As in last December, the end of the Expansion League MX will be starred by Atlas Y Tampico Madero. The Barça squad was the last to secure their pass after an exciting semifinal match back against Celaya on Sunday afternoon at the Ciudad de los Deportes stadium, which ended 2-2 but with a 3-2 aggregate in favor of the capital. .
In this way, the iron colts will play their second final since the Expansion League was created in the summer of 2020 and will live a rematch against Tampico, who took the title during their first meeting last December. The Tamaulipas defeated on this occasion Sinaloa Dorados 2-0 on aggregate to qualify until the final round.
“The project is to go to the first division. The reality is that from the sporting guide of Emilio Escalante (owner) and Jorge Santillana (sports president) they have a very clear idea of how this team should play and how this team should face each game and tournament, the players already know and respect these beautiful colors ”Said Mario García, Atlante coach, since mid-September, now achieving a second final in which he is also in charge of the technical direction.
The colts will close the fight for the title at home next Sunday, December 19, after having finished the regular tournament in second position with 33 points and the second best offense with a difference of +13 goals. For his part, Tampico Madero advanced as seventh (24 points and +5) and had to start from the playoffs, where he eliminated Mineros de Zacatecas; In the quarterfinals he eliminated Atlético Morelia and in the semifinals the leaders, Golden.
Like Mario García, Gerardo Espinoza repeats as technical director of Tampico Madero Heading to the final of the Apertura 2021. They were former teammates within the management team of the Tamaulipas team in 2019, until Grupo Orlegi decided to dispense with García and give Espinoza the opportunity at the helm, who led the team to its first star in December 2020.
During his stay in the first division, Tampico He managed to be runner-up in the PRODE 85 and Mexico 1986 short tournaments, with figures such as Pilar Reyes, Sergio Lira and Benjamín Galindo, but his first crown was only that of the 2020 Guardians in the Expansion League. It should be noted that in the same year, Grupo Orlegi has put its three teams to a final, because apart from the Jaiba Brava, Atlas arrived at the Apertura 2021 of the MX League and Santos Laguna to the Guardians 2021.
For its part, for Atlante it would represent their third second division title, after those achieved in the long-season format in 1976-77 and 1990-91. Since short tournaments have been played, the colts have only been runners-up for Ascent or Expansion in 2015, 2016 and 2020.
In the current league, the Catalans left out Celaya and Venados de Mérida, since as they were general sub-leaders they avoided the playoff phase. In the previous tournament (Guardianes 2021), they were one step away from the final when they were eliminated by Atlético Morelia, so Atlante has been at least in the semifinals in each of the tournaments that have been played so far in the model. MX expansion.
The first leg final will be next Thursday, December 16 at the stadium Tamaulipas, with capacity for 19,668 fans, while the return will be on Sunday in Ciudad de los Deportes, where more than 36,000 can be accommodated. The current Expansión champion is Tepatitlán FC, which this time was out from the playoff round. According to information from the league itself, the champion of this league pockets 10 million pesos to improve its infrastructure while it is restored to promotion to the first division in 2023.
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Reference-www.eleconomista.com.mx