Inverting Full-Backs And Rotations: What To Expect From André Jardine’s Club América In 2023/24 – Tactical Analysis

Club América are the most successful team in the history of Mexican football.

The iconic side have a record-setting 13 titles to their name, with Club Deportivo Guadalajara following just behind on 12 championship wins.

However, the famous club have not won any silverware since the 2018/19 Clausura — a baron spell of four straight seasons in which theyve remained one of Mexicos strongest teams but have failed to convert that strength into trophies.

This season, they enter the Apertura campaign as the countrys biggest spenders, with both of the two biggest signings — 24-year-old right-back Kevin Álvarez, signed from Pachuca, and 26-year-old centre-forward Julián Quiñones, signed from Atlas — moving to Estadio Azteca.

On top of that, 43-year-old André Jardine, who won the 2019 Toulon Tournament and 2020 Olympics while managing his native Brazil at youth level, has taken charge of the Mexico City-based club for the new campaign.

With all of that said, Águilas lost their first game of this season 2-1 at home to FC Juárez — a side that they could and should realistically be beating.

So, it hasnt been a perfect start to life in charge of the Mexican giants for the promising Brazilian coach.

In this tactical analysis, well take a look at Club América as we enter the 2023 Apertura.

Well provide an analysis of their 2022/23 campaign before looking at Jardine with Club Américas domestic rivals Atlético de San Luis from the same period and what can be expected from the coach in terms of strategy and tactics before moving on to looking at the squad itself and how the expensive new signings will fit in at Estadio Azteca.

Club América Statistics 2022/23

Fernando Ortiz replaced former Real Madrid manager — and current director of the La Liga and UEFA Champions League royaltys Valdebebas training ground — Santiago Solari in March 2022, remaining in charge of Águilas for the 2022/23 season.

Ortiz had a good record at Estadio Azteca but, as referenced at the beginning of this article, ultimately failed to deliver any silverware for the club.

In terms of how Club América approached the season under Ortiz, then, on the surface level, its more or less what youd expect from a massive team in their domestic game.

Club América dominated the possession among Liga MX clubs and pressed with a fairly high level of intensity.

However, there were more aggressive teams than them in LigaMX, and they were often a bit passive until the opponent reached the middle of the pitch — so, not super intense pressing.

Out of possession, they left something to be desired — and their defensive record for the campaign suggests as much — but Club América stood out massively in possession.

They were highly successful at progressing the ball into the danger zone, making the most passes into the final third of any team in Liga MX (53.7 per 90) and taking the most touches inside the penalty box among their domestic rivals (18.34 per 90).

Within their 4-4-2 / 4-2-3-1 structure, Álvaro Fidalgo (LDM) and Richard Sánchez (RDM) acted as key ball progressors.

Figure 1 highlights their respective progressive pass maps for 2022/23 and shows the types of areas they typically pass to and from.

The two holding midfielders often dropped deep and wide