2023-08-16 11:19:07
Alberto Aceves
Newspaper La Jornada
Wednesday August 16, 2023, p. a10
Emilio Azcárraga Jean, owner of Club América, rarely goes to the Coapa facilities. Although he is passionate about soccer and everything that his condition in the professional circuit entails, only at moments that require a commanding voice does the highest manager meet with players and coaching staff.
After the bad experience in the Leagues Cup, a tournament where the Águilas were knocked out in the round of 16, Azcárraga made a surprise appearance at the team’s training site to close ranks with a group chat that lasted around 30 minutes. Sitting in formation on one of the main benches, the team members looked in one direction and listened.
Light blue shirt, dress pants and hands almost always in his pockets, framed in his speech a series of goals not achieved in the League and other international competitions.
The last sporting success in his management was the 2019 title in the Champion of Champions final against Tigres. Since then, the Águilas have not only suffered failures in the final rounds, but also a notable loss of income due to the low demand for tickets in their home games at the Azteca stadium. In at least two of the three dates played so far in the League, the attendance of American supporters was around half of the 87,000 total seats.
Debt with the fans
According to witnesses in Coapa, Azcárraga insisted on the relevance of being champions this season, for which he continues to look for ways to further strengthen his squad. There were words of encouragement for the youngsters, signs of support for the project headed by the Brazilian André Jardine, as well as a reminder of the debt that exists with his fans.
A few meters from the businessman, members of the staff and other club leaders, including sports president Santiago Baños, attended the same message standing up. There were no bombastic responses or statements to the press. After his visit was over, he left the sports complex and practice was terminated before the game against Atlas on Sunday at the Jalisco stadium. Jardine will not be able to count on the Spaniard Álvaro Fidalgo, who has yet to meet a suspension date, nor will the injured Henry Martín, Jonathan Rodríguez and Sebastián Cáceres be available.
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