Pachuca, America's team south of the border, is playing Club America (no relation) tonight to kick off the Mexican Apetura. Los Tuzos feature three American-Mexicans (I think that's what you'd call them down there) who could be getting serious playing time for one of the top teams in Mexico. Jose Francisco Torres is the veteran of the bunch, appearing 81 times for Pachuca, will continue to establish himself in the midfield as one of the top passers in the league. Herculez Gomez (pictured in MLS and in Mexico) is hoping for a repeat of the performance that lead to him leading the Mexican Clasura in scoring last spring. Gomez joined on a free from Puebla as his contract expired and Puebla, as a lesser team, didn't really stand a chance once the big hombres of Mexico came calling. Marco Antonio Vidal is the least known of the trio. Vidal, now 24, left Texas as a youth to train with Chivas and Pumas before returning to San Antonio to play with Indios USA in the youth levels. Vidal did well enough there to join Indios de Juarez, making 46 appearances over the last three seasons. Vidal's best efforts weren't enough to keep Indios up and the team relegated. That combined with being carjacked lead to Vidal seeking a move out and Pachuca swooping in to pick him up. Vidal plays in central midfield as well as left back.
At kick off, it appears that only Jose Torres is starting. I'm struggling to find a good source to see if Gomez and Vidal are on the bench. I was going to provide better updates on this match, but I don't have Telefutura, so I'm stuck with an online feed, found here if you're interested.
Pachuca win 3-0. Torres went 90, Gomez entered in the 58th, and Vidal made the bench, but did not play. Didn't watch the match, but some comments I've seen indicate that Torres had a goal off a free kick called back as the ref called for a sub.
Pachuca take on Toluca on Sunday at 1 pm EST. The match will be on Telemundo for those of you living in parts of the US that have Spanish speaking people. Toluca won the Toreno Bicentenario 2010 after beating Santos Laguna in a playoff. They don't feature any regular internationals, but top players include forward/winger Nestor Calderon who is likely to be a factor for Mexico in the Gold Cup and 2014 qualifying, defender Edgar Duenas, and Chilean forward Hector Mancilla who is a two-time Mexican Golden Boot winner.
Pachuca lost 4-1 yesterday against Cruz Azul. Torres came back from injury to go 90 and Herculez Gomez came on in the 52nd and drew a penalty...but it was already 4-0. And he took a dive. In other news, Guillermo Rivarola has resigned as Pachuca manger. Among the rumored candidates is Manuel Vidrio, a centerback with 37 caps for El Tri. Vidrio represented Mexico at the 1995 Copa America and the 2002 World Cup. Vidrio played 193 times for Pachuca over two stints in his career. Vidrio has served as an Assistant Manager to Javier Aguirre with Mexico since 2009.
