Tena, aka “Captain Fury.”

Bauer would not survive into 2012.

In Part III, Ricardo Peláez – a member of América’s 1985 title-winning team – takes charge of the front office and gets the Aguilas back on a lofty perch.

Part I – Spiraling in a downdraft – can be found here.

This feature is part of a series about the Big Four of the Liga MX: América, Guadalajara, Cruz Azul and the Pumas.

Home/Club America