America vs. Tigres UANL: 6 Things We Learned from Liga MX Final
America overcame a 0-1 defeat in the first leg of the Apertura tournament final to claim their 12th Liga MX title, thus becoming the most successful club of the Mexican league.
The Estadio Azteca received over 100,000 fans, and most of them were supporting Las Aguilas in their quest to defeat Tigres.
Michael Arroyo, Pablo Aguilar and Oribe Peralta didn't disappoint and put the ball away to secure a 1-3 aggregate score.
This was America's second title in two years, proving that they are currently one of the strongest clubs in the country.
Meanwhile, Tigres will have to wait until the upcoming Clausura tournament to try to conquer their fourth championship.
Let's take a look at the lessons we learned from the final match of the 2014 Apertura tournament.
Michael Arroyo Stepped Up at the Perfect Moment
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Michael Arroyo arrived in America just a week before the 2014 Apertura tournament began, and debuted in Matchday 2.
The Ecuadorian proved his worth in the midfield during the final match, something he hand't done in the regular season.
Although he was a regular element in Antonio Mohamed's starting XI, he couldn't make a difference on the pitch.
Against Tigres, he provided depth to America when they needed it the most.
UANL were pushing hard to extend their lead, while Las Aguilas seemed nervous. But Arroyo took advantage of his speed and accuracy to open the floodgate for his club.
Moreover, he created another goal opportunity and his average pass accuracy equaled 79 percent.
Tigres' Mindset Buried Their Chance to Win the Title
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Tigres arrived in Estadio Azteca with a one-goal advantage over America but blew their chance to break a three-year drought without winning a Liga MX title.
Although they started the game with a lot of passion, they couldn't take advantage of their superiority in the first 20 minutes of the match.
Eventually, America scored and UANL were never the same.
They lost focus of what mattered and the players forgot about playing football and instead invested their efforts in seeking a fight.
This hurt put them in a tricky scenario, which included three red cards: Hernan Burbano, Damian Alvarez and Nahuel Guzman.
Antonio Mohamed Will Be Missed
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Antonio Mohamed announced earlier this month that he would be leaving America as soon as the tournament ended.
Despite securing the top spot of the general table and eventually winning the 2014 Apertura title, the Argentinean coach will leave for his country this week.
Mohamed told ESPN that he was leaving because his dignity was above all. His statements came after America decided to sign former Leon manager Gustavo Matosas instead of extending El Turco's contract (h/t Fox Deportes in Spanish).
Matosas has quite a challenge in front of him, especially after Leon had a very shaky season.
Ricardo Ferretti Used the Wrong Formation
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Tough loss for Ricardo Ferretti, especially since this was the second successive time America defeated them in the Liguilla (the last one in the 2013 Clausura tournament semi-finals).
Although Tigres started strong, the formation their coach used was far from helpful.
Ferretti went with a conservative 5-4-1 system, focusing on defending rather than attacking, which eventually hurt his side.
America realized that they could break UANL's lines with speed through the flanks. Michael Arroyo took this task to heart.
After Tigres' third expulsion, America continued exploding the attack through the sidelines, one of their most valuable assets in the tournament, to put an end to UANL's championship hopes.
There's a Lot of Room for Improvement for Refereeing
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Four players left the pitch after receiving red cards.
Hernan Burbano was the first one to leave, as he cut Miguel Layun in a lethal advance through the center of the pitch.
Three minutes later, Damian Alvarez lost his temper and tried to punch Ventura Alvarado in a controversial play, which resulted in another red card.
If things weren't tough already for Tigres, Nahuel Guzman received a second booking after kicking Michael Arroyo on the chest after a tackle.
Finally, Luis Angel Mendoza also abandoned the match in what seemed to be the clearest error of the night, as El Quick left the game with a bloody mouth after Edgar Duenas slapped him while on the floor.
It is true that a final match always brings lots of emotions, but the referee's judgment was completely off. He booked seven players (five from UANL and two from America), some in childish situations.
No More Curse of the Leader for America
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In Mexican football there's something known as "La Maldicion del Superlider."
This literally means "The Curse of the Leader" and it refers to the fact that ever since the short tournaments system was established (1996 Invierno), the team atop the general table (in the regular season) has only won the Liga MX five times.
Las Aguilas managed to be the best of the tournament in five occasions, but were eliminated by Leon (Invierno 1997 quarter-finals and 2013 Clausura final), Pachuca (2001 Verano semi-finals), Santos Laguna (2002 Apertura quarter-finals) and Tigres (2005 Apertura quarter-finals).
The last time America topped the general table and hoisted the champion's trophy was 24 years ago, during the 1987/88 season.
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