Antonio Mohamed is not like other soccer coaches.
The Monterrey manager doesn't dress like others, wearing sleek blazers, spiking his hair and tossing on sunglasses.
He doesn't have the same style as other managers. His counterpart in the semifinal Ignacio "Nacho" Ambriz is content to sit back and hit on the counterattack. So too was his first-round opponent Ricardo "Tuca" Ferretti of Tigres. Mohamed wants to chase a game, often pushing forward from the left back spot and leaving his defensive midfielder or center backs to cope with whatever pressure comes back if the attack isn't successful.
And he doesn't talk like other managers. While Ambriz said the series is still very open, Mohamed had nothing but confidence that his team will secure a victory Saturday and move into the Liga MX final.
All those things that made him different also have made him special. He swaggered to league titles with Tijuana, an upstart that played his system to perfection. He tweaked things around when he went to America and won a league title there too. He better hope his confidence pays off this time. Monterrey's directors, after opening a new stadium and splurging on new players, are expecting results.
So far, Mohamed has delivered. Monterrey set a club record for points and wins in short tournaments in the Clausura. Los Rayados were largely untouchable, finishing seven points ahead of their closest competitor, Pachuca, and losing just four times including a defeat in the final week when Mohamed elected to give most of his regulars a breather.
Part of the reason Monterrey was head and shoulders above the rest was rest in general. Not only does the Argentine boss have a deep squad at his disposal, he also had the luxury of going for only one tournament while rivals like Tigres, America and Santos Laguna fought for the CONCACAF Champions League and Pumas and Toluca turned their attention toward the Copa Libertadores.
But another strength of the team has been its attack. The two teams in the semifinal scored more goals than any other teams in the regular season, Monterrey finishing with 38, America with 34. That's partly why it's so surprising to see this tie heading to the second leg at 1-0.
Mohamed clearly had Monterrey playing at a high level, but the record-setting campaign would be for naught if he couldn't guide Los Rayados past the semifinal stage. He's certainly not panicking if you judge by the figure he cut after Wednesday's first leg. But there are times when a manager behaves a certain way in public to mask the emotion he's truly feeling or the urgency he's communicating in the dressing room. The manager is right to be confident after a superb regular season, but there are reasons for concern.
For one, Monterrey was unable to score an away goal, the first tiebreaker in the series. If America finds the back of the net at the Estadio BBVA Bancomer, the task will be that much harder. Another concern for Mohamed is that while his team was the best in the league at scoring, the goals have dried up. His team nearly tripped up in the second leg of their quarterfinal. After dashing out to a 3-1 lead in the first leg, it took Tigres center back Juninho getting sent off to jolt Monterrey back to life. Young defender Cesar Montes scored minutes after the red card, but it's now been two full matches since one of the power trio of Rogelio Funes Mori, Edwin Cardona and Dorlan Pablon have gotten on the board.
Mohamed may want you to believe he has no worries ahead of the second leg, but you can be sure there's a bit of doubt creeping into his mind. Monterrey can certainly do the job, but if the team doesn't, Mohamed will have to come up with some answers.
- Goal