Rogelio Funes Mori is gearing up for one of his biggest challenges of late in a CF Monterrey jersey as he prepares to take on Club Tigres tonight in the Leagues Cup round of 16.
The Argentine-Mexican forward is set to start for Fernando Ortiz’s team in the wake of two big absences - Germán Berterame to a foot fracture, and Rodrigo Aguirre after suffering a muscle injury.
With the squad short of options in attack, Funes Mori will get the chance to feature in the starting eleven and answer his critics, in the wake of his recent goal drought.
The 32-year-old arrived at Rayados back in 2015 and hit the ground running, putting in performances that not only saw him win five titles, but also become the club’s all-time record goalscorer with 153 strikes.
The start of the criticism
Funes Mori’s first few seasons with CF Monterrey saw him find the back of the net with ease, with his eye for goal making him one of the star players in LIGA MX.
However, starting from 2021, when he was called up for the Mexican national team, he became the target of criticism - and was unable to respond to it through good performances with El Tri.
His lack of goals in the decisive games saw him fall down the pecking order at club level, and he gradually lost his spot following the arrival of Berterame last year.
A long spell without scoring against Tigres
It's now been four years since Funes Mori scored against his team's cross-town rivals in the Clásico Regio - the last time he did so was in a 1-1 draw on March 9, 2019.
From that moment onwards, it's been 993 minutes since the forward was able to find the net against Tigres, in LIGA MX and the CONCACAF Champions League alike. On top of that, since his arrival in Mexico the striker has only put three goals past the other Nuevo León side.
In the midst of rumors about a possible departure in the second half of the year, tonight's match will be crucial if Funes Mori is to return to favour among fans and the club staff.
