Chivas Vs. America, 2012 Super Clasico: Aguilar Scores Winner

The Super Clasico wasn’t exactly a well played match, and it certainly wasn’t a well refereed match, but Club America were certainly the better side on the road at Estadio Omnilife on Sunday night. They had one good goal disallowed and squandered numerous chances, but eventually found a goal late to grab a deserved 1-0 win over Chivas Guadalajara.

In the first half, referee Marco Antonio Rodriguez disallowed a good goal for each team. ‘Chucho’ Cristian Benitez had a goal waived off for a non-existent foul in the 20th minute and the exact same thing happened 15 minutes later to Chivas captain Hector Reynoso. The two teams went into halftime scoreless, thanks to officiating mistakes.

It’s been mostly one-way traffic in the Super Clasico thus far. Even though Chivas Guadalajara are the home side, with a very partisan crowd behind them, Club America have been in control for most of the first half and have had the best of the chances. Chivas did have one great chance, however, hitting the back of the net on the corner kick. Except the goal didn’t count. America had a goal that didn’t count as well. Referee Marco Antonio Rodriguez has taken over the game, and because of him, it’s 0-0 at halftime.

America’s disallowed goal came in the 20th minute, when ‘Chucho’ Cristian Benitez rose up over Kristian Alvarez to win a 50-50 header and direct the ball into the back of the net. Inexplicably, Rodriguez called a foul on Benitez even though he did nothing but jump and head the ball.

If you can make sense out of Chivas Guadalajara’s lineup, good for you! It features a total of seven players that they have used somewhere along the back line this season. Their lineup will probably look like a 5-3-2, but how it actually shapes up is anyone’s guess. America’s lineup is a little more straight forward, with a well-defined back four, two holding midfielders, three attack-minded midfielders and a true striker.

Chivas Guadalajara Lineup (5-3-2): Hernandez; Ponce, Reynoso, Magallon, Alvarez, Nava; Araujo, Baez, Fabian; Torres, Fierro

Two weeks ago, Club America were securely in Liguilla, looking like contenders for the regular season title. The tables have turned in their last two games, and for whatever reason, America hasn’t looked like a formidable side in either. They are now eight points off of first place and only two points ahead of the final Liguilla spot, thanks to their two losses in their last two games.

It’s tough to tell if America has been looking ahead to their rivals, if they’re in a downturn, or if they just lost to superior opponents. In their defense, losing to Monarcas Morelia and Monterrey -- two likely Liguilla teams -- is hardly embarrassing. They’ve had a relatively easy schedule before this stretch of games and the scheduling gods could finally be catching up to them.

Chivas will enter Estadio Omnilife today five points behind Chiapas for the final spot in the Liguilla. With just the Super Clasico and three other matches remaining, time is running out on the Goats. They cannot afford to be five points back at the end of the day, especially because Cruz Azul and Toluca are in between them and Chiapas so it is not as easy as just catching one club. They have some major work to do.

That Chivas is even in position to compete for a Liguilla place is pretty astounding. They took no wins from their first seven matches and should have been buried and dead. Instead, they took 13 of the next 15 available points, but a loss in their last mach knocked them back again. It took away any margin for error that they may have had and now they need points and lots of them.

Even though ‘Cubo’ Erick Torres is considered one of the best youngsters in the Mexican Primera, he’s no stranger to the big stage. At just 19-years-old, he’s been a first team regular for Chivas Guadalajara for the last two seasons and he made a massive splash with a goal in a Super Clasico, netting in Chivas’ 3-0 win over Club America last April. He’s likely to start the Clasico on Sunday, and no one will think anything of it. For his teenage star teammates, it’s a slightly different story.

Carlos Fierro and Giovanni Casillas have recently been integrated into Chivas’ first team and could make their first ever Clasico starts on Sunday. Fierro is just 17-years-old, and Casillas is just 18. They were the stars of Mexico’s Under-17 World Cup triumph this summer, but they have only recently become first team players for their club side.

The Super Clasico in the 2012 Clausura happens under circumstances similar to the last Super Clasico, in the 2011 Apertura. The only difference is that the roles are reversed. The last time Chivas Guadalajara and Club America met, the Goats won 3-1, ending America’s chances of qualifying for the Liguilla playoffs. On Sunday, depending on the results of other matches, America can return the favor.

Club America are fifth in the league and look like a Liguilla team. Chivas, on the other hand, sit in 11th place, three points off of a Liguilla place. They got off to an absolutely abysmal start, failing to win in their first seven matches, but they have been much better in recent weeks. That is, except for last week, when they were caught looking ahead in the schedule and were upset by a poor Estudiantes Tecos team.