Quick – how many Club América executives does it take to change a light bulb?
It all depends… will they be able to design a commemorative jersey for the occasion?
If futbol teams were judged by how nice their alternate jerseys are, then Club América would be in the top 5, and might even make the top spot in the one-man IFHSS list of top alternate jerseys list.
Sadly for America's front office, teams are rated not by marketing prowess, but by those pesky wins and losses. One more loss, and America is eliminated from Liguilla contention, which is amazing considering how tightly bunched the league is. And how bad the Aguilas have been this season.
It's too bad, really, some of those jerseys have been really nice.
On Sunday it only took 20 minutes for the sharply-dressed América to allow 3 Chivas goals on their home field. They did manage an early equalizer and nothing more. The Clásico Nacional belonged to Chivas, outscoring their rivals 6-1 in the last two match-ups.
And then came the good stuff.
In the post-game gloaming, Angel Reyna, who many Americanistas consider one of the few ambassadors Americanismo in its purest form, wasted no time in trashing his teammates. "tenemos un capitán de agua y una defensa de plástico, es lo único que sé." I think y'all get the gist of what he said – no translation needed.
Regardless of the level of truth in his statements, Reyna did break the "thou shall not publicly throw thy teammates under the bus." Rafa Marquez did it a month ago and got suspended for a game.
Reyna was suspended indefinitely, and likely has played his last game for Club América. He will be exiled, maybe to San Luis, but more likely to 2nd division Necaxa. Will he even get playing time wherever he lands?
The suspension has raised the issue of the camaraderie, or lack their of, in the locker room. Rumors have been floating around for a while that there is an over-abundance of discord in the dressing room.
The Front Office is no better. There is a fine art to building a winning team. A guy maybe dynamite on paper, It is obvious that Michel Bauer has not and will not grasp the concepts. But it's tough to blame a guy who is clearly out of his league. The team president had no previous experience in dealing with on-the field matters; he was a sales and marketing guy.
Hence all those pretty shirts.
The club also has zero semblance of continuity as they have averaged one coach a year since the two-season seasons started. It's ugly, and it has been for a while now. And it's a damn shame, for their fans, and for the league. Mexican futbol is better when Club America is good.
And for all Americanistas everywhere, watching Chivas run roughshod over their Aguilas with a bunch of kids has to be the bitterest of pills to swallow. Chivas are not going away anytime soon and are only going to get better.
Club América has the means to get better, and they eventually will. When changes that come from the top repeatedly fail to work, then it might be time for a change at the top.
Maybe they can design another snazzy jersey when it happens.