After becoming two-time champions of Liga MX, Club America played their first pre-season game against FC Juárez. The reigning champions came to the Sun Bowl Stadium for the first time on June 23 to play an international friendly match, where they greeted a crowd close to 30,000 people.
With Club America’s arrival, all eyes were on Borderland-native Alejandro Zendejas as he returned to the city after his team was declared as the Liga MX champion.
Amongst the crowd, an overwhelming number of Club America jerseys were in the stadium. Fans from the Borderland, as well as Austin, New Mexico, and Houston, filled the seats to show their support.
Club America fan, Ramon Torrez said he has loved the team since he was little. Torrez said he feels this match is historic because of the team’s big reputation right now.
“I’ve been into soccer since I was a kid, I used to play league soccer when I was a little boy and I’ve always had a passion for the game (soccer),” Torrez said. “It’s great here (at the Sun Bowl) because you have the best team in Liga MX right now, (even though) it’s most of their backups, still it’s the fact that they are here (that makes it great).”
FC Juárez began the game with all its starters, while Club America had seven out of 11 subbed players on the field.
In the first half of the match, FC Juárez started strong with Ángel Zaldivar scoring a goal in the fifth minute. In the 47th minute, FC Juárez’s defensive abilities were also able to shine when goalkeeper Sebastián Jurado blocked Miguel Vásquez’s penalty kick.
In the 72nd minute of the second half, Club America’s Esteban Lozano’s penalty kick changed the momentum of the game. Though Lozano’s kick was blocked by FC Juárez’s backup goalkeeper Benny Díaz, Vásquez was able to score a goal with the rebound of the save.
The game ended in a 1-1 tie; however, it proved to be beneficial for both teams. In the recent Liga MX season, FC Juárez ended in 12th, yet being able to tie a game with the most recent champion of the series showed FC Juárez’s skill level.
Though the stadium was filled with many Club America yellow and blue jerseys, there were still several green FC Juárez jerseys from fans who came to watch as well, for example, Valeria Mesta.
“I’ve been a fan of FC Juárez for three years, when my dad started working with the team, we started going to the games and we started to like them,” Mesta said. “It feels cool and exciting to go to the games to see how the team plays every time.”
After the game, a crowd of fans rushed to the field for a chance to take a picture with players from Club America. The chaos resulted in the players being quickly escorted inside, though several fans were able to snag a picture with the players.
The Liga MX Apertura season will begin in July, where the teams will get a chance to fight for the championship title.
However, because of the many fans in attendance, as well as the great performance from both teams, the FC Juárez vs. Club America friendly was a memorable match in the Sun Bowl.
Sofia Sierra is the web and copy editor and may be reached at [email protected].
