“Álvaro Fidalgo was as he always is: imprecise and inconsequential in important moments”

Club América failed to make their home advantage at the Estadio Ciudad de los Deportes count in the first leg of the Clausura 2025 Liga MX Grand Final against Toluca’s Diablos Rojos. Despite the support of a passionate home crowd, the Águilas were unable to break the deadlock and now face the difficult task of heading to the Nemesio Diez needing a win in hostile territory.

If they want to claim their fourth championship title, a victory is essential—especially after already letting the CONCACAF Champions Cup slip away. Anything less would mark the season as a failure.

The goalless draw left a sour taste for América fans, who booed the team at the final whistle. It also sparked harsh criticism from the media. One of the most vocal detractors was Álvaro Morales, the controversial ESPN presenter, who singled out midfielder Álvaro Fidalgo for particularly strong criticism.

“They couldn’t stand up to a cowardly coach”

In his signature satirical and provocative style, Morales opened the ESPN show Fútbol Picante by taking aim at América’s manager, André Jardine, and his players:

“They couldn’t stand up to a coach who, as the euphemists will say, was ‘intelligent’—but in truth, was cowardly. Eleven players couldn’t overcome Mohamed’s cautious approach. Just imagine: Toluca came in having lost 10 straight finals, had only 41% possession, and América didn’t create a single clear chance. And no, the refereeing is not an excuse.”

Morales then launched into a player-by-player critique, sparing few:

“Kevin Álvarez has forgotten how to cross—he didn’t deliver a single good ball. Reyes failed to communicate with Aguirre during a key moment late in the match. Jonathan dos Santos gave the ball away; Zendejas was invisible; Henry Martín was shut out; Dávila looked nervous and never clicked with Martín. And Álvaro Fidalgo, as usual, despite having had a good tournament overall—was once again imprecise and ineffective when it really mattered.”

Fidalgo’s stats tell a different story

However, statistics painted a more favourable picture of Fidalgo’s performance. According to 365 Scores, which tracks individual player metrics, the Spanish-born midfielder—now a naturalized Mexican—was rated as the second-best performer for América in the match, just fractions behind Sebastián Cáceres.

Here’s a breakdown of his performance:

• 90 minutes played
• 2 shots
• 1 shot on goal (América’s only one in the entire match)
• 55/63 passes completed (87%)
• 1/1 dribbles
• 82 touches of the ball
• 1 foul received
• 1 foul committed
• 17 turnovers
• 2 ball recoveries
• 2/2 successful clearances

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