Who were the XI players that were a nightmare for Club America
By Miguel Ramos
When it comes to picking a favorite all-time 11 many of us can get biased as we want to include players that we particularly like or that have a special place for, that is why I decided to do it a little differently with Club America.
I am going to share with you my all-time 11 of players that I hate. I don’t hate these players for any reason outside of the sport, the only reason I hate these players is that they always performed against the club I love Las Aguilas del America.
I went back and looked into different moments and games, watching the highlights of these players reopened some wounds for me. I went down memory lane and suddenly I found myself rewatching highlights of some of the biggest heartbreaks the sport has ever given me.
Below is my All-Time 11 of players I hated playing against America.
Jonathan Orozco has always been a consistent goalkeeper this consistency lead him to be called to the Mexico National Team on multiple occasions. When I think of Orozco I immediately think of the 2009 Apertura Liguilla. America and Monterrey faced each other in the Quarterfinals days after the tragic passing of Antonio De Nigris.
I expected Rayados to be motivated by the situation and I knew the match wouldn’t be easy but I wasn’t expecting Orozco to have the performance he had against us. Orozco made save after saving in the second leg from one on ones vs Cabañas to shots from a distance from Villa and Pardo. It was a night that would catapult him into one of the best keepers in the league and his performances lead Rayados to the title.
From that moment and up to this day Orozco continues to perform at a top-level vs Las Aguilas time after time.
Jesus Dueñas
It is hard to write about players that perform against Las Aguilas and not talk about Jesus Dueñas. Dueñas is constantly an important player when playing against America but one night stands out more than the other ones.
It was December 25 and the second leg of the final had gone to overtime. In overtime, Edson Alvarez gave Las Aguilas the lead and the Universitario was completely shutdown. It was quiet and the people were in disbelief. Then in the final moments, it happened.
A cross from Damian that made its way across the box and Jurgen Damm picked it up, crossed it and on the end of that cross was Jesus Dueñas. The stadium exploded and from that moment on I knew that it was going to be very difficult to pull this off. The match went on to penalty kicks and Tigres have crowned champions. From that moment on I could never look at Dueñas the same.
Julio Cesar Santos
Julio Cesar Santos joined Tigres in 2005 from Bolton Wanderers. The former Real Madrid defender had a short spell with Tigres before going to Olympiacos. In his time in Mexico Julio Cesar made 33 appearances and scored 6 goals for Los Felinos. From those six goals, two came against Las Aguilas
Both of those goals came in the quarterfinals of the Apertura 2005. In the first leg, America was winning 3-0 with a Pavel Pardo brace and one more from Kleber Boas. In the second half, Julio Cesar scored what would turn out to be a very important goal for Tigres.
In the second leg of what looked to be a match that was over Tigres came out and left everything on the field. A masterclass by Walter Gaitan had Tigres up 3-0 and getting a result that seemed impossible. Then Kleber Boas brought Las Aguilas back into the game and tied the game on aggregate 4-4. This would have Las Aguilas advancing in the Quarterfinals for being a higher-ranked team during the season.
It was the 89th minute and Tigres has a corner kick the kick was taken and the ball took a deflection in the box. That deflection landed on Julio Cesar who hit the ball while going to the ground to beat Ochoa and make it 4-1. It was happening the Aztecazo was in full effect and both of Julio Cesar’s goals were crucial for this.
Dario Veron was always one of the best defenders in Liga MX. A strong physical player and a true leader for Pumas. Veron made over 400 appearances for Pumas in 14 years. Veron was always loyal to Pumas and when it came to playing against America he always gave it his all. Veron on his day for Pumas was very hard to beat on defense and was always a threat going forward.
Veron is one of the top goal scorers vs America with five. His first goal was in the first week of the 2003 Apertura when with a left-footed shot he opened the account in the 4-3 victory. Veron scored again the 1-1 draw at home, for matchday 14 of the Clausura 2007. In Matchday 15 he scored twice for a 3-2 Pumas victory. Veron’s last goal was in the victory at the Estadio Azteca 1-0 on matchday 17.
If you pay attention to the pattern, every time Veron scored Pumas didn’t lose to America.
It is impossible to think of Andres Guardado and not add him to the list. Guardado played only 64 games for Atlas before going to Europe. In those 64 games Guardado scored 6 goals, 4 of those goals came against Las Aguilas.
As an Americanista it was nerve-racking to play against Guardado because once he received the ball outside the box you knew it was going to be a dangerous play. It was not only that Guardado scored goals and performed against us, but it’s also how he did it. Getting the ball on the left side of the field and just shooting with his left foot. It was like Déjà vu, we had to watch Guarado score the same goal against us over and over again.
Marco Fabian is another player that would constantly give me headaches as an America fan. Fabian always looked like a player who was playing at a different level than the rest of the league. He was one of the great talents that Mexico had in the league before going to Europe.
Fabian played against Las Aguilas on 13 occasions with a record of 7 wins, 3 defeats, and 3 draws. In those 13 games, Fabian scored 4 goals and just like Dario Veron every time Fabian scored Chivas didn’t lose.
Daniel Ludueña was one of the most talented players to ever come to Liga MX. El “Hachita” is a player that comes to mind as always performing vs America but his case is different. Ludueña only scored 4 goals vs Las Aguilas but Ludueña’s role in being a headache for Las Aguilas can not be seen on the stat sheet.
Every time America played against Ludueña he would pull the strings and create chance after chance for players like Vicente Matias Vuoso, Chucho Benitez, and Oribe Peralta. This team was a nightmare for any defense.
Damian Alvarez was a player that was always linked with a possible move to Las Aguilas in the end, the movie never happened. Alvarez was always a nightmare for Las Aguilas in every team he played with. In the 2007 final Las Aguilas had struggled vs Pachuca and were down 2-1 on aggregate. We were witnessing Cuauhtemoc Blanco’s last game as an America player before leaving the club to go to MLS side Chicago Fire.
Las Aguilas were struggling to find a key to open the lock and in a moment of magic Blanco scored a free-kick from a very long distance to bring Las Aguilas back into the game. After the Blanco goal, Damian Alvarez was unleashed and in a wonderful play, he scored the goal that gave Pachuca the championship. It was truly a heartbreaking moment to see it end like that and something I will never forget.
Fast forward to 2016 and America was facing Damian Alvarez in a final again, this time with “La Chilindrina” as a Tigres player. Once again America was close to the championship but Alvarez once again and with his eternal cut in and cut out plate opened up the defense to set up the goal that would send everything to overtime.
Walter Gaitan
Walter Gaitan was a different type of player he was like a Juan Roman Riquelme for TIgres and against Las Aguilas, he always was in charge of pulling the strings. It’s hard to talk about Walter Gaitan and not remember the Aztecazo, a day where he single-handedly tore apart the America defense. In this game, he was able to bring Tigres with two goals.
Gaitan was the crucial piece in one of the most embarrassing moments I have had as an Americanista and from that day on I would never look at him the same. Even after Gaitan moved from Tigres and had a short spell at Necaxa he continued to be a nightmare for Las Aguilas.
Looking back into the career of Walter Gaitan it is a shame that Las Aguilas never made an effort to bring him to the club he was one of the most impactful players to ever come to Liga MX, a joy to watch.
Juan Carlos Cacho was never an amazing player, he was not the fastest or the most technically gifted player but one thing was guaranteed if he was playing against Las Aguilas he was more than likely going to score.
Las Aguilas del America was Cacho’s favorite target just behind Monterrey. Against Las Aguilas Cacho scored a total of 6 goals during his career but out of those 6, 2 goals stand out to me.
It was the first leg of the 2007 final at Estadio Azteca, Pachuca and America were fighting for the title. The first 45 minutes were back and forth with both teams trying to open up the score, but the game wasn’t going to either side. Early in the second half Juan Carlos Cacho took a very long shot and with the help of the weather and Guillermo Ochoa the ball went it.
The store opened and it started to get difficult for Las Aguilas. The game went on and around the 30th-minute mark Cacho received the ball and quickly turned to release a low shot with direction towards Ochoa’s first post, the ball went in it was 2-0 to Pachuca. I still have nightmares from that game.
A player that I don’t remember having too many moments like this in Liga MX had stepped up in the big stage and given Pachuca a lead against Las Aguilas that would end up being crucial to them winning the title.
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Jose Saturnino Cardozo
A nightmare for not only Las Aguilas but the entire league. Jose Saturnino Cardozo is without a doubt the best forward I have ever watched played in Liga MX, he is in a class of his own. In a little over 300 games, Cardozo scored 249 goals, including an impressive 29 goal season in 2002.
It is impossible to talk about Cardozo and not think about the magical goal he scored vs America in the Jornada 16 of the Apertura 2003. Vicente Sanchez recovered a ball close to his penalty area and send Cardozo down the left-wing who made an impressive turn to leave Oscar Rojas behind. After turning Cardozo gives the ball to Antonio Nelson who with a little back heel gives it back to Cardozo, Cardozo plays the ball back to Nelson who sends a through ball to Rafael Garcia who sets it up for a Cardozo tap in. What a moment, what a goal, and one of the most embarrassing displays I have seen from an America side.