Despite the sunny skies and warm climates of Guadalajara, it’s not all fun and games down in Mexico for the Montreal Impact players. As the first tour of training camp pushes forward with demanding workouts and practices, the Impact will be doubly tested as three of four scheduled preparation games are against top-flight opponents in Mexico.
The first of those exhibition matches was played on Sunday, which saw the Impact and C.D. Chivas play to a scoreless draw. Chivas de Guadalajara plays in the Mexican first division and is the most successful club in all of Mexican football, having won 11 First Division titles, seven Campeón de Campeones and two Copa México, and is the reigning 2011 Apertura champs. Chivas, celebrating its centennial, is one of the 10 founding members of the Mexican Primera and is one of two teams that have never been relegated to the second division. It has been the launching pad for many internationally successful players, including last season’s Designated Player (DP) for Sporting Kansas City, Omar Bravo, and current Manchester United star Javier Hernandez. Major League Soccer (MLS) side Chivas USA is the club’s sister organization in the U.S.
“It was a good Guadalajara team we played as there were a lot of first team guys on the pitch [including Chivas stalwarts Antonio Gallardo and Omar Arellano],” said Impact head coach Jesse Marsch. “It was a good effort on the day and now we have to keep pushing forward.”
That push forward will include a series of three games in as many days for the Impact, with the first of these games set for today at 11am against Estudiantes Tecos. The club is a first division side associated with the Universidad Autónoma de Guadalajara AC, and was founded in 1971. Estudiantes has won the national championship once in 1994. The club was also runner-up in the Mexican League's second season championship, Clausura, in 2005, and has counted within its ranks the prolific goal scorer and Uruguayan international striker Sebastián Abreu, who had two stints with Tecos over his 16-year career, scoring 34 goals in 52 games played.
On Thursday, the Impact will play its third top-tier opponent in Atlas de Guadalajara. Founded in 1916, Atlas has developed the likes of defender Rafael Márquez, currently a DP for the New York Red Bulls in MLS and a starter for the Mexican national team, and also has former Serie A (Italy’s first division) defender of the year and Argentinian international Leandro Cufré on its current roster.
Sandwiched in between those two games will be a friendly against Guadalajara’s ITESO University on January 25.
The coaching staff will more than likely make some roster decisions following the team’s return to Montreal on January 29, where the boys in blue will train for a few days at the Marie-Victorin Sports Complex before heading out to Los Angeles on February 6 for 12 days. The trip to California will mark the second of three camps outside of the country before the Impact opens the season on March 10, in Vancouver, against the Whitecaps FC.
For more details on all the Impact’s preseason action, follow the team on twitter and facebook.
