LIGA MX
Club America’s problems in central defence are not going away
The Mexican side have not found solidity in their central defensive partnership since the Aguilera-Valdez duo.
América are struggling with their defence, specifically in the middle of the back line. Against Tigres on match day 11 of the 2023 Clausura, Fernando Ortíz will once again move shuffle the pack by sending Néstor Araujo to the bench and putting in Sebastián Cáceres to partner Israel Reyes. Las Águilas have not been defensively secure since the days of Emanuel Aguilera and Bruno Valdez.
Since the 2019 Apertura, the most recent tournament in which they featured in a Liga MX final, América have signed five central defenders in their quest to consolidate the back line. The first to arrive was Sebastián Cáceres, who came from Liverpool (Uruguay) for an fee of $2.3 million, according to Transfermarkt. The Uruguayan signed with Las Águilas for the 2020 Clausura campaign, and was seen as a player with a football future in his country.
However, Cáceres has not achieved that defence for which the board of directors bet three years ago. His level has been routinely not up-to-scratch during his time with the team and as a result he has not been able to establish himself in the starting XI.
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Solari’s signings
In the 2021 Clausura, Jordan Silva arrived at the last minute when Solari asked for a central defender as soon as he had taken charge of his first few games. Silva took the role of substitute and has made just 14 starts for the team.
For the 2022 Clausura, at the express request of Santiago Solari again, América signed Jorge Meré. The Spaniard came from the Bundesliga, however, he never found a place within the squad. With the departure of Solari, opportunities did not come for the footballer who barely played 10 games wearing the América shirt.
More new players aimed to fill the gaps
At the 2022 Apertura, America went for a big name by repatriating Néstor Araujo. The national team player ended his time in Spain with Celta de Vigo to return to his native Mexican football with Las Águilas. Araujo immediately won the position in Ortíz’s system, but he has not managed to be the leader that was expected of him.
Finally, in the 2023 Clausura, and after several attempts, the América board managed to sign Israel Reyes. The former Puebla player arrived and little by little he began to earn a place in the centre of defence. Today they seem to be ‘Tano’s’ trusted player in that area and from here the club will once again try to find a solid partnership at the back of the pack.
