Trying to debunk some early impressions of 2007

	With Jaime Lozano spraying the ball across the field, Tigres' offense looked solid in a 2-0 win over Monterrey. Victor Decolongon/Getty Images
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The week between Christmas and New Year's was dreadful. Knowing full well that Mexican soccer was right around the corner, the final days of 2006 dragged forever. Minutes seemed like hours, hours like weeks, a day like a decade.

Now I know how U.S. fans feel, waiting for the Nats to bear fruit.

Nevertheless, there was light at the end of my tunnel. InterLiga is here to usher in a new year of Mexican soccer, and it could not have come soon enough for us Mexican soccer junkies.

Now, it's not the Mexican First Division but these matches are official and important. The path to Copa Libertadores glory will go through Houston's Robertson Stadium, Frisco's Pizza Hut Park and Carson's own cathedral of American soccer, Home Depot Center.

So as I settled in to get my fix of Mexican soccer, I tried not to let my mind wander. First impressions can be dangerous ones (U.S. 5, Norway 0 anyone?) and 2007 will be a long year for Mexican clubs.

Here, I try and debunk some of my first impressions of 2007:

First Impression: Tigres had their way with city rivals Monterrey 2-0. Walter Gaitain looked brilliant and Tigres will score lots of goals and contend for league and cup.

Reality: With a player the caliber of Gaitain, it's difficult to imagine a club not contending for some sort of cup. Against Monterrey, Tigres' offense looked dangerous. With Jaime Lozano spraying the ball across the field and former Chivas USA star Juan Pablo "Loquito" Garcia joining the fray, the offense looks as formidable as any in Mexico at first glance. Tigres' sieve-like defense, which yielded a league-worst 37 goals in the Apertura 2006 season, will receive a huge jolt in the arm with the arrival of Julio Cesar Caceres (who is nonetheless ineligible to play in InterLiga), so the club seems capable on both ends.

Yet the feeling here is that these are paper Tigres. Gaitan and former striker partner Sebastian "Chamagol" Gonzalez did not fare well together with Tigres. The seemingly dream strike force was dismantled one year after it came together when Gonzalez found his way to Veracruz in the offseason. Tigres' final impression, or rather their final 14 impressions, of 2006 were mostly pathetic. Tigres won only one of its last 14 regular-season games a year ago, a 3-2 win over lowly Queretaro. Included in the ghastly results is a 7-0 thrashing by Toluca as well as 5-0 losses to Pachuca and Pumas, the latter of which closed out a forgettable campaign.

It's difficult to believe any set of players turning around a club with the fortunes of Tigres so quickly.

First Impression: Kleber Boas is a blend of Agustin Delgado and Alex Aguinaga, and Necaxa has finally found their savior.

Reality: Kleber has skills, no doubt. His performance against Cruz Azul was brilliant. He scored a deft goal and set up two other marvelous efforts as Necaxa rolled to a 3-2 win over Cruz Azul.

But Kleber is no more than a mercenary, a hired gun capable of doing one thing: scoring goals. He is not a leader. He is not gifted enough to do anything more than score a couple of goals every now and then.

He is the second coming of Leonardo Fabio Moreno.

Like "El Cantante" before him, Kleber has passed through America on his tour of Mexico. Moreno spent four seasons in Mexico and made a splash with Celaya in the Verano 2001 season when he bagged nine goals. But a pair of unsuccessful stints with America and a washout with Jaguares was all that Moreno had to show for his time in Mexico.

Kleber has pieced together some decent campaigns. He has scored double-digit goals three times and had nine goals in his Necaxa debut a year ago. But for Necaxa to return to glory, Kleber must be a supporting piece, not the main one. And with the current bunch set to defend the Rayos' colors, it is difficult to find someone in the Aguinaga-Delgado mold.