Join NowTrying to Make Sense of Mexican Football
Now a Champion, Chupete Suazo Should Stay in Monterrey... for Now
Posted 14 Dec 2009 at 09:21 AM by John Jagou
Tags aldo de nigris, humberto suazo, mexico, monterrey
Suazo scored 3 goals in the 2-game final
Humberto “Chupete” Suazo put Monterrey’s third title in the icebox with his 90th minute breakaway. The Chilean striker, along with Aldo de Nigris, made sure that Monterrey would not let their opportunity to win the trophy slip away. The same can’t be said for Cruz Azul, who unfortunately for them, are turning into next year’s champions – the bridesmaids of Mexican futbol. It is their 4th loss in the finals since their last win.
Throughout the pregame coverage, the match itself, and the celebration coverage, announcers were falling over themselves announcing that this was Chupete’s last game in Mexico. And when he got the late winner, then it could not have been a more fitting send off. Apparently, Chupete is on his way to the EPL.
When Monterrey made the move to get Suazo from Colo Colo a few years ago, I was a little hesitant to proclaim him the next best thing. The reason is that good players tend to lose their mojo when they play in the Sultana del Norte. Is it the pretty girls, the machaca, the tacos estilo “pirata”, the super high salaries, the unconditional love and support from the base, or a combination of all, I don’t know.
But Chupete did not fall into that particular trap. He has actually gotten better as a rayado. Monterrey can make a pretty penny selling him off to the highest bidder in Europe, there is no doubt.
What’s the hurry?
Wouldn’t Chupete be better off playing at least one more tournament in Mexico? Wouldn’t Chile be better off having Chupete play one more tournament in Mexico? Wouldn’t Monterrey make more money if Chupete stays in rhythm with his club, and then bags a few goals over in South Africa?
Suazo finished the CONMEBOL qualification Gauntlet as the top scorer with 10 goals. Chile closed the qualifying strong and are a sexy pick to make a deep run in South Africa. And if Suazo does get sold to A European club, and struggles to crack the lineup and get minutes, Chile’s chances will take a hit.
If he stays in Monterrey, however, he’ll get his minutes, his goals, and some decent momentum heading toward the cup. A solid performance in the cup will make him a white hot commodity. Better off waiting, Monterrey.
Aldo de Nigris lifted the trophy with a heavy heart
One last note about Aldo de Nigris, who scored the first of Monterrey’s goals last night. No one has ever denied that he has the talent. And there is no doubt that he is deeply saddened by the loss of his brother. But it has been an inspiration to watch him channel his sadness and grief into something positive. He has never played better. And it couldn’t have come at a better time. He scored 4 goals in the liguilla, and can now officially throw his name in the hat for a spot in the final 23 headed to South Africa. It’s not as if Mexico is dripping with strikers, so de Nigris has as much of a chance as anyone else. And if he keeps scoring goals….
Post a Comment
Total Comments 8
Comments
-
Great blog. I agree that Chupete would be better off staying one more season in Monterrey.Posted 14 Dec 2009 at 09:34 AM by Socrates_81 
-
Thanks
John, Thanks for the great blog. I find it difficult for english speaking folks to find good sources of information about the Mexican League. Your blog has helped me to better understand the league and increase my interest.
Posted 14 Dec 2009 at 10:27 AM by PJohnson 
-
Great blog,
If Monterrey are smart, they will play their cards right and keep him for at least the next Torneo. Apparently the offer on the table right now is for $5 million. If Suazo has a decent WC, Monterey will have a hot commodity that they can easily sell at 3 or 4 times that.
About the only nice thing about the Monterrey win since i'm not a rayados fan, and had to watch my 14 year old cousin (a huge Cruz Azul fan) go through the grieving process of watching your team loose like that, is the Aldo De Nigris story. Hopefully he can maintain the his level and be the 9 on top Mexico needs.Posted 14 Dec 2009 at 12:09 PM by StingerC
-
I think we would all like to see Suazo stay as long as possible... but he will get nabbed for $15MM USD... the ruling elite of Monterrey are well know for their shrewd business skills, Urdiales is no exception... I think Monterrey management understand that Suazo has a natural limit on his price tag... even if he tears it up in South Africa... he is not likely to command more than $15MM USD.. so if the offer is in that area.. he will be sold... why risk an injury ruining your biz deal? Little by little.. the MFL teams are learning to be exporters.Posted 14 Dec 2009 at 01:06 PM by PorMisAwakatls
-
Great post John!
RE: Suazo
For the club, the choice is very straight forward: if someone is willing to offer 14m usd as it has been rumored, then there is no doubt that they should (and will) let him go. They paid 4.5m for him so its a no brainer really. This would also be a good scenario for Suazo given that he has stated that he wants to leave.
The problem is for the Chilean NT: if he ends up in a top team in Europe it's going to be hard for him to get the minutes he needs to be in good shape for South Africa. All changes require some time: when he arrived to Monterrey there were serious doubts about him and it was not at all clear that he would succeed. It took him almost a full year to become the star that he is right now. But we are only six months away from the WC which means he might not have enough time to adapt and become a regular starter for his team.
If I were Bielsa I would talk to him to ask him to stay where he is right now and ensure he is playing on a regular basis. He will end up in Europe eventually, but he should wait after the summer of 2010 if he wants to have a good WC. I'm not related to Chile in any way but, for the good of the game, I would love to see him at his top level in South Africa.Posted 14 Dec 2009 at 05:59 PM by parismatch
Updated 14 Dec 2009 at 06:48 PM by parismatch -
These "go now or later" situations are always tricky. There are merits on both sides but I will just say it is foolish to assume the offers that are there today will be there 6, 12, 18 months from now. A great cautionary example is that of Rodrigo Palacio. In the summer of 2007 there were rumors of an offer in the 20 million range from Arsenal and he opted to stay at Boca Juniors. The following summer Barcelona appeared to have the deal done according to media in both Spain and Argentina but he got cold feet again. By the time he finally made the leap it was for a comparably modest sum and to a decent but humble Genoa team instead of a Champions League regular.
If the rumors are true I think he should go. If a top flight English team is offering that kind of money to bring him at the January window it is becaue they believe he can have an impact, he should believe in himself as well.Posted 14 Dec 2009 at 08:55 PM by AAMM
-
That was indeed a Grande Finale !! The two leg final was some fantastic footy.
Posted 15 Dec 2009 at 09:05 AM by Adidas4Life
-
Humberto Suazo was nabbed by Real Zaragoza for $10MM Euros / $14.3MM USDQuote:Originally Posted by PorMisAwakatls
I think we would all like to see Suazo stay as long as possible... but he will get nabbed for $15MM USD... the ruling elite of Monterrey are well know for their shrewd business skills, Urdiales is no exception... I think Monterrey management understand that Suazo has a natural limit on his price tag... even if he tears it up in South Africa... he is not likely to command more than $15MM USD.. so if the offer is in that area.. he will be sold... why risk an injury ruining your biz deal? Little by little.. the MFL teams are learning to be exporters.
Que les dije weyes? I accept your bows of admiration.Posted 07 Jan 2010 at 08:44 PM by PorMisAwakatls
|
Post a Comment
|
Total Trackbacks 0
