Tigres head coach Robert Siboldi argued that his team was short of rest following their 1-0 defeat to rivals Cruz Azul Saturday night.
The Liga MX giants last played on Wednesday, February 14 in the Concacaf Champions Cup as they toppled MLS side Vancouver Whitecaps 3-0 to advance to the Round of 16. Three days later, Tigres were back in action in league play against a new-look Cruz Azul side, and perhaps their dull showing can be attributed to playing earlier in the week.
In comparison, Cruz Azul’s most recent match came on February 11, meaning the had nearly a full week’s rest compared to just a few days for Siboldi’s team.
The two sides remained in a deadlock up until the latter stages of the game when Tigres substitute Diego Reyes attempted to steer a cross out of his penalty area, but instead he turned the ball into his own net. Tigres suffered their first defeat of the season and fell to sixth place in the Clausura standings, while their opponents jumped to first place.
Siboldi went on to make sure that everyone in the press conference that Tigres were playing two competitions at the moment — Liga MX and the Champions Cup — while Cruz Azul only had to worry about league action.
“I am concerned that we do not have time for rest, for recovery,” Sibolid said in Spanish after the defeat at Estadio Azul. “We don’t have full weeks, we are in two tournaments but we know that and I don’t want to make excuses. Cruz Azul simply plays only one tournament and the two of us.”
Fixture congestion has become a real problem in recent seasons, with teams essentially being required to have two starting lineups within their squads to attempt to do well in all competitions.
However, while Tigres didn’t have much time to rest and recover for their clash with Cruz Azul, the likes of Monterrey, Chivas de Guadelajara, Toluca and Club America have all dealt with the same problems — and their coaches haven’t made the same excuses as the Tigres head coach.
Siboldi did acknowledge that the league tries to help their clubs prepare in the best way possible ahead of each season, but the aftermath of playing three times within the span of a week is still felt by the players.
“The league does everything possible to ensure that the Liga MX teams are in the best shape for the two tournaments, but we have a vast squad, with quality and the art of this is to have the right dosage,” said Siboldi.
“Today there were several boys who had a hard time and felt the burden of games without adding or counting on the little prior preparation for the tournament. We are going to continue fighting because we have a squad to fight in both.”
Tigres return to Liga MX action on February 24 at the Estadio Universitario to take on Atlas before playing host to FC Juarez on February 28.
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