Over Before it Began

By: Alan | November 16th, 2008

Atlas was out of the liguilla before they even entered the pitch to face Pachuca last night, this was because if you followed the mass of things needed for them to qualify you would notice that they needed both Cruz Azul and Tecos needed to do badly in their games. In reality Tecos won 3-0 and Cruz Azul cruised to a 4-1 victory. These results combined meant that it was mathematically impossible for Atlas to enter the liguilla even had they beat Pachuca by a margin of 31-0.

Needless to say, this margin did not occur, what did occur was a 1-1 draw that left many Atlas fans wanting more. It’s pretty safe to say that the team knew there was no way for them to enter the liguilla before they stepped on the pitch, and one of the reasons you could tell was due to their overall attitude on the pitch. It’s true that they were the visiting team and that they had nothing to gain from that game, but the Atlas team that took the field last night couldn’t beat some Sunday league teams I’ve seen. There were many problems with that team, first they were 10 mins late out of the dressing rooms for the second half, then they would miss 10 yard passes, run with the speed of a baby giraffe, and 16 year old Ibañez managed to get sent off in the second game of his first division career by accumulating two yellows. The team lacked heart.

However, Atlas was able to sneak into the Interliga tournament with the chance to win a spot in the Copa Libertadores. This is the second consecutive year that Atlas will be in the Interliga tournament, and Atlas won the whole tournament last year, and was able to put on a good show in the Copa Libertadores.

Let’s hope the team that shows up to the Interliga remembers that they have something to play for.

AWANTE Atlas