Corona, Arriola and Castillo start for Tijuana, with Garza and Herculez on the bench. Torres is also on the bench for Tigres respectively. Game starts at 10:30 ET and is on ESPN Deportes, Aztecta America and later on ESPN3
Man, Arriola creates all sorts of problems for opposing defenses. He's always threatening to get in behind the defense without the ball and when he's in possession, he has little trouble bursting past his man and sending in a great cross. The more I see of this kid, the more I think he can contribute to the senior team right now. He reminds me a lot of Pedro from Barça.
Castillo has been fantastic. Arriola is explosive (but a bit raw and naive)... he'll be a good one. Corona has been invisible. I like his game, but he needs to impose himself more.
The frustrating thing with Corona is that he's too "negative" with the ball. He rarely makes assertive, probing passes that test the defense. He's a decent guy to have around if you need to keep possession in the midfield but he hasn't shown the aggressiveness with Xolos that we saw in the Gold Cup.
In addition to the appreciating the US prospect heavy squad, I have to say that Tijuana might have the greatest team logo I have seen in awhile.
Isn't he a striker? I have been disappointed with the news that Corona hasn't really been shining lately. His ascension from an unknown to Liga MX starter made me thinking that he'd keep getting better. Sounds like he's hit a wall recently.
First time seeing Arriola. It's clear that he is definitely viewed as a threat by Tigres. He's had some great touches and control and then a few off things as well. I think I have been most impressed by the times he has split a double team or quickly avoided the double. Castillo does look really good in the attack, but I've seen a few truly ole style defensive jobs as well. His mindset just doesn't seem all that committed to defensive discipline. In the right lineup though he can be a real weapon on the flank. Corona has looked lost.
Just a random thought, but I wonder what the obstacles might be to pulling a full-blown Liga MX club like Tijuana into MLS might be? Don't want to derail the thread, but Tijuana in MLS would be a lot more interersting than McChivas.
He has been playing as a Second Striker, Play Maker and as a Right Mid. His passing and shooting is much better than Corona's.
Sounds similar to Castillo with the national team. He'll do some great things going forward then lose the ball when he's too far forward to help the defense recover. I like him as a backup option but the thought of him playing against high level opponents makes me nervous.
Arriola off in the 76th. I thought he looked ok, because increasingly quiet as the game went on. Still looks young, very raw and lacking necessary tactical soccer IQ.
Yep. I used to think Beasley at LB was the epitome of that style of play, but Castillo takes it up a notch. Beasley has the inner drive to will his way to a solid defensive game, Castillo appears to be content that his defensive weaknesses will be overcome by the rest of his game.
Just because it wasn't mentioned in this thread........................Uvaldo Luna on Tigres' bench last night is also US-eligible. He represented Mexico at the U20 World Cup, but prior to that did attend US U20 camps. He remains US-eligible. Garza of course is US cap-tied I believe. So that's 7 guys last night that are either USMNT players or USMNT-eligible. Then of course there was Tijuana's goalkeeper, Saucedo. His mother is American, so at one point he was a possibility for US teams.