América-MEX, led by coach André Jardine, will make its debut in the knockout stage of the Mexican Championship in the early hours of this Wednesday to Thursday, at 00:16 (Brasília time), when it visits Pachuca in the first game of the quarter-finals of the competition . Current champion and leader of the first phase of Clausura 24, the team is considered the favorite for the title by the Mexican press.
Today the Quarterfinals begin, today we go together, TODAY AME PLAYS! 💙💛
¡VAMOOOOOOOOS! 🦅 pic.twitter.com/gLJw5JYw8i
— Club América (@ClubAmerica) May 8, 2024
A possible new title would see Jardine equal an old record set by another Brazilian coach, Jorge Vieira, who led América to their second Mexican championship in the 1987/88 and 1988/89 seasons. Since then, the club from the capital — Mexico’s biggest champion, with 14 titles — has never achieved two victories in a row.
“There are still many steps left to get there and it is important that we have our feet on the ground”, says André Jardine. “But obviously, it would be an honor to join this select list, equal Jorge’s mark and make América’s history a little more Brazilian”, says the coach.
Owner of the best defense in the championship, with only 12 goals conceded in 17 games, América was only defeated twice — the second time, against Pumas, in the last round, when they had already secured qualification.
“Balance is a trademark of Liga MX”, said André Jardine. “Now in the knockout stage a new competition begins for us. With humility, respect and ambition, I think we can once again write our names in the club’s history,” said the coach.
By winning Apertura 23 last semester, América ended a five-year drought without titles and did so in style, breaking their scoring record. Now, by repeating the feat of ending the first phase of Clausura 24 in first place, the Brazilian coach’s team reached 75 points in the sum of the two competitions, which earned him a prize of US$ 1 million (around R$ 5 .09 million) of Liga MX as the team that scored the most during a full season.
“These are marks that show a job being done very well by everyone here. But our only objective is the title”, concluded Jardine.
Source: Gazetaesportiva
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