Photo: Ulises Ruiz / Getty Images
For: EFE Updated 25 May 2022, : 41 am EDT
The Atlas, promoted by Colombians Camilo Vargas and Julián Quiñones , aspire to become the third two-time champion in the history of short soccer tournaments Mexican by challenging in the final of the Clausura tournament 2022 to the Tuzos of Pachuca.
The Rojinegros of Argentine coach Diego Cocca will receive this Thursday in the first leg from the final to Pachuca at the Jalisco stadium to close the series this Sunday at the Hidalgo stadium, home of the Tuzos.
Short tournaments, which are played twice for each season, were established in 1996 in Mexico and since that year only the Pumas UNAM, by winning the pair of contests of 1996, and the Lion, by winning those of the campaign 2013-2016, they have managed to be two-time champions.
The Atlas de Cocca already knows what it is to get into the history books when, last December, break your drought of 70 years without obtaining a League title.
In that championship, the goalkeeper Vargas and striker Quiñones were also among the protagonists of the Atlas, along with Argentine Julio Furch. Cocca is confident that this trio of players, who have stood out in the final phase of the Clausura, will lead Atlas to the third title in its history.
Los Rojinegros finished in third place in the classification in the regular phase with 27 points in 17 days. In the final phase, they dispatched in the quarters against Guadalajara and in the semifinals against Tigres UANL.
For the title, Atlas must beat Pachuca del Uruguayan coach Guillermo Almada, a team that finished as the leader of the Clausura regular phase with 38 points and eliminated San Luis in the quarterfinals and America in the semifinals.
Almada’s team is the antithesis of Cocca’s and he praises the offensive game, it was the best attack of the Closing with 30 goals, while Atlas shines for its defensive order that allowed it to finish for the second consecutive tournament as the best behind in the regular phase by receiving 15 targets, the same as Pachuca.
The Uruguayan strategist also has South American figures in his squad, among which the Colombians stand out Avilés Hurtado and Oscar Murillo, the Ecuadorian Romario Ibarra and the Argentines Oscar Ustari and Nicolás Ibáñez.
The Tuzos are looking for the Seventh title in its history to tie the Pumas and the Tigres as the sixth most winning teams in Mexico.
Pachuca have not won a league trophy since the Clausura 2016.
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