Another weekend of club soccer is upon us. Let’s see the schedule for our Europeos and some notes from the last week in Mexican soccer. Sound off in the comments about this weekend’s games or anything else going on in Mexican soccer.

SATURDAY (central time)

Atletico Madrid v Elche- 9:00AM– Cholo has preached patience with Raul Jimenez and has praised him for his work ethic. He had a good showing mid-week in a cup match but I expect him to be on the bench for this. Maybe even in the crowd, as has been the trend lately.

Real Madrid v Cela Vigo- 1:00PM– Carlo Ancelotti squashed rumors that Chicharito was on his way out in January. That being said, his future is still very much in the air with RM rumored to not activate their buy option. His solid performance during the Cope Del Rey was nice but wont be enough to force himself ahead of Benzema. For the rest of this season, he will be given spot starts but mostly come off the bench.

PSV v Dordrecht- 1:45PM– Guardado is coming off being named player of the month for PSV in November. PSV seem to be the favorite to win the Eredivisie title and Guardado is playing a large part. Dordrecht are in dead last and likely to be relegated. PSV might give fringe players and youngsters a chance to play.

Porto v Academica de Coimbra- 2:15PM– Diego Reyes has not been included in the call up sheet for this game. Hector Herrera has and is expected to start. Diego will likely be looking for a loan destination come January. Herrera has already been rumored to go to a few elite clubs in January but I expect he will stay at Porto.

Malaga v Deportivo- 3:00PM–  Ochoa actually played in a game for Malaga but don’t look for him to do the same this weekend. He will likely be relegated to Cup games for the time being. This past week’s performance did show that Memo is still a top keeper, in spite of his lack of playing time. Malaga will be open to offers come January and he will listen intently.

 

SUNDAY

Rayo Vallecano v Sevilla- 5:00AM–  Aquino did not start in Rayo’s cup game this week but eventually did see some time. He will hope to start against a Sevilla team in the middle of a fight to earn a Champion’s League spot.

Twente v Vitesse- 9:45AM– Tecatito’s confidence is running high and for good reason. He has been having his best season as a professional and his team is in 4th so far. Look for Corona to be included in the starting 11 for Twente.

Barcelona v Espanyol- 10:00AM– The big news here is: Hector Moreno is back. He has received minutes in a friendly and a cup match. It might be too soon to throw him on against Barcelona but the Catalan club would not mind having a first hand look at the Mexican defender. They are in need of a central defender and Moreno was a rumored target before his injury. Another person with his eye on Moreno is Piojo Herrera. Mexico’s back 3 has had several poor showings and could use a player like Moreno to stabilize it going forward.

Villarreal v Real Sociedad- 12:00PM–  I hope we get a chance to see Gio, Jona, and Vela on the field at once. Vela will start, no questions asked but I’m not sure about the Dos Santos hermanos. Jona has been getting more playing time as the season has gone on but is far from an every-week starter. Gio is coming off an injury but is expected to return this weekend. Should be a fun match up.

MONDAY

Hellas Verona v Sampdoria- 2:00PM– Rafa Marquez seems to pretty much go 90 minutes every game that Hellas Verona has. He has even worn the captain’s armband in recent matches.

Notes 

–Cuauhtemoc Blanco is going to play another 6 months with Puebla. More importantly, he is in FIFA 15. They have him rated as 27 PACE, accurate?

-Mexico U21s won the gold at Central American Games. It got close in the Gold Medal game but Mexico pulled it out at home.

-Cubo has still not decided on his future but seems he will only stay in MLS if he can stay in LA.

-Espericueta impressed at the tourney but the Tigres president said he will be back with the club after his loan ends at the end of December. Tuca has a history of not playing young players, I wonder if Espericueta will push for another loan.

-Carlos Vela made the team of the week in La Liga after his hat trick against Deportivo.

-Something to keep in mind with transfer season approaching, Porto owns 80% of Hector Herrera’s rights. Pachuca is believed to own the remaining 20%. His contract features a 40 million Euro buy out clause.

-The Mexican Federation has ruled that Alan Pulido has a contract with Tigres until June 2016. Will he ever play for Tigres or will they sell him off, that remains to be seen.

-Chicharito has been chosen as part of Real Madrid’s Club World Cup roster. The tourney will take place later this month and features Cruz Azul.

–SUM has extended their deal with Mexico Federation for the Mexican National team to play games in US. I hope the federation still gives Piojo the freedom to schedule games in Europe.

-El Zorillo chosen in Champions League team of the week and his goal is nominated for goal of the week. Here is a good read from Nayib Moran on his season so far.

 

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Como ya saben, se ratificó mi contrato con @miseleccionmx hasta Rusia 2018 y con esto ratifico mi compromiso con el equipo y con el país.

— Miguel Herrera (@MiguelHerreraDT) December 5, 2014