July 28th, 2007 . 8:25 am . By: Jason Benfield

Introducing Pachuca

Pachuca are the oldest team in Mexico.  Originally formed by a group of workers for a local coal mine, the side languished in the second division for a long time, occasionally battling to get into the top flight before being relegated the next season.  Finally, in the late 90s, things changed.  A new owner poured money into the side, and they were able to gain promotion for good.  In the last 10 years, Pachuca have 5 championships, 2 CONCACAF Champions Cups, and a Copa Sudamerica title to their name.  They won the Clausura 2007 in dominating fashion, finishing first in their group, first in the league, and first in the playoffs.  This is a team on a roll, and they plan to keep it going for Apetura 2007.

In the opening game of the Superliga tournament, Pachuca fell to the Galaxy 2-1.  This was a very lucky result for LA.  Pachuca out shot LA 23 to 9, had a 12 to 1 advantage on corners, and dominated possession.  They did find themselves vulnerable to the counter, and as the game went on, LA was able to do a better job holding the ball.  The Galaxy were lucky to come out of it with the 3 points.  Pachuca played in their traditional 4-4-2 formation, with a diamond midfield.  Although they were missing some of their starters who were still vacationing after Copa America, Pachuca are an extremely deep team, and the players who fill in have plenty of experience in the Mexican league.

THE GOALIES

Calero is the starter.  The Colombian played for several teams in Colombia, and was the keeper for the National Team in the 98 World Cup.  He is the team captain.  Cota is the backup, and is a member of the Mexican U-20s.  Humberto Hernandez is the third string, is very young, but has seen some time with the first team.

For FC Dallas, there is some uncertainty of who will start on Saturday.  Sala has a sprained knee, and Hislop had back spasms.  After his strong showing on Tuesday, we could very well see Burse again.

Advantage: Pachuca based on the Dallas injury situation.

THE DEFENSE

The starting central defenders both played against the Galaxy.  Mosquera is the stronger of the players.  The Colombian has played for the Colombia U20, U21, and U23 sides, and is considered one of the best defenders in the league.  Salazar is a product of the Atlas system, and has seen time for the Mexican National Team.  He is a very experienced player and is a threat on set pieces.

On the outside, Lopez plays on the right.  Although very young, he started all but two matches last season, and did pretty well against Martino in the opener.  On the left, the normal starter is Pinto.  Although only 23, he has played in a ton of games, and has started playing with the national team.  He is very short, but is already considered one of the best defenders in the league.  He played in both the Gold Cup and Copa America, and thus did not see time against the Galaxy.  Carlos Gerrardo Rodriguez played for him in the first game and did not have much of a problem against Klein, but then again, who does anymore.  Pinto is expected back for Saturday’s game.

FCD also plays with a back four.  Moor really struggled with the pace of the Mexican players on the right side Tuesday, and allowed his frustrations to boil over into a red card, so he is unavailable.  Rhine will replace him, but is susceptible to being beat over the top on the wing, a facet Pachuca can really take advantage of.  On the left, Gbandi did a solid job, as he has done all season for the hoops.  In the middle, Goodson and Serioux played very, very well together in the second half.  One hopes that it is a sign of things to come.  They marked very tightly against the Chivas forwards and denied them service, preventing Chivas from possessing the ball.    Each has the speed to cover for the other.

Advantage: Pachuca based on Moor’s unavailability and Pinto coming back into the side.

THE MIDFIELD

Pachuca play a diamond midfield.  Correa is the starting defensive midfielder.  He is currently being pursued by Villareal and Stuttgart.  He played for Mexico in Copa America and is considered to be the best ball winning midfielder in the Mexican League.  The Copa America appearances forced him to miss the LA game, but he is expected back against Dallas.  The attacking midfielder is Gimenez.  The Argentine was widely considered to be the best player in Mexico last season and was a constant threat against the Galaxy.  He was developed in the Boca Juniors system.

On the left is Chitiva, a Colombian with great speed and a wicked cross.  He played for Millaneros before Pachuca and is one of the most important players on the team.  He wears the number 10 even though he plays on the outside.  He has seen time with the Colombian national team.  Cabrera started the last match on the right side.  He played for Cruz Azul prior to coming to Pachuca and can play right mid or right defense. 

Pachuca are extremely deep in the midfield.  They were able to replace Corea in the first match with Caballero.  The Argentinean has a long, distinguished career in Mexico, is a naturalized Mexican, and played for Mexico in the 2002 World Cup.  Another player who came off the bench against LA is Damian Alvarez.  The Argentinean has played for River Plate, Reggina, and Morelia.  He is the second string player at attacking midfield, but will also see a lot of time on the right.

The star of the Dallas midfield is the Colombian Toja.  Toja shows relentless energy, involving himself on both the offensive and defensive side of the ball, even though he is listed as the attacking midfielder.  Ricchetti has been solid as well, although his passing in the last few games has dropped a bit.  He is the ball winner and does a good job preventing the opponent from coming down the middle.  Saragosa has been the third player in the midfield for Dallas.  He is by far the weakest link – although solid defensively, he provides nothing to the attack and struggles with his distribution.  There is a chance he could be replaced my McCarthy this weekend, especially if Dallas falls behind in the first half.  Dax is more of a two way player and provides that essential fifth player to the attack.

Advantage: Pachuca.  They play with an extra midfielder, and there really is no weakness, especially if Correa comes back.  He was the player they were missing against LA to bottle up the counter.

THE ATTACK

Cacho is the primary goal scorer for Pachuca.  Only 25, he is starting to see a lot of time with Mexico and played in Copa America.  He came up through the Cruz Azul system and saw a lot of time with their first team before transferring.  He did not play in the first game, but should be ready for Dallas.  The second forward will be either Marquez Lugo or Rey.  Both started against the Galaxy.  Marquez Lugo is the replacement for Landin, who left the team in the off season.  He played for Pumas, Jaguares, and Morelia, as well as the youth national teams.  He has played with the full National team on occasion.  He is a new signing.  So is the Colombian Rey, who played for Atlante.  He has scored a ton of goals with other clubs in Mexico.  Manon is a young forward who played a lot on the Mexican youth national teams.

Dallas have a three forward alignment.  Ruiz is the target forward, and showed a good work rate against Chivas in the opener.  He also had a nice pass on the Dallas goal, something we have not seen enough of from Pescadito.  Alvarez switched over to the right, where he was allowed to cut in a shoot with his left.  Arturo could not complete a pass during the Chivas game, but scored a World Class goal and showed some jaw dropping moves.  It still was not a consistent performance, but better than we have seen of late.  Ricardinho played on the left and was a constant threat.  He showed great energy, especially pressuring the top after Dallas went down a player.  He also showed a lot of effort attempting to win a ball back if he lost it.  He has great moves on the ball.  All of these players are really strong at creating space for a shot, and the wingers are fantastic at breaking defenders down individually.  The weakness, however, for all three is the passing game.  They had trouble connecting on Tuesday, and it has been a problem in the past.

Advantage: Pachuca.  Dallas has an extra forward, but they are inconsistent.  Rey and Marquez Lugo seemed to combine pretty well for playing in their first game together, and the Pachuca forwards have more international experience.

Possible Lineups

FC Dallas

Pachuca

I could be wrong, but I think that Pachuca will have their three Mexican national team players back.  Because they need a result in this game, I think they will play them.

When Dallas attacks

The key to the Dallas attack will be the short passing game.  Dallas really struggle to connect in small spaces against Chivas, missing on some easy passes.  The Mexicans like to pressure the ball in the midfield, so it is important to be able to make the short, accurate pass to pass around the pressure.  The forwards, especially, failed to pass the ball very well in these situations.  They also failed to cross the ball effectively when given time and space on the outside. Ruiz is going to have a tough night ahead of him, and he has two central defenders marking him.  Alvarez could have a long night ahead of him if he faces Pinto.  Ricardinho will be the player that needs to break Lopez down.  This is an important match up if Dallas are to provide any offensive threat.  His ability to break the defender down will force a central defender to slide over; this will allow more space for Ruiz to receive the ball on a cross. 

This could be the biggest match of Toja’s young career, from several perspectives.  First, leading Dallas to a win over the best team in Mexico would elevate him above the cult hero status he has already obtained.  But the biggest reason is the number of Columbians that play for Pachuca.  This is his chance to shine against players who can give a first hand report to the National Team coach of his home country.  And to do so, he will most likely have to perform while being marked by the best defensive midfielder in the Mexican league.  If Toja is able to be effective in this game, it will be a major statement for his National Team aspirations.

When Pachuca attacks

The best match up of the night pits the two FCD center backs against the forwards of Pachuca.  Goodson and Serioux, after struggling together against DC and in the first half against Chivas, were fantastic in the last 45 minutes.  They stepped up at the right time, played physically, and covered for mistakes.  Goodson in particular had a very strong game.  They will both need to be good on Saturday.  Whichever forwards Pachuca chooses to use, they have a wealth of experience and will work very hard for the entire game.  If Dallas are going to get a result, this is a match up that they need to win.  On the outside, Gbandi will face Cabrera, and should do okay, but Chitiva is going to give all kinds of problems to Bobby Rhine.  Rhine just doesn’t have the pace to keep up with him.  It is an important match up to watch.  Saragosa and Ricchetti will combine to mark Gimenez and slow him down a bit.  It may take both players, but I think they will have some success.  One weakness that Pachuca has is that sometimes they try to play down the middle too often, instead of spreading the ball wide.  Dallas can handle that type of attack.  Finally, Dallas has shown a reluctance this season to come out and defend against the long shot.  Pachuca has some very powerful shooters that need to be closed down.  This could become an issue in this match.

Final Analysis

Although I rated Pachuca hire in all categories, that looks worse than it is.  They are better at goalie and defense due to injury and suspension.  The midfield is fantastic, but so is the Dallas midfield.  And they barely win out at forward.

That said, they do have an advantage on aggregate.  And there are certain mismatches that favor them on the offensive side of the field.  I expect Pachuca to come out and attack, just like Chivas did, so that they can save energy by defending in the second half.  The humidity will definitely be a factor in this game, and Dallas is much more fit.

The Mexican League teams are going to play all out for pride this weekend.  They have to be embarrassed after falling behind in all four games in the first round and not getting a win.  All in all, Pachuca will prove to be a little too much for Dallas.  The Mexicans get an early goal and add another before the half.  Dallas grabs one back in the second, but can’t get the elusive tying strike in an entertaining game.

Pachuca 2, FCD 1

Categories: Match Preview.

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