on the good side
By: j |
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It has been a trying start to the season to be honest. First there was the surgical procedure on Ricardo Lavolpe that had me worrying about things far bigger than Footy, then came the concern of Humberto Suazo possibly leaving the club and of recent Felipe Baloy walking off. While each of these situations worked out just fine, last night, albeit not directly related to Rayados, bothered me quite a bit.
Playing in a friendly match against Monarcas Morelia in Fresno California, the match received little if any local media coverage. I don’t mind saying to you that I find that not only insulting to Football in México but the game as a whole. It’s a sad commentary when visiting clubs, with tremendous talent and offering affordable sporting entertainment get little media attention. Both clubs deserve a great deal of credit for being a positive influence and putting on a great show for the good people of Fresno.
That aside last nights affair was a bit but just a bit better than prior friendlies and ended in a 2-2 draw. The Rayados came out in more conservative 4-4-2 and after falling behind Ernesto Serrato tied the game at the sixty-sixth minute. Monarcas’ Wilson Thiago gave them the 2-1 lead only a minute later before newcomer David Stringel scored at the eighty minute mark to bring the match to its final conclusion.
Lineup
16. Christian MartÃnez (1. Jonathan Orozco 46′)
23. Felipe Baloy (55. Fernando Ibarra 46′)
15. José Basanta
21. Diego Ordaz
2. Severo Meza (30. Ernesto Serrato 21′)
8. Luis Pérez ( 6. Arturo Alvarado 65′)
7. Octavio Valdez ( 48. David Stringel 46′)
20. Gonzalo Choy
58. Jared Borgetti ( 10. Mauro Cejas 46′)
28. Jesús Arellano ( 9. Carlos Ochoa 60′)
26. Humberto Suazo (19. Hiber Ruiz 73′)
Category: Monterrey Team News
Rayados v Morelia tonight in Fresno
By: j | Add Comments
I just wanted to remind everyone that if you are near Fresno California, Tecate is sponsoring a Rayados v Morelia friendly at Chukchansi Park. If you’re in the area, get out and support our team.
Category: Monterrey Team Newsthe return of Felipe Baloy
By: j | 1 Comment
Felipe Baloy returned to the Rayados, apologized to his teammates and noted his rationale of needing to take care of his families well being. After discussions with Ricardo Lavolpe and upper-management, he rejoined his teammates and was received well with understanding. While I disagreed with his walking out, obviously there were other pressures beyond the scope of the public eye that caused this and its a great statement that reconsidered his position and was honest about it. In an era when athletes seem to think they are above issues that you and I feel in our day-to-day lives, I respect Felipe for his honesty and am glad to see him back. I doubt any negative feelings will linger and if anything it might help galvanize this team as a family.
Now please Felipe, the man-purse.
Category: Monterrey Team NewsFelipe Baloy back but…
By: j | Add Comments
My next post will deal with the entire Felipe Baloy situation and his return but please Felipe, please come to your senses. The Louis Vuitton man-purse near your side is simply wrong, wrong, wrong.
Category: Monterrey Team NewsFelipe Baloy walks out
By: j | 2 Comments
In a stunning move after practice yesterday, Felipe Baloy apparently met with club Vice-President Luis Miguel Salvador demanding a pay increase, was subsequently denied it and then refused to travel with the squad to the friendlies scheduled in San Jose, California and Raleigh, North Carolina.
Felipe signed a new contract this past January that carries him through 2011 but he is obviously adamant about a significant wage increase or making the move to a European club, which he is often rumored to be linked to. His agent, Luis Felipe Posso of Tampa, Florida is noting interest from a variety of European clubs, notably Arsenal and other unnamed clubs in Italy.
I’m not evening going to debate the “Arsenal - interest” comment because it seems “Arsene Wenger” is the common negotiation tactic and it’s quite overdone. It’s quite obvious that Felipe recognizes at twenty-seven his top earning playing days are not going to last forever and he wants to maximize his earning, which of course he did this January with a new contract. Monterrey now has the difficult task of either giving him a significant increase or losing him. Knowing what havoc this would create as it surely would lead to other players deploying the same tactics, prudently they likely have no choice to work a deal out with another club. Without a change in heart and Felipe recognizing the intangibles of playing for Monterrey or management succumbing to his ransom, I think we’ve seen the last of him.
Category: Monterrey Team Newssomething for your wall
By: j | 1 Comment
Wearing their new kit, the club released its team photo yesterday with the classic stern, “we’re all business” look to it. Of course, it might have been after Felipe Baloy dropped the bombshell that I’ll have in the next post.
Category: Monterrey Team News3-4-1-2
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Prior to the friendly against the Pumas, the sky lit up with a great fireworks display and a presentation to our squad. As you expect, La Adicción received the team with resounding cheers of support. Unfortunately the fireworks was the only exciting part of the evening as for the most part the squad on the surface looked to be working out the kinks and just getting used to each other on the pitch as they lost 1-0 to the Pumas.
However given this was a friendly and even though this follows a similar 1-0 loss to the Indios de Ciudad Juarez, there is no need for alarm. As a friendly, Ricardo Lavolpe used this as a prime opportunity for new players to be acclimated into the team and to consider new tactics and formations. This is a particularly important event given Mauro Cejas, Hiber Ruiz, Octavio Valdez and our biggest off-season signing José MarÃa Basanta from Estudiantes, are all new to the squad and need time to coordinate their efforts on the pitch. Additionally Ricardo made use of a unique offensive formation with Humberto Suazo, Jared Borgetti and Jesús Arellano, dare I say, positioned him akin to a trequartista. Equally it appeared at times the Rayados were verging on playing a 3-4-1-2 which has tremendous potential and displays further versatility.
The match was decided with Felipe Baloy taking down Pumas Fernando Morales and being awarded a penalty at the twenty-third minute. Francisco Palencia converted and the Pumas took the lead to stay. While the Pumas played one man down after Marco Palacios received his second yellow with fourteen minutes left, the Rayados were unable to bring the equalizer.
Returning to the match, while certainly I would have liked to have seen the fireworks continue, I am confident that with the best Manager in México we are using this time wisely and from what I am seeing, that is certainly the case.
Lineups:
MONTERREY: Jonathan Orozco, Severo Meza, Felipe Baloy, Diego Ordaz, José MarÃa Basanta, William Paredes (Hiber Ruiz 35´), Octavio Valdez (Arturo Alvarado 52´), Luis Pérez, Jesús Arellano (Joel González 61´), Jared Borgetti (Mauro Cejas 61´), Humberto Suazo (Carlos Ochoa 72´).
PUMAS: Sergio Bernal, EfraÃn Velarde (Fernando Espinosa 93´), DarÃo Verón, Marco A. Palacios, Fernando Morales (Daniel Cabrera 76´), EfraÃn Juárez, Israel Castro, Leandro Augusto, Francisco Palencia (Arturo RodrÃguez 69´), Ismael Iñiguez, Juan Carlos Cacho (Ever Galván 74´).
Category: Monterrey Team Newson the catwalk
By: j | Add Comments
I’ve always found the standard get the players out to model the new kit somewhat funny. Advertising exec’s, sponsor’s and assorted hangers-on who just want to hang squeeze in a few opening lines to the players clamor for this type of thing and it always comes off looking a tad like a Monty Python skit of John Cleese and Michael Palin parading up and down the catwalk. From the athlete’s perspective it’s a curious sort of event that some handle with a smile but mostly you just put up with it and hope the whole squad is there so you can take turns making fun of each other.
That aside Monterrey unveiled it’s new kit for this season with a great home white and blue stripe shirt and a two-tone blue striped for away. I’ll think I stop with the description before this blog entry turns into a complete fashion update and instead simply say they look great and hopefully the squad will play great in them.
Category: Monterrey Team NewsWalter Erviti to Club Atlético Banfield
By: j | Add Comments
While there is only a very brief release, after six years of tremendously loyal service with the Rayados, comprised of 213 matches, Walter Erviti has transferred to Club Atlético Banfield which is located just outside of his hometown Buenos Aires. The superb Midfielder will be missed on the field for his ability and leadership.
I will follow-up with this once details are available but wanted all Rayados fans to be aware. Good luck Walter and thank you.
Category: Monterrey Team Newsacademy on the horizon
By: j | 1 Comment
Today Monterrey opened their new facility to a cheering crowd of fans with the added expectation of a broader academy system in the not-so distant future. The facility will equally be used by lower division squads but as noted by the coaching staff, it will help create “Rayados of the future”. On a broader perspective I’m hopeful that we’ll see facilities of this grade become more common within all of México in the ongoing effort to improve overall play and the hopes of El Tri.
Category: Monterrey Team News
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