In the 10th round of the penalty shootout to decide which team would go to the Leagues Cup semifinals, Club América goalkeeper Luis Ángel Malagón found himself on the spot. Stopping penalties, he does well. Taking them? Ever the professional, he practices and prepares. But when he sent his shot wide, América’s chance to move into the semifinals and, with it, any hope of a Liga MX team lifting the Leagues Cup this year.
After a scoreless draw and a long shootout, it was the Colorado Rapids who prevailed at Dignity Health Sports Park, moving into a semifinal against LAFC and extending its unbeaten run against Liga MX teams to four matches in the competition.
Cognizant of the demands of playing for Club América, forward Henry Martín was quick to take on responsibility. It wasn’t Malagón’s fault for missing his kick, he said. In fact, the shot-stopper kept them in the game - and the shootout. The responsibility was on his shoulders.
“Really, we didn’t lose the game in the penalty shootout. We lost it in the match, in the 90 minutes for not doing what we had to do on the field, not closing out the game like we had to. We paid the price,” Martin said. “(Malagón) feels responsible for how things turned out, but after a few days go by, he’s very strong and will bounce back. Really, all of us on the field are responsible, especially those of us in the attack who didn’t do our job”
At a grande like América, a team that has won more titles than any other in Liga MX, there will be enough blame to go around. Already fingers have been pointed at various members of Las Águilas: Malagón and Martín, sure, but also center back Ignor Lichnovsky, who failed to convert what would’ve been a winning kick with the fifth and final kick of the initial shootout.
That’s why the leadership from Martín and other veterans who spoke after the contest is notable, with those players trying to lessen the frustration and negative feelings
“América has the responsibility to stand up and fight for the title, for finals in every tournament. This time we couldn’t do it - we left something to be desired. We knew we were better and dominated the game, but here the team that has the most possession or the most chances doesn’t win, it’s who scores the most goals,” Martín said. “They did a great job, were really smart managing the game and at the end of the day they advance.
“We’ve got to focus on the league. We don’t have any option other than to turn the page and focus on what we have left.”
Beyond simply chasing the title for América, the club also had picked up the mantle for Mexican clubs as a whole in the competition. After Mazatlán’s elimination in a penalty shootout earlier that night, América was the final Liga MX side remaining. After MLS squads sealed all three of the Concacaf Champions Cup places on offer last time around, many felt América would be able to earn a top-three finish and a place for a Mexican club in the CCC. Instead, it will again be a champion from the U.S.
That brought up the word so often thrown around in Latin American sporting debates: “Fracaso.” While some managers bristle at the use of the word, América’s Brazilian boss Andre Jardine said it was fair since his team’s goal was to lift the Leagues Cup trophy and it bows out at the quarterfinal stage.
“It’s a failure. It’s a defeat. Whatever you want to describe it as, it seems fair to me because we knew where we were at and the demands you have at América,” Jardine said. “We have the desire to be in the final of every tournament and when we don’t get there we take on that defeat, that failure and now work hard to come out stronger and look for the next goal, the next tournament and try to be better as a team.”
The defeat stings a bit more as well with América holding hub privileges through the final after winning back-to-back Liga MX titles and holding a bye into the knockout stage of the competition. Chris Armas’ Colorado Rapids didn’t have that luxury but were able to
After starting the tournament with a 4-0 reverse against the Portland Timbers, the Rapids bounced back with a stoppage-time equalizer from Rafael Navarro that led to a shootout win in which goalkeeper Zach Steffen was the star - as he was again Saturday night.
They then played a thriller with FC Juárez in which they conceded first but were able to secure a 3-2 victory and avoided a shootout in the Round of 16 when 19-year-old homegrown Darren Yapi scored in stoppage time to lift the Rapids to a 2-1 win over Toluca. Seeing América after a trio of other Mexican rivals helped the Rapids stay level even amidst the boisterous crowd in yellow at DHSP.
Armas, who played alongside Mexico and América legend Cuauhtémoc Blanco when he suited up for the Chicago Fire, said that he and his teammates went into matches against Blanco and El Tri thinking highly of their opponents. That translates now to playing these Leagues Cup matches in which the Rapids have gotten used to being tagged the underdogs and have gone into the game with a level of esteem for the opposition.
“I always felt like that gave us an edge, that we knew we couldn’t slip, that on those days we had to be at our best,” Armas said of his time in the midfield with the U.S. “If we had to play these (Leagues Cup) games in Mexico, I think it’s a different story in a lot of these games. But, we’ve beaten four Mexican teams in a row: León, Juarez, Toluca and América. It’s tremendous for our group, but I have so much respect for their talent, and they’re so well-coached.”
Now, the Rapids will try to keep surprising in this tournament and do it against an MLS squad as América and every other Liga MX team turns its attention back to the domestic league and in the long-term evaluates what it will take to make the Leagues Cup final fans demand they reach every time around.
