It was a night to remember as Toluca vanquished rivals Club America 2:0 last Sunday in the second leg of the Liga MX final. Toluca Captain Alexis Vega was named Man of the Match after providing the assist for his team’s first goal of the night as well as putting away the second goal from the penalty spot. Diablos coach Antonio Mohamed etched his name into Liga MX history, winning his fourth Liga MX title as a manager and equalizing the tally of managerial legends like Ricardo La Volpe and Ignacio Trelles. In the eyes of many fans, this victory marks the end of Club America’s reign of dominance in which they won three Liga MX titles in a row and were on the cusp of winning their fourth. Now that a new champion has been crowned, many will be wondering if this will be the start of a new reign with los Diablos Rojos de Toluca at the helm.
Alexis Vega was named the best player of the Clausura tournament after scoring thirteen goals and providing eleven assists in twenty-three matches. The prodigal son returned to Toluca last year and reinvented himself as a leader the team can count on. Vega’s exploits were a major contributor to Toluca’s success, leaving many pundits and fans awestruck especially after his disappointing spell at Chivas de Guadalajara. Now that Vega is the best player in the league, many will be wondering if he will be able to keep this run of form or if he can replicate it for the Mexican National team as they prepare for the upcoming World Cup next year.
Club America will be very disappointed in themselves after falling short in the last leg of the race. They are coming off of an incredible run of three championships in a row, and for a long time looked to be steamrolling their way to their fourth. In the lead up to this match, many were expecting America coach Andre Jardine to see his team to glory, but he got it horribly wrong for this match, as his team had zero shots on target in the entirety of this match in spite of dominating possession. Jardine was outcoached in the two legs, as Toluca coach Mohamed nullified the America players by having his players hound them off of the ball for the majority of the affair.
In the end, the best team won the tournament. It was Toluca who ended the regular season in first place with thirty-seven points compared to America’s thirty-four, and it was Los Diablos who went on to lift the trophy in the post season. With players like striker Paulinho, midfielder Marcel Ruiz, and team captain Alexis Vega, many will be hoping to see Toluca repeat their success. On the other hand, Club America is coming off a historically successful campaign and will be looking to reinforce their squad so that they reach their seventeenth Liga MX title as Mexico’s most successful club team. What the future holds for these two teams is unknown, but what is certain is the quality they both demonstrated throughout this campaign gave us one of the best seasons in recent memory.
Comments
