PACHUCA.- Pachuca's coach, Martín Palermo, regretted that Mexican soccer had been exposed to the world "in such an ugly way" after Veracruz's failed protest plan in the port due to payment issues and the lack of unity from Tigres. Palermo believes that there were better ways to come to an agreement without exposing Mexican football like that. He also mentioned that it is not only Veracruz and Tigres who are affected by this issue.
Palermo, who was a leader both on and off the field as a player, pointed out that he doesn't know what agreements those teams reached. He said, "I don't know if Tigres was wrong or if the way of protesting was not appropriate, but it was wrong to put Mexican football in such a situation."
This Saturday, Pachuca and Juárez Bravos showed solidarity with the Veracruz team by remaining inactive for one minute from the start of the match in the 14th round of the Apertura 2019.
On the other hand, Juárez's coach, Gabriel Caballero, commented that what happened yesterday "remains as an anecdote" and mentioned that what he saw was that Veracruz and Tigres could not reach an agreement.
THE INACTIVITY WEIGHED
Palermo talked about the 0-1 defeat at the Hidalgo stadium. He mentioned that in the end, the inactivity they had affected the Tuzos. He referred to the week of the FIFA date and the rest that the team had in the tournament after the 13th round.
However, he didn't underestimate Juárez's performance and commented that they were beaten fair and square. "We couldn't counter their play; it happened to us with San Luis and Morelia; when they close us down, we can't find a way to defeat them. Even the changes didn't work for us. We weren't a team, and it is clear that individualities don't win matches for you."
Palermo believes that Pachuca needs to work to regain the level and enthusiasm they had before the inactivity that pushed them out of the playoff zone. He said, "I find it difficult to explain the image we gave to our fans. The five remaining matches will demonstrate if we are at a playoff level."
He explained that Romario Ibarra didn't start because he had just come back from a week of training with the group after recovering from an injury. Palermo thought it was rushed to start him without having match rhythm.
Caballero praised his players' attitude, mentioning that they prepared the game well and everything went their way, despite the dominance that Pachuca had.