Chivas open the season this Saturday, January 11, 2019 against an underrated opponent, FC Juarez.
All eyes in Liga MX will be on El Rebano Sagrado who spent almost 50 Million with the help of Ricardo Pelaez bringing in fresh Mexicans players to supplement their ranks and thus giving the team a face lift. The arrivals of Midfielder Victor Guzman from Pachuca, Winger Uriel Antuna from LA Galaxy,Defender Cristen Calderon from Necaxa, another defender in Jesus Angulo from Xolos, and Jose Maduena from Cruz Azul alone make the team more formidable. It would be an understatement to say the organization has high expectations.
Not to mention the returns of previous players, most notably striker Jose Juan Macias back from being on loan at Leon, defensive midfielder Gallito Vazquez back from Santos Laguna, and forward Ronaldo Cisneros to make this team on paper arguably the most stacked team in Liga MX. This year it’s championship for bust with how much has been spent on this team..
Players leaving the club include Alan Pulido whom was sold to Sporting KC for a whopping 9 Million. Jose Van Rankin, and Alan Cervantes join Santos Laguna after being sold. With Cesar Huerta joining Morelia on loan. Michael Perez joins Queretaro after being sold also.
Juarez on the other hand seem as the underdog in this tale. One of there biggest issue would be if they tighten up their defensive side of the field as they allowed well over 27 goals in the Apertura 2019. With 6 months into the first division of the Liga MX FC Juarez will not want to leave Estadio Akron with a loss, surely a draw or better yet a win will give Gabriel Caballero teams the spark for the tournament. FC Juarez themselves had a pretty good offseason. New faces accompany Juarez F.C heading into 2020 as, Martin Rabuñal a gifted Uruguayan midfielder coming from Defensor Sporting. William Mendieta an experienced Paraguayan forward, Gael Sandoval the once promising Mexican Forward/Midfielder joins them on loan from Chivas, and another Mexican forward Brian Rubio who played for Costa Rican first division team Herediano CS .
Juarez’s offseason had had front office moves being made as well. Former Federation of Mexican Footballs very own Guillermo Cantu officially joined the team as Executive President of Los Bravos. Not only has he overlooked the Mexican National Team as Director of National Selections, but has also had stints with with established teams such as Santos Laguna. That should give people an idea that FC Juarez are here to stay and a top 8 finish with a 8th finish with a seed into the playoffs would exceed expectations this season.
Certainly, Chivas versus FC Juarez will be the game of the week for the first week of the Clausura 2020 with both teeams having spent well in the offseason, and how all eyes will be on Chivas.
The game kicks off at 8:00 PM Eastern Time at Estadio Akron in Jalisco. Chivas are also debuting their Chivas TV subscription to be able to watch home games will cost each person $6.99 per month. What comes with that subscription is Chivas player interviews, Chivas Feminine coverage, and more content from their teams along with home games. This news comes after Chivas failed to secure a TV contract they felt was favorable for them. Last season games were broadcasted on the Chivas TV Youtube channel for free. They have tried this in the past with their subscription service, but it didn’t work out so well. Fingers crossed it goes over better the second time around.