The university team underwent changes after that final against León and is now in the last position of the table.
Cougars goes through a difficult time after adding his fifth consecutive game without knowing the victory in the ‘Scream Mexico A21’. The university team fell 3-0 to Necaxa and the defeat left them in last place in the general classification.
The crisis that the feline team is experiencing surprises not only university fans, but also the rest of the fans of the MX League because Cougars He was a finalist in Mexican soccer just a few months ago, and even starred in one of the great comebacks in the history of the Aztec championship.
In Guard1anes 2020, Cougars faced in the semifinals Blue Cross, the team took the victory 4-0 in the first leg and the fans of La Maquina were very confident that the team would advance to the Grand Final. However, in the second leg, the varsity team surprised by scoring three goals in the first win and sealed their pass with a goal from Juan Vigón in the 89th minute.
That way, Cougars he entered the series for the title and although he could not beat León, Auriazules fans were excited about the future of the club. However, eight months after reaching the final of Guard1anes 2020, the reality of the team is completely different from what the fans imagined.
The feline team has lost players who were important to reach that final, while the coaching staff has also undergone several changes. Next, let’s analyze the footballers who have left as well as the elements that the club has hired for this tournament.
For example, in the goal it remains Alfredo Talavera But the Aztec has not had minutes in the ‘Grita México’ when he missed the first matches because he was concentrated with the Mexican National Team that played the 2021 Gold Cup and prior to the commitment against Atlético de San Luis, ‘Tala’ tested positive for COVID-19 .
The absence of Alfredo in the auriazul frame has been one of the main keys by which Cougars he’s got off to a bad start to the tournament. In five games played, the university squad with Julio José González as the starting goalkeeper has allowed eight goals, highlighting the three goals he conceded in the match against Necaxa.
In the defensive zone, Johan Vasquez It is the most sensitive loss of the university team after establishing himself as one of the best players in the squad.
Just a few days ago, Vásquez left Cougars to join Genoa in Serie A after their good performances with El Tri at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. On the other hand, Luis Quintana he went to Necaxa and Alejandro Mayorga placeholder image He returned to Chivas after being one of the most important men in the feline team at Guard1anes 2020.
In the current university staff, Nicolas Freire, starter in the final against León, and has formed a new duo with Arturo Ortiz, who came to the team from the Universidad de Guadalajara del Ascenso MX. It should be noted that Efraín Velarde, 35, returned to Cougars after seven years out of the institution.
In the midfield, Cougars lost very important players highlighting the names of Andres Iniestra and Juan Pablo Vigón, who joined FC Juárez and Tigres, respectively. Both players were starters in the final against La Fiera, and both Vigón and Iniestra left the club this summer due to the need for the directive to part with players to get money.
On the other hand, the auriazul team signed Higor Meritao, Cristian Batocchio and Washington Corozo to reinforce the midfield this tournament and kept elements such as Carlos Gutiérrez, Leonel López, Sebastián Saucedo, Erik Lira, Favio Álvarez and Amaury García.
In the attack, the university staff lost important men such as Carlos Gonzalez, who was sold to Tigres after the 2020 Guard1anes final. Juan Iturbe He left the club at the end of the last tournament and went to football in Greece.
The board managed to keep the Panamanian Gabriel Torres and the Argentine Juan Dinenno, who has not yet scored in Grita México and his last goal in the MX League It was on April 4 in a match against Pachuca. The same way, Cougars decided to give continuity to the youthful Emanuel Montejano, who has three matches in the current contest.
To reinforce the offensive zone, Cougars hired José Rogério De Oliveira from EC Bahia in Brazil, however, the Rio striker has not yet managed to score in Mexican soccer.
Regarding the coaching staff, Andres Lillini He remains at the head of the team but the board surprised players and fans by announcing the departure of Israel López at the end of the previous tournament. López was serving as Lillini’s assistant and the decision caused controversy because Israel is considered one of the outstanding footballers in the history of Cougars and he had been working in the youth categories for a long time.
On the other hand, Raúl Alpizar also stopped being Lillini’s assistant, who added Gabriel Aguilar, Gustavo Vargas and Hermes Deios as assistants. In the physical matter, Milton Mora continues as coach.
The next rival of Cougars is Puebla and a new defeat could cause the departure of Andrés Lillini.