Mexican clubs coming up short in int'l tournaments

Club América should have waltzed to the Copa Sudamericana title, but fell flat on its face in both legs of the finals. AP

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With so much at stake in points across the globe, Mexican teams are coming up woefully short. Typically, clubs from south of the border inject quite a bit of spice into international tournaments, but these days, the product Mexico exports is bland and drab.

Whether it's domestically or abroad, powerhouse Mexican teams have been fizzling and appear destined to repeat the formula over the coming weeks. The Apertura 2007 final is the least-anticipated championship in recent history. Mighty Club América couldn't hold a lead against a nondescript Argentine side while Pachuca is poised for ignominy in the FIFA Club World Cup.

These aren't exactly Mexican soccer's glory days.

Had things worked out better, a more attention-grabbing club would have made the domestic final in Atlante's place, América would have held onto a 2-0 lead in the Copa Sudamericana final on Wednesday and the Pachuca side currently in Japan would have been the one from six months ago that was in peak form and possibly Mexico's best club of all time.

Instead, the Clausura '08 season can't arrive soon enough. Here's a look at Mexico's recent shortcomings.

Domestic lollygagging

The storylines in the Apertura '07 final are just riveting enough, though they would seem like the kind to make headlines in Mexico.

• Mexico City's fifth-most popular soccer club bolts for Cancún, one of the country's most well-known resort towns, and promptly reaches the final.

• One of Mexico's most popular teams pulls off a surprising playoff run and reaches the final for the first time since '04.

But the Atlante-Pumas final is not of the must-see ilk. Last season's Pachuca-América final was a classic, as was Chivas-Toluca one calendar year ago.

Atlante-Pumas is possibly the least riveting matchup since Morelia and Monterrey met in the Clausura '03 final, which was easily the worst final pairing since Mexico switched to the short season format in 1996.

Although the thousands of Atlante fans would disagree, los Potros Hierros are an underwhelming finalist. Atlante finished third in the overall league table this season but did so in as unassuming manner as possible. Santos grabbed the headlines with its grandiose play while Toluca instilled fear in opponents. Atlante certainly got results -- nine wins, 33 points, 32 goals scored -- but it appeared to be an oversight when the Liguilla kicked off.

In the postseason, Atlante has been rather dull. A 2-1 win, a pair of 1-0 wins -- each of which featured a goal within the first five minutes -- coupled with a 1-0 loss and Thursday's 0-0 draw in the first leg of the final is what los Potros Hierros have to show for their postseason effort.

Still, it isn't a complete surprise that Atlante reached the final given the regular season. Pumas, meanwhile, appeared to have little chance of beating Toluca in the quarterfinals and likewise against Santos. But they pulled off a pair of surprising results that their pedestrian regular season didn't foretell.

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