Five quick thoughts following the opening weekend of the Mexican Primera Apertura 2010 season:

Cruz Azul may finally be back on track.

Manager Enrique Meza certainly knew what he was doing in starting Javier Orozco at striker alongside Emanuel Villa. Following last season’s failed expectations a solid start to the Apertura was a necessity for Cruz Azul, and Orozco helped the team manage just that. With two first half goals, Orozco got the team off to just the start needed in leading la Maquina to a 3-0 rout of Estudiantes Tecos. Goalkeeper Jesus Corona was also outstanding for Cruz Azul, earning the cleansheet with several difficult saves (including a save of a Tecos penalty shot). Standout performances from outside defenders Rogelio Chavez and Fausto Pinto also contributed to the victory, with Chavez providing the service on Orozco’s first goal. Even with all these positives there still may be a few issues to work out, though. As seen through much of lasts season, Chaco Gimenez failed to integrate himself in the attack and was largely invisible (outside of the great ball he played forward to Orozco for the second goal). Central defenders Joel Huiqui and Horacio Cervantes also had some shaky spots in their play on the backline, but overall Cruz Azul probably couldn’t have asked for a better start to the new season.

The Santos attack is still to be feared.

The biggest scoring output of the opening weekend came from Santos Laguna, who easily routed Atlante on the road 4-1. Striker Christian Benitez, returning to Santos from a loan spell with Birmingham City, put the Atlante defense on their heels from the opening whistle. With attacking support also coming from Carlos Quintero and Daniel Luduena, the Santos offense proved way too much for Atlante to handle. Benitez finished with two goals, while Luduena and Carlos Morales each added impressive strikes from distance. With Benitez seamlessly working his way back into a Santos squad already loaded with talent, look for another impressive season from los Guerreros. Of course we’ll have a much better idea about the strength of the Santos offense following next weekend’s match against the difficult Pumas defense.

Pachuca was not as impressive as the scoreline suggests.

Saturday night’s 3-1 win over Club America was a great start to the year for the Tuzos, but the performance was far from dominant. Pachuca was actually somewhat fortunate to take the 2-0 lead into the halftime break. An own goal from America midfielder Israel Martinez opened the scoring, and a questionable foul in the box led to the second goal from an Edgar Benitez penalty kick. Starting strikers Benitez and Franco Arizala did not create near enough scoring chances in the first half, with Arizala eventually being replaced by Herculez Gomez soon after the break. To Benitez’s credit he was impressive on the third goal, a solo run straight through the America defense, but overall there was little creativity from the Pachuca strikers on the night. A combination of poor finishing by Club America and great play from Pachuca keeper Miguel Calero helped preserve the scoreline, even after Damian Manso was sent off with a second yellow in the 75th minute. For Pachuca, a 3-0 win against a quality opponent is nothing to overlook, but performances must improve going into a difficult road game against Toluca next weekend.

It’s great to see Humberto Suazo back in a Monterrey jersey.

After leading Monterrey to a title in the Apertura 2009 season, Suazo moved to Spain’s Real Zaragoza on a loan deal prior to the start of the Bicentenario. Following his short but successful stint in La Liga (and a World Cup experience with Chile unfortunately limited by injury), Suazo returns to the Rayados. . .that is, at least for the time being. With transfer to Europe still imminent, Suazo made the most of his appearnce in Monterrey’s opening match against San Luis. Coming on as a second half substitute Suazo scored within minutes of stepping on the field, heading in a ball from Neri Cardozo to give Monterrey a 1-0 lead. While San Luis would tie the match soon thereafter with a penalty kick following a handball in the box, Suazo still showed how important he is to this Monterrey team. While Suazo likely won’t be in the jersey for much longer, it was great to see “Chupete” pick up right back where he left off for the Rayados.

Pumas and Chivas still need viable scoring options.

While Pumas did get the 2-1 victory at home over Toluca, the win came more as the result of wasted chances for Toluca and some incredible saves from goalkeeper Sergio Bernal. Toluca strikers had by far the better scoring chances on the day, but the shots (most coming from Hector Mancilla) kept finding the post or the gloves of Bernal. Following an own-goal from Toluca’s Diego Novaretti, Pumas defender Luis Fuentes scored the winner on a goalazo from over 25 yards out (maybe the goal of the weekend). While a great win, Pumas needs much better play from strikers Juan Carlos Cacho and Paco Palencia in future matches.

Playing in their last game at Estadio Jalisco, Chivas completely failed to find the back of the net. The embarrassing 0-0 home draw to Puebla was not the way the team wanted to start the Apertura season. Adolfo “El Bofo” Bautista will need to finish the chances he’s given if Chivas want any chance of winning close games this year. A huge test looms tonight in the first leg of the Copa Libertadores semifinals in Estadio Azteca against Universidad de Chile. Last season the team was able to perform well in Copa Lib even while struggling in Mexican League play. Tonight Chivas look for a similar performance, which could also help jump-start the team’s play in the new league season.

Weekend Scoreboard

Estudiantes Tecos 0 – 3 Cruz Azul
Jaguares 1 – 1 Necaxa
Pachuca 3 – 0 Club América
Tigres 0 – 1 Gallos Blancos
Chivas 0 – 0 Puebla
San Luis 1 – 1 Monterrey
Atlante 1 – 4 Santos Laguna
Morelia 1 – 0 Atlas
Pumas 2 – 1 Toluca

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