Atalanta profile
CONCACAF Champions League
CHAMPIONS LEAGUE PROFILE: Atlante FC
9/12/2008 - Moving can be difficult, but don’t tell that to Atlante coach Jose Guadalupe Cruz and the rest of the Potros de Hierros (Iron Colts).
In 2007 Atlante relocated from Mexico City’s goliath Azteca Stadium to the world famous beach resort of Cancun. From the season’s opening kick, it was evident that the supposed rigors of transition were completely lost on Atlante. For the first time in 14 years, and mere months after moving to their new home in the Estadio Andrés Quintana Roo, Atlante was able to win the Mexico Primera Division’s 2007 Torneo Apertura (Opening Tournament).
“This is a great moment for all the Atlante supporters, who have had nothing to celebrate for a long time,” exclaimed Coach Cruz, “I’d like to thank my players, my assistants, the directors for giving me this opportunity, and the people who wear these colors,” he continued.
For Atlante, the victory was the its third title (after championships in 19’47 and 19’93) in what has been a long and fluctuating past. Since its inception in 1916, when it was called Sinaloa, Atlante has had to deal with the challenge of being a “low-budget” club trying to keep pace with Mexico’s rich, something it has achieved, although sporadically. Besides its three national titles, it has finished runner-up four times in its 82-year existence and also won a CONCACAF Champions Cup™.
The difficulty has been in finding ways to decrease the time between successes. Atlante’s most recent championship drought resulted in an attendance drop so steep that the club was forced to find a new headquarters and locate to a new and auspicious home in Cancun.
The move added a refreshing quality to the 2007 Apertura, which brought an end to an era of barren football and secured the club’s place in the 2008 Champions’ Cup™ and the 2008-09 CONCACAF Champions League™.
Whether Atlante are able to capitalize on these new opportunities could come down to a matter of form. Prior to the start of the 2007 Apertura, Cruz’s men were written off as largely “inexperienced, unknown and forgotten.” But behind his leadership and the goal-scoring prowess of Venezuelan international Giancarlo Maldonado, Atlante posted a 9-6-2 record in the regular season and left many of Mexico’s historic clubs in their tournament winning wake.
It was against this backdrop that much was expected of the “Potros” in the Torneo Clausura 2008 (or Closing Tournament), but recent times have not proven as easy. Following its December championship, Atlante could only muster a 3-8-6 record in the Clausura and failed to qualify for the playoffs, stealing away some of the club’s momentum.
Despite the struggles of late, if past performance is a good indicator of future success, then the omens are still quite positive for Atlante as they prepare for this year’s CONCACAF Champions League™.
Historically, the CONCACAF Champions’ Cup™ (the forerunner to the newly formed CONCACAF Champions League™) has been kind to Mexican sides, which won 18 titles between 1962-1997. Atlante can claim some of that success, winning the continental championshi in 1983 and finishing runner-up in 1994. It will also help having a coach who has enjoyed success with the club as a player. Cruz was a member of Atlante’s 1993 Primera Division championship squad.
Cruz will bring a team built largely on youth to the 2008-09 CONCACAF Champions League™. Atlante will rely upon top marksman Giancarlo Maldonado, who scored 15 goals in the Apertura 2007 regular season as well as a number of World Cup Qualifying goals for his native Venezuela; goalkeeper Federico Vilar, who has spent time with Argentina’s Boca Juniors, and Christian “Hobbit” Bermudez, who was a member of Mexico’s U20 World Cup team last year and is on the cusp of senior national team duty.
8/26/2008 Champions League
20:00 Joe Public FC vs New England Revolution
20:00 Tauro FC vs Chivas USA
22:00 CD SC Cruz Azul vs Hankook Verdes
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
8/27/2008 Champions League
20:00 Impact de Montreal vs Real Esteli
22:00 AD Isidro Metapan vs CD Marathon
22:00 LD Alajuelense vs Puerto Rico Islanders
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
8/28/2008 Champions League
20:00 Harbour View FC vs Pumas UNAM
22:00 Deportivo Jalapa vs San Francisco FC
9/2/2008 Champions League
20:00 New England Revolution vs Joe Public FC
22:00 Chivas USA vs Tauro FC
22:00 Real Esteli vs Impact de Montreal
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
9/3/2008 Champions League
20:00 Puerto Rico Islanders vs LD Alajuelense
22:00 Hankook Verdes vs CD SC Cruz Azul
22:00 CD Marathon vs AD Isidro Metapan
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
9/4/2008 Champions League
20:00 San Francisco FC vs Deportivo Jalapa
22:00 Pumas UNAM vs Harbour View FC
No events are scheduled
Late goals lift PR Islanders past Alajuelense 2:1, into Group Stage... More
Three goals by Zelaya pace El Salvador to 5:0 victory over shorthanded Haiti... More
Haiti heads to El Salvador, Costa Rica hosts Suriname in World Cup qualifying... More
Late goal by Gallardo rallies Guatemala to 1:1 draw with Trinidad & Tobago... More
Canada, Honduras need points while Jamaica takes long road trip to Mexico... More
__________________
|
Linear Mode
