The Chilean Diego Valdesmidfielder Americathe current Mexican soccer champion, and his coach André Jardine They acknowledged this Monday that They dream of obtaining the Concacaf Champions Cup title to compete in the 2025 Club World Cup.
“It would be a dream to round off a great year in which we have done things very well and reach that Club World Cup.. We are on a very good streak that we must take advantage of to reach this final,” said Valdés in the press conference prior to the second leg of the semifinal of the Concacaf tournament in which they will face Pachuca this Tuesday.
In the first leg of the semi-finals, América gave Pachuca a 1-1 draw last Tuesday at the Azteca Stadium.
Valdés admitted that it will be difficult to overcome Pachuca, which is directed by the Uruguayan Guillermo Almada, whom he knows from the stage they met in Santos Laguna.
“Pachuca is very complicated, It is a strong team at home, they press a lot, I know Almada from when I was in Santos and he is a great coach, but if we are focused and applied I think we will win“said the midfielder.
Just as he praised Almada, Valdés highlighted the work that América coach, Brazilian André Jardine, has done with the squad in a year, in which they were even league champions.
“Working with Jardine has helped us in many aspects, especially as a group, it is demonstrated by the year we have had, We were champions six months ago and now we hope to repeat in the league and Concacaf that success,” said the Chilean.
For its part, garden He reiterated the great challenge for his team is to reach the final and lift the Concacaf Champions Cup title.
“This match is very important because it is part of that dream of reaching a Concacaf final to lift the title because that will give us the opportunity to go to the Club World Cup.“he explained.
In previous days, during an interview for TUDN, the azulcrema strategist had already revealed his desire to play in the most important tournament in the world at the club level.
“We allow ourselves to dream and we dream very big, I have a very big dream, I want to play in the Club World Cup, it has been in my head since I arrived in Mexico“Being in America, it seems very possible to me to play big things and raise the name of this club in other instances,” he said.
Regarding his rival this Tuesday, Pachuca, the coach is aware that it will be a complicated match, but He is confident that the talent of his staff will help them get ahead.
“It’s a great team, I never tired of praising Almada’s work, since I arrived here it caught my attention a lot, we think about many things about football the same way, I like that it’s a team that goes out to dominate the rival, Almada managed to show his face very quickly despite losing important players, it is a club capable of reinventing itself from one tournament to another, perhaps with less pressure (than America), but it is a coach who wants to win and that is the pressure that counts, it is going to be a great “It was a very tough game, with the certainty that America is prepared to face games like this,” he concluded.
*With information from EFE.
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