Rising Expectations: Club América’s Quest for the Tricampeonato in the Apertura 2024 Season
Ivan Pineda
7/5/2024
A new season is upon Club América, who gear up to surpass new obstacles and achieve new heights. With the exceptionally successful last season, the bar has never been so high for América. A quest for the tricampeonato is a must for the reigning back to back champions. Anything less of that and the Apertura season will be deemed as a failure in the eyes of the fans and the institution itself. With less-than-ideal circumstances to start the season, considering the absences the team will have, and the fact that the team will no longer have 'home field' advantage with the closing of the Estadio Azteca, the tricampeonato will be an ever steeper uphill battle than many think.
Rising Expectations: Club América’s Quest for the Tricampeonato in the Apertura 2024 Season
Tempered Expectations?
Due to the immense stature of the club, expectations have and will always be outrageously demanding for Club América. That’s just the nature of being the biggest and the winningest club in Mexico and all of North America. If at the end of the season this team isn’t lifting a trophy, everything will be considered a failure. This season is no exception. Especially after winning back to back league titles, the task has gotten even taller. A three-peat isn’t the only expectation for this team this season. Fans will also demand that the team win games by thrashing opponents, play beautiful and attractive offensive soccer, and sit high atop the table week in and week out.
With the recent success América has enjoyed in the past year, many would argue that these expectations are unrealistic. Some argue that América fans should temper their expectations this season. However, the team's core is still intact (bar anything happening from now till the end of the transfer window), and with an ultra-competitive manager like André Jardine, it’s difficult to see how anyone can talk down on this team. If América can bring in the right players in the transfer market and adapt them to Jardine’s system, it’s hard to see any argument that doesn’t have América as heavy favorites to win the league yet again.
A Season Playing on the Road
One of the underlying narratives for Club América this season has to be the loss of their home stadium. The Estadio Azteca has officially closed its doors as renovations begin ahead of the 2026 World Cup, meaning América is left “homeless” for the next two years. For this season Las Águilas will call the Estadio Ciudad de Deportes home, a venue they will share with Cruz Azul. While the team will stay central to Mexico City, the factor of losing such an iconic stadium like the Azteca will surely have some effect on the team. It will be interesting to see how the team adapts and copes with the new stadium and how long it takes for them to truly make it feel like their home.
Jornada 1 vs Atletico San Luis
Club América starts the Apertura 2024 season on the road against Atletico San Luis. A match that, in the bookies eyes, is heavily favored for América to win. On paper, the match looks one sided, but on the pitch, things may play a little differently. With Club América’s key players returning from international duty, many would be optimistic in thinking they would feature in this match, but realistically, Jardine will likely rest them. The Brazilian manager is no stranger to San Luis and has gotten very good results on the road against his former club. Expect América to try and play a dominant style with heavy ball retention. The challenge will be trying to break San Luis’s defense down, but once they do América can easily be on cruise control for this one.
Club América Predicted Starting XI vs San Luis
Expect Jardine to field the same team that won the SuperCopa MX against Tigres. Even with the addition of key starters back from Copa America duty, they will most likely will feature on the bench.
R. Cota; E. Lara, N. Araujo, R. Juarez, C. Calderón; J. Dos Santos, S. Naveda; J. Dilrosun, A. Fidalgo, A. Zendejas; H. Martín