Mexican teams have grown used to playing in the FIFA Club World Cup. The way they achieve that ticket is by winning CONCACAF Champions League, a tournament that finishes almost 6 months before the World Cup. It turns out, a move by Giovani dos Santos to Club America may be the key for that club to shine in the tournament.
Mexico’s History In The FIFA Club World Cup
The fact that the FIFA Club World Cup is far removed from the moment the champion of CONCACAF raises the trophy is a disadvantage for North American teams. Six months can make a huge difference in performance level during the FIFA tournament.
The evidence of this? For one, the fact that Mexican sides have not played in the final game since Necaxa did it, facing Vasco da Gama, in 2000. So far, since that feat, the best outcomes have been a couple of third places and also some embarrassing moments when teams have been eliminated after their first or second match.
A Change In Mexico’s Fortunes: Dos Santos To Club America
2015 may be a year of change.
During the 2014-2015 CONCACAF Champions League, Club America was awarded the championship. A strong team with one of the best rosters in the Liga MX is going to be the next representative in Japan. And now, after a very doubtful summer, the Coapa club is having an important tournament under new coach Ignacio Ambriz.
This brings a ray of hope that, for the first time in years, Mexico will have a team playing close to its prime level during December’s competition. But will that be enough?
Enter Giovani Dos Santos.
The Number 10 of Mexico’s national team – and one of the jewels created by Barcelona’s homegrown teams – has now taken a big turn in his football career. Dos Santos signed a multi-million contract with MLS’s LA Galaxy and is now one of the biggest stars in the American league.
What does this have to do with Club America, you may ask? Everything.
The management staff of Mexico’s Club America has reached out to the management team from LA to ask for the newest star in their Galaxy. Now that Giovani Dos Santos is with a MLS team, America knows that reaching for a loan agreement to send Dos Santos to Club America is a real possibility.
MLS competitions end by November. America just wants a loan for the FIFA World Cup in December. So, again, the possibility of a Dos Santos to Club America move is even greater.
Things are looking good for America also, because Giovani has been a huge fan of the team since he was a little boy, and has always dreamed to play under its colors. And he might be the key for another Mexican club to go through to the final of the FIFA Club World Cup.
A young Giovani dos Santos holding a Club America shirt. Photo: @rasainforma | Twitter
Giovani Dos Santos’s Career: A Look Back
Dos Santos’s football career was forged by one of the best Academies in the world, FC Barcelona’s La Masia. Since then, he has had a long career among many different teams in Europe.
The Monterrey native has been the key star in most of the squads on which he’s played, including Mexico’s national team. Also he was the FIFA U-17 World Cup Champion in 2005.
Dos Santos is a very physical and talented player. His runs on the band and the ball control he possesses makes him a real threat for rival defenders. You just have to remember the goal he scored against USA in 2011 Gold Cup.
Since his arrival to the MLS, Gio has scored three goals and given four assists in the eight matches he has played. This is one of his best career starts ever with a club.
Although Giovani Dos Santos is injured now and will miss the game between Mexico and USA for the ticket for the FIFA Confederations Cup Russia 2017, this injury shouldn’t be a concern for December’s tournament.
Giovani Dos Santos To Club America: What It Would Mean
Let’s go back to Club America and see why Giovani can be the player to take the team to the next level in the FIFA Club World Cup.
Under the management of Ricardo Peláez, America has enjoyed great stability over the past 4 years, achieving two Liga MX titles and a CONCACAF Champions League over that span.
The team is well balanced and has some of the best players in Mexico like Oribe Peralta and Darwin Quintero. Imagine now the move of Dos Santos to Club America — that attack with Giovani on one of the sides, joining these two hotshots.
The biggest problem for America to reach the final is that it most likely will face FC Barcelona in the semis. Europe’s reigning champion, however, is going through one of the lowest moments in the Luis Enrique era and we still don’t know when will they come out of it.
Twenty eight-year-old striker dos Santos has great experience facing the Culé side, from the time he played for Santander, Mallorca and Villarreal. And he can help his teammates feel more confident to develop their A-Game to a match against this world giant.
Besides the psychological factor, having Dos Santos on the team can improve a well-defined counter attack style that America has imprinted over the years. He knows how to control and make long runs with the ball at high speed. This has been one of Barcelona’s weaknesses during this season. Mathieu and Piqué have been slow and with Alba and Alves on the attack, the central defenders are left vulnerable.
If America retains the pace from the last several weeks, they will be one of the three strongest teams in the FIFA Club World Cup tournament, just behind Barcelona and River Plate. The road is already paved and, in order to get to the final, they very surely face the Catalan side.
While right now the America squad is full of very talented players, the addition of an international star in his prime is the best chance that the Mexican side has to have an opportunity to get to the final. Hence, Dos Santos to Club America could be a very real possibility.
As he has in the past with the U-17 National Team, and with the Olympic Team in 2012, Dos Santos has the talent on his feet to change history for Mexico.
