Drama in Tijuana
Club America leaves the champs Tijuana Xolos' Estadio Caliente as the overall leader in the Liga MX Clausura season (at least for one night) after playing more than half the game with nine men on the pitch. The champions lost, and bid 'adios' to a long unbeaten streak at their own stadium, a stadium that went into shock and couldn't control a home-field advantage assumed to be invincible. A frigid night in the border town heated up while Club America infused its stoic feat with vestiges of heroism.
Drama...
That is the symptom of the evening. Drama... A drama that spread throughout the stands...
A drama that warmed the soul... A drama the players understood...
A drama that was contagious... A drama that was beating fast...
A drama that drove the ball...
A drama that took hold of the penalty area...
Drama...
The drama of a home team that doesn’t know what to do with an advantage fallen from the sky...
The drama of a visiting team that takes on heroic qualities...
Drama... Drama at Estadio Caliente... Drama in Tijuana... Drama for the champ who collapses... Drama for a Club América that will go to bed at least for one night as tournament leader...
Too much drama for a game that does not define anything...
For some time now soccer has been a fairytale and a party in these dusty plains...
Here, among peacocks and Bengal tigers...
In the whimsical late afternoon of clouds and sun...
A bit of makeup...
A pig roasting...
A chicken running around...
Trumpets, flutes, drums...
T-shirts in red and black hues...
Song and dance...
Mexican big band music...
Grilled steak tacos...
Percussion sounds...
The Xolos’ cheering section, “La masacre,” and that of Club América, “La monumental”...
Soccer arrived to Tijuana as a cause for unity, as an excuse to smile...
After 20 minutes, Club América was yellower than ever...
Before the end of the first half, they had two players sent off...
And then the 1-0 lead after Osvaldo Martinez’s goal on a penalty kick...
The champion had an advantage on the field, an advantage that would end up causing more harm than good in the end...
In the stands, there were several symptoms at the same time: The most notable of all, that of a stadium that does not know and does not understand what face to make when you have a two-player numerical advantage yet less goals on the scoreboard...
The official cheering section chants... It does so almost out of obligation...
The others, the fans with vestiges of having supported Club América at some point, harden their eyes...
Night falls... And it’s cold at Estadio Caliente...
There’s no time to analyze whether it was a superb goal or if Cirilo Saucedo lost the battle because he’s Chepo de la Torre’s third-string goalkeeper on El Tri...
Club América shocked the champions... Club América shocked Tijuana coach Antonio Mohamed... Club América shocked Tijuana...
2-0 and with nine men... They all drop back, to defend. A feat that has started to denote heroism...
Drama...
Drama arrived to Tijuana...
With a Club América that departs floating on the clouds of the top spot...
With a dog that barks and doesn’t get around to biting...
With a cold night, in which the senses understand that soccer, often times, need not be played well, or be spectacular, profound, brilliant. It must have drama... That is sufficient...
David Faitelson is one of Mexico's most popular sports journalists, having worked for TV Azteca before joining ESPN. He is based in Los Angeles, and co-hosts "NaciónESPN," ESPN Deportes' version of "SportsNation." Follow him on Twitter @Faitelson_ESPN.
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