Alir Niño

^^ By the way, Aldo De Nigris' words in the aftermatch interview: Reporter: Aldo, does the scoresheet reflects what happened in the pitch? De Nigris: They did the goals, I think they play football very well. I think it's over or struck down when they scored those two goals so fast in the second half, that killed us cuz I think we ended well the first half, with some plays, with a more even game, but I think those goals practically ended the game, we kept fighting, we kept trying, we had some not so clear chances there, and then we scored due to that perseverance. But I think they're well-deserved winners, they're a great team.

Jesús Corona is a great promising prospect (he's 19 years old), I guess his novice made him be a bit less cautious than the rest. And I agree Aldo De Nigris, the best Mexican target-man style forward right now, looked good, but I guess he missed Suazo. Well, Mexican season (each football year is split in two "mini-seasons" a la Argentine league) ended sometime ago, so they had already made some moves, the RB, Sergio Perez (who was burned ugly by Hazard) and one of the strikers (Carreño) that came in the end were already traded, just keep for this tourny. I don't remember any other appart from those two.

No. Top European clubs are this good. I'm sorry for Monterrey, as a Mexican it's obvious the game was not that pleasant, but well, the difference in quality is obvious (just compare their payrolls). Corinthians is a bit better than Monterrey, but if Chelsea take it seriously they should win easly (even if the scoresheet doesn't reflect it).

Most of CF Monterrey's goals come from De Nigris (Javier Hernandez back-up in the NT) doing the hold up and leaving the ball so Suazo (not long ago he was the starter forward for Chile) finishes, they're a deadly combination, sadly Suazo is out due to injury. Even though it seems promising 19 years-old forward Jesús Corona will try to fulfill Suazo's shoes. I must say that Suazo's ausence have given Cesar Delgado a more 10-esque role instead of the wings, so he's more in touch with the ball. By the way, this is a good read for you guys: Monterrey’s big day against Chelsea

^^ I would have more hopes on Al Alhy if they weren't so out of form, Sanfrecce outplayed them badly but were awful finishing. By the way, obviously the Mexican press is not so optimist about Monterrey... I can say we all Mexicans have our heart on Monterrey, but our money on Chelsea winning, here an example: (Monterrey's people like myself stereotype are cowboys, sort of the Texans of Mexico xD) Translation: I didn't come to Japan to be eaten by a blue kitten.

Some comments by Monterrey players about their match against Chelsea in a short interview after their match against the Koreans: Cesar Delgado: "I already played against Liverpool [with Lyon], I was subbed in and scored so I hope I can repeat that against another English club" Jesús Corona: "I'm very motivated because it's Chelsea, everybody wants to play them, I think we should do what we have been doing until now, and well... very happy." Jonatan Orozco: "I can say that I'll give myself the luxury of play against my idol, currently I consider Petr the best keeper of the world, we'll analize them in the videos to have an idea of how to play them" Severo Meza: "I don't know why we can't beat them, I think we are a very good team, since the start we set our goals and we knew if we advaced we would play them, so we should not limit ourselves."

This is true, everybody has in own buble/capsule, that's why a tourny like the CWC is so atractive in my opinion, even though I understand if Europeans or even South Americans feel it's a nuisance, nobody want to play against lower level opposition, but seeing it in the eyes of an Al Alhy/Sanfrecce/Ulsan/Monterrey perspective is their only way to have a real game with an European or South American powerhouse in a competitive match, and a chance for being in the world's spotlight even if for just a game. I, as a Mexican, don't even know that much about the MLS or the Costa Rican league and they're in our same confederation. Sort of... but not completely true. The CBs are good, they're just slow but can do the work. The real liability are the wings, especially the fullbacks who are average at best. Chelsea also can exploit the fact Monterrey has no natural defensive midfielder. Jonathan Orozco is good, not great, not world class, but better than you give him credit for, I know is hard to believe especially after his blunder against Ulsan, but he's mostly a hero for Monterrey, not the villian, he's not in the Mexican NT just cuz there are many Mexican GKs around his level and just two guys clearly above (Guillermo Ochoa and José de Jesús Corona). Anyways, Orozco like most Mexican keepers suffers with crosses, he really does.

Good news for Chelsea, Monterrey's best player will be out for injury: They report in their oficial site (http://www.rayados.c...rticulo/1262916) that he is out 4 weeks due to a laceration in his thigh he got training this friday, Delgado is pretty much hit or miss in his game, sometimes he shines like today, sometimes he's anonymous in the pitch. Nah, they have some young (and not so young) promising players (Hiram Mier, Guillermo Madrigal and Jesús Corona) but just Mier (but is a CB) is already ready for Europe tho.

Mexican league already ended in fact (our format is copied from Argentine having two seasons in a football year). Monterrey's certainly not in good form, they just reached quaterfinals in the Mexican Apertura's play-offs against the eventual champions Tijuana Xoloitzcuintles. I have to put Mexican league in context, here there are some disparities in budget, but most teams are sort of a similar level, so the league's results tend to be pretty irregular. Also Monterrey was dealing with many injuries of some important players (their better CM, Eduardo Zavala who plays for the Mexican senior NT, couldn't make this tourny in fact, so they have no natural CM there), also their best player, Chilean Humberto was rested in this match. Monterrey loves possesion, but it's not really agressive, so they like hanging the ball around in a sloppy way. They're pretty vulnerable to fast players and (like any Mexican team) to set-pieces.

Mexican here. About the guy posting above, Monterrey's GK is usually really good, just a bit prone to brain farts, like a classic Latin American gk, great shot stopper, not that good against crosses. The defense is good, especially the CB pairing (Basanta being a reliable experienced CB and Mier being a really promising youngster, he was starter in the Mexican side who won gold in London), the weakest spot are the RB-LB, they're average, sort of good at defending, but pretty slow so they suffer against speedy wingers. Monterrey's strongest point are obviously their attack, adding that like any Latin American they're great with the ball at the feet. De Nigris usually does the "target man" role, while Suazo finishes. I still see Chelsea winning by 2 goals, but Monterrey shouldn't be underestimated.