Ciudad Juárez dey dream of a historic moment as dem face Toluca in de quarter-finals of Liga MX. After over 16 years, de city dey experience de excitement of de Liguilla again, thanks to de Bravos' qualification for de Apertura 2025 tournament.
Alejandra de la Vega's Vision
De Bravos' success dey reflect de hard work and dedication of Alejandra de la Vega Arizpe, a key figure for promoting professional football for de northern border of de country. Since dem found de team in 2015, de Bravos don show steady growth, wey now dey culminate in dem reaching de final stage of de championship. But, dem dey face criticism for how dem gain access to de Primera División and for occupying de bottom spots for de Liga MX quotient table.
Alejandra de la Vega, wey dey lead de project, dey solidify a model wey dey emphasize local roots, infrastructure, and talent development, wey dey back by her experience as businesswoman and sports leader. Her story as de first woman owner of a club for Liga MX dey help us understand her role for transforming professional football, and other sports, for de border city.
The Road to the Quarter-Finals
Juárez dey hope to make history and reach dem first semi-finals. Dis be how de 'Bravos' and Toluca dey prepare for de quarter-final showdown. América lost by two goals for de first leg of de quarter-finals, and history no dey favour dem to qualify. We go see if dem go reverse de situation for dem home game.
Las Águilas lost 2-0 when dem visit Monterrey and suffered dem first defeat for de best-of-eight stage since Clausura 2021, when dem lost 3-1 to Pachuca. Dat be de last time de azulcrema team lost for de first leg of dis early stage of de Liguilla, so de challenge wey André Jardine dey face be practically new and unknown to him.
Can América Bounce Back?
Because dem finish higher for de standings, de capital team get de chance to advance to de semi-finals with a draw for de aggregate score (no matter how many goals dem concede from de visitors). De problem be say dem need to win by two goals to equalize de aggregate, and dem no manage to score even one goal for dem last two games (against Toluca and for de first leg against Monterrey).
For de first time for Jardine's era, América dey look like dem go get eliminated. If dat happen, e go be de first time since Clausura 2023 wey dem no reach de final, and de first time since Apertura 2021 wey dem no reach de semi-finals.
- No América player dey feature for de Apertura 2025 ideal XI.