Weekend Recap: 9/28 - 9/29

It was a mostly disappointing weekend for Mexicans abroad, with Jesus "Tecatito" Corona being one of the sole bright spots:

Liga BBVA

Giovani Dos Santos and Javier Aquino both saw action as Villarreal CF dropped their first league game of the season at Real Betis.  Aquino played 90 minutes while Dos Santos was subbed on at 57'.  Neither had a shot on goal in what was a pretty quiet offensive performance for the normally dynamic Villarreal.

Andres Guardado, who has recently been linked to a January move to English Premier League side Everton, was not called for Valencia CF's 1-0 victory over Rayo Vallecano.  However, Mexican International Nery Castillo did make his first appearance in the losing effort for Rayo, being subbed on at 86'.

Carlos Vela played 90 minutes for Real Sociedad on Saturday as the Basque side managed a 1-1 draw as they hosted Sevilla in San Sebastian.  The one goal scored by Frenchman Antoine Griezmann was the first goal scored by Sociedad in League play in 3 matches.

Elsewhere in La Liga, Jonathan Dos Santos was substituted at 90' in Barcelona's 2-0 defeat of Almeria.  In addition, the rumors linking Dos Santos to a Real Sociedad move appear to be dead.

Last, Hector Moreno played 90 minutes in Espanyol's 2-0 defeat to Getafe.

English Premier League

Javier "Chicharito" Hernandez made his first Premiere League start of the season in a very disappointing 2-1 home loss to West Brom.  Hernandez played the first 60' before being replaced by Robin Van Persie, who also failed to score in the time given him.  Manchester United's only goal came from a Wayne Rooney free kick, making this the 5th straight league game without a goal from open play from United, a very worrying sign indeed.

Primeira Liga

Diego Reyes and Hector Herrera were not called as FC Porto defeated Vitoria Guimarães 1-0 at home.  The two did start and play 90 minutes for Porto B's 2-1 victory over Santa Clara in second division action.  Herrera and Reyes have yet to break into regular 1st-team rotation in the Primeira Liga.

Ligue 1

Guillermo Ochoa started in front of net for AC Ajaccio in their 1-1 draw versus Montpellier.  Ochoa has had a dynamic start to the season despite AC Ajaccio floating just above the regulation zone in Ligue 1.

Tecatito Corona celebrates his first European goal

Eredivisie

In one of the few bright spots for Mexicans abroad this weekend, Jesus "Tecatito" Corona scored his first career goal for FC Twente, a pretty chip over the goalkeeper at the end of Twente's 5-0 devastation of Groningen.  Corona was substituted in at 69' for his first Eredivisie minutes after making his debut in the Dutch Cup earlier in the week.

MLS

Erick Torres' Chivas USA was defeated 1-0 on a late goal versus the San Jose Earthquakes.  Chivas USA has had a rough season, and Torres has not scored a goal in 3 straight league matches after scoring 7 in his first 9.

Midweek Play: 9/24 - 9/26

Carlos Vela's team continues a run of bad form, Chicharito returns to the score sheet, and other midweek developments for Mexicans in Europe:

Liga BBVA

Andres Guardado played 90 minutes as Valencia snuck away with a 1-0 victory on Wednesday at Granada after a stoppage-time goal from Jonas.  Valencia has now won 2 in a row after a disastrous run of games that saw a fan boycott during their 3-0 Europa League home loss to Swansea City.  Valencia now sit in 7th place in La Liga with 9 points.

Elsewhere in La Liga, Carlos Vela was rested as Real Sociedad were thrashed by Barcelona, 4-1, at the Camp Nou on Tuesday.  Fellow Mexican Jonathan Dos Santos was not called to the Barcelona squad for the match as a pending move to Real Sociedad is still up in the air.

In another match featuring teams with Mexicans in their ranks, Villarreal, where Javier Aquino and Giovani Dos Santos ply their trade, hosted Hector Moreno's Espanyol at La Madrigal Stadium.  Villarreal scored in the first minute of the match, and took off to a 2-0 lead before eeking out a 2-1 victory.  Dos Santos started the match and played 90 minutes, while Aquino was substituted on at 60'.

And last, Nery Castillo once again missed a match as his team, Rayo Vallecano, were beaten soundly at Sevilla, 4-1.  Castillo is expected to miss the remainder of the month before his debut.

Capital One Cup

Chicharito's In-Air Wizardry

In England's Capital One Cup, Javier "Chicharito" Hernandez was given a rare start for Manchester United and made the most of his minutes, scoring the match's only goal 45 seconds after halftime to give his team a 1-0 victory and eliminating bitter rival Liverpool FC from the tournament.  Chicharito scored on a corner from Wayne Rooney, with a fabulous bit of evasion from his marker and in-air redirection that saw him neatly tuck the ball into the corner of the net.  Hernandez had a very quality match before being substituted at 72'.  Whether this wins him playing time during more important matches is another question.

Ligue 1

Guillermo Ochoa had one of his patented, ridiculous saves against Lyon as AC Ajaccio won 2-1 in midweek French League action.  Ochoa has become accustomed to these sorts of saves as Ajaccio is once again struggling to avoid relegation.

KNVB ("Dutch") Cup

In KNVB Cup action, Jesus "Tecatito" Corona made his debut with Twente, being substituted at 69' as his side took on Heerenveen.  Twente was playing a man down after a red card to Roberto Rosales at 24'.  Twente was hammered 3-0 by Heerenveen in the match, as Twente were eliminated from the Cup.

Weekend Recap: 9/21 - 9/22

It was a very quiet weekend for Mexicans abroad:

Liga BBVA

The Mexican contingent in La Liga had a mostly forgettable weekend.

Andres Guardado's Valencia turned things around versus Sevilla

Andres Guardado played 90 minutes at LB as Valencia rebounded from a shocking 3-0 loss to Swansea in Europa League play to defeat Sevilla 3-1.  Valencia had begun the season on a rough note, beginning Spanish League play 1-0-3 and having their fans walk out on them during the Swansea match earlier in the week.

The two Mexicans on Villarreal CF, Giovani Dos Santos and Javier Aquino, started the game as their team managed a 0-0 draw against Celta de Vigo.  Villarreal remains undefeated in La Liga play, although the team has drawn their last 2 matches after beginning the season with 3 straight wins.  Dos Santos was substituted after 77 minutes, while Aquino played the full 90.

Carlos Vela played 90 minutes in yet another scoreless draw for Real Sociedad, who have now scored only 1 goal in their last 3 La Liga matches.  Sociedad has hit a bit of a rough patch in their last several matches, having gone 1-3-1 in La Liga play so far this year.  Things will not get easier as they travel to Camp Nou tomorrow for a Tuesday matchup against Barcelona before hosting Sevilla on Saturday.

Jonathan Dos Santos is rumored to be making a move to Real Sociedad

Elsewhere in La Liga, Jonathan Dos Santos was substituted at 84' in Barcelona's 4-0 thrashing of Rayo Vallecano, where Nery Castillo is still to feature due to a thigh strain.  The younger Dos Santos brother is also hotly rumored to be moving to Real Sociedad after the recent injury to Esteban Granero in Champions League play.

Last, Hector Moreno will return to the Espanyol lineup after a week's absence as his team hosts Atletico Bilbao on Monday night.

English Premier League

Javier "Chicharito" Hernandez was an unused substitute as Manchester United was dismantled 4-1 by crosstown rivals Manchester City at Etihad Stadium.

Primeira Liga

Hector Moreno and Diego Reyes were unused substitutes as FC Porto managed a 2-2 draw at Estoril.

Ligue 1

Guillermo Ochoa's AC Ajaccio suffered a 2-0 defeat at the hands of Stade Rennes in French Ligue 1 play.  Ochoa ended the match with 5 saves after allowing 2 goals in the first 16 minutes of play.  His teammates could only manage 2 shots on goal as Rennes easily won the match.

Eredivisie

Jesus "Tecatito" Corona was an unused substitute in Twente's 3-0 beatdown of Heracles.  Corona has yet to make an appearance for the Dutch club since signing late in the summer.

MLS

Erick Torres' Chivas USA was brutally demolished 5-1 by the Houston Dynamo.  Torres played 90 minutes but did not find the back of the net in what was certainly Chivas USA's worst loss since he came on loan from Chivas Guadalajara.

Champions League Roundup: 9/17 - 9/18

Several Mexicans saw action in the first week of Champions League play for the 2013-2014 season.  Here is a recap of the action organized by league:

Liga BBVA

Carlos Vela played 90 minutes in Real Sociedad's 0-2 loss at Ukrainian club Shaktar Donetsk.  Several chances were created for the Spanish side, but none finding the back of the net.  Sociedad has been struggling on offense lately, having scored only 1 goal in their last 3 fixtures.

Elsewhere in Champions League play, Jonathan Dos Santos was not called as Barcelona hosted Dutch club Ajax.  Barcelona defeated Ajax 4-0.

English Premier League

Javier "Chicharito" Hernandez substituted Wayne Rooney at 84' as Manchester United cruised to a 4-2 home victory over German club Bayer Leverkusen.  Hernandez has featured little for Manchester United thus far in the 2013-2014 season, even as Wayne Rooney and Danny Welbeck have missed time with injury.

Hector Herrera played his first Champions League minutes for Porto

Primeira Liga

Hector Herrera and Diego Reyes both began Porto's Champions League opener at Austria Wien on the bench.  Reyes remained on the bench throughout Porto's hard fought 1-0 victory, while Herrera was substituted at 79' for his first career UEFA minutes

Champions League play resumes on Tuesday, October 1st, as Porto host red-hot Spanish power Atelico Madrid and Barcelona travels to Scotland to face Celtic.  On October 2nd, Real Sociedad travel to Germany to face Bayer Leverkusen, and Manchester United face Shaktar Donetsk in Ukraine.

Weekend Recap: 9/14 - 9/15

Aside from the two Mexicans playing for Villarreal CF in Liga BBVA, it was a forgettable weekend for Mexicans abroad:

Liga BBVA

Giovani Dos Santos and Javier Aquino (far left) celebrate with teammates

Giovani Dos Santos and Javier Aquino had a memorable weekend for Villarreal CF, as the heavy underdogs battled to a 2-2 draw against heavyweight Real Madrid.  In a game where much of the attention was paid to the debut of Gareth Bale for Real Madrid, Giovani Dos Santos scored the equalizer at 70', while Aquino played a large part in the Villarreal attack (and was the victim of Real Madrid keeper Diego Lopez' double save early in the game).  It was the first dropped points of the season for Villarreal, although certainly nothing to be ashamed of when playing a world class team like Real Madrid.  And, if Saturday's match was any indication, Aquino and Dos Santos will play a large part in the remainder of Villarreal's season.

Elsewhere in La Liga, Carlos Vela and Real Sociedad were held scoreless in a 0-0 draw versus Levante; Vela was substituted off at 84' after a relatively quiet night.  Hector Moreno was left out of the lineup for RCD Espanyol due to playing 180 minutes for Mexico in the previous week; Espanyol went on to win their match versus Granada, 1-0.  Andres Guardado was left on the bench in Valencia's 3-1 defeat at the hands of Real Betis.  Jonathan Dos Santos was also an unused substitute in Barcelona's thrilling 3-2 victory over Sevilla.  And Nery Castillo continues to miss time due to a thigh injury and was not in the lineup for Rayo Vallecano as they were demolished 5-0 at the hands of Malaga.

English Premier League

Javier "Chicharito" Hernandez substituted Robin Van Persie at 79' for Manchester United in their 2-0 victory over recently-promoted Crystal Palace.  He had one shot on target in what were relatively quiet minutes.

Primeira Liga

The two Mexicans playing for Porto FC saw no action last weekend for the Portuguese giants.  Hector Herrera did play 90 minutes for Porto B as they settled for a 0-0 draw with second-division Moreirense.  Diego Reyes is expected to make his debut with the first team in their Wednesday Champions League clash against Austria de Viena.

Ligue 1

Guillermo Ochoa had his worst game of the season so far in the French Ligue 1, as the keeper allowed 3 first-half goals against Evian before Ajaccio attempted a furious rally in the last ten minutes to finally settle for a 3-2 loss.

Eredivisie

Jesus "Tecatito" Corona was an unused substitute in Twente's 1-1 draw against PSV.  Corona was only recently signed to the Dutch club, and will hopefully make his debut in the coming weeks.

MLS

Erick Torres played 90 minutes but did not find the back of the net in Chivas USA's 1-1 draw with the Portland Timbers.  Torres had been in excellent form, having scored 7 goals in 9 games before Sunday's match.

Down, Not Yet Out

Giovani Dos Santos in action against USA

To add insult to an already beleaguered squad, Mexico lost to CONCACAF archrivals the United States in a 2-0 defeat that all but ended any hope of Luis Fernando Tena retaining the managerial position.

A few chances were created by Mexico's increasingly ineffective offense, but all shots on goal were easily controlled by USA keeper Tim Howard.  Mexico is now 1-5-2 in World Cup Qualifying, and stands in 5th place behind Panama.

Victor Manuel Vucetich is now in charge

Two days after the defeat, Victor Manuel Vucetich, former National Team manager and recently fired from his position at Monterrey CF, was appointed as the new manager.  His immediate concern will be to not only change the mood of players who were obviously downtrodden even before the start of the USA match, but to also instill a sense of team unity that has been missing from this squad in the de la Torre era.

All of this must happen before an all-important match against Panama at El Estadio Azteca in October.  A victory there would give El Tri a chance at the playoff spot generated by finishing 4th in qualifying.

Mexico is 0-3-1 in qualifying thus far at the once-vaunted Estadio Azteca.

Chepo Axed

Jose Manuel "Chepo" de la Torre was fired after 31 months as manager.

In a move that surprised absolutely no one, Jose Manuel "Chepo" de la Torre was fired minutes after Mexico's 1-2 loss to Honduras at the Estadio Azteca in Mexico City.  This was the first time since 2001 and only the second time in history that Mexico had lost a World Cup Qualifying match at home.

Mexico started the game strong, scoring the opener at 5' from a strong Giovani Dos Santos  to Oribe Peralta counterattack.  Mexico had one or two more chances to extend their lead before settling in at 1-0 at halftime.

The second half was dominated by Honduras, who scored two goals in 3 minutes to pull ahead, and then settled in on defense to quell an inept Mexican attack.  In fact, were it not for Jerry Bengston missing an absolute sitter in the 80th minute, this match could have ended a lot worse for Mexico.

Assistant manager Luis Fernando Tena, who managed the Under-23 Olympic Squad to a gold medal in 2012, will serve as interim coach during the ever-important match at the United States on September 10th.  Whether Tena remains coach after this game remains to be seen.

Erick "Cubo" Torres has been a bright spot for Chivas USA.

In other, more happy news, Erick "Cubo" Torres continued his red-hot form in MLS, scoring at 51' to lift Chivas USA to a 1-0 victory over DC United.  It has been a long, dark season for the American Chivas side, but Torres' transfer at midseason has given them something to be excited about.  He has now scored 7 goals in 9 games.

Weekend Recap: 8/31 - 9/1

It was a relatively quiet weekend for Mexicans in Europe.  Here is a recap:

Liga BBVA

Javier Aquino scored his first La Liga goal

Two Mexicans ply their trade for newly-promoted side Villarreal, who faced Osasuna on Saturday.  Giovani Dos Santos saw no action due to a thigh strain suffered the prior week, but his compatriot Javier Aquino scored his first career Liga BBVA goal with a short chip between 2 defenders. 

Carlos Vela, who dominated earlier in the week in Champions League play for Real Sociedad, was held scoreless in 90 minutes of action as his team suffered their first loss of the young season, a 2-1 defeat at the hands of league heavyweight Atletico Madrid.

Elsewhere in La Liga, Hector Moreno played his usual 90 minutes as Espanyol settled for a scoreless draw versus Real Betis.  Andres Guardado started at LB for Valencia in a 3-2 defeat at the hands of Barcelona, where Jonathan Dos Santos was substituted at 80' for the winning side.  And Nery Castillo was not in the lineup for Rayo Vallecano in their 1-2 loss to Levante on Friday.

English Premier League

Javier "Chicharito" Hernandez saw his first minutes of the season for Manchester United after being subbed on for Ryan Giggs in the 73rd minute of a 0-1 loss at Liverpool.  Chicharito was unavailable for the first 2 weeks of the EPL season due to a hamstring injury suffered in training.

Primeira Liga

The two Mexicans playing for Porto FC saw no action last weekend for the Portuguese giants.  Diego Reyes, the 20-year-old transfer from Club America, is still playing the Porto's B Team, while Hector Herrera was in the lineup as a substitute for the first team, but was not subbed into the game.  Porto did defeat Pacos de Ferreira 1-0.

Ligue 1

Guillermo Ochoa maintained a clean sheet in front of net for French side AC Ajaccio, his second in as many weeks, in a scoreless draw with Sochaux.  Ochoa has conceded just 3 goals in the first 5 weeks of French Ligue 1 action.

Eredivisie

The lone Mexican in the Dutch first division, Jesus "Tecatito" Corona, was not in the lineup for Twente's 1-1 draw with Heerenveen.