Interliga title shot awaits Ochoa
It has been an exhilarating ride for Carlos Ochoa, one that has taken him from the playgrounds of Baldwin Park to the Mexican first division, on to the Spanish League and finally, so it seemed, to the edge of an early retirement.
But a funny thing happened to Ochoa on his way out the door: He was given a last chance at the brass ring when Chivas de Guadalajara offered to give him a final look.
One month later Ochoa has his new team on the brink of history. Because if Chivas gets by Morelia in the second game of the Interliga finals at the Home Depot Center tonight, the victory would give Guadalajara, one of Mexico’s most storied franchises, its first Interliga title.
Also at stake in tonight’s Group B final, expected to start at around 6:30, is an invitation to the prestigious and lucrative Copa Libertadores, South America’s version of the European Champions League. Chivas has played in the tournament four times, but never as the Interliga champion.
Mexico’s second Copa qualifier will be determined in this afternoon’s 4 p.m. Group A final match between Atlas, an upset winner over Club America in Friday’s semifinals, and once-beaten Pachuca, the group leader.
Yet the most pleasant surprise of the tournament so far has been Ochoa, who, with four scores in three Interliga games, has not only reinvigorated his career but has also accounted for half of Chivas’ goals, turning what once looked like a gamble by Coach Efrain Flores into a shrewd move after all.
Neither man is willing to celebrate just yet, however.
“There’s 90 minutes [left] in which we have to play well,” Ochoa said after Saturday morning’s final workout. “In which we have to concentrate to win and to finish off the tournament.”
Ochoa’s two goals in Friday’s 4-2 win over UANL Tigres lifted Chivas into today’s final. The two scores not only helped Chivas (2-0-1) remain the lone unbeaten team in the eight-team competition, but it gave Ochoa twice as many goals as anyone in the tournament. Not bad for a guy who, just a month ago, seemed on his way to retirement after two uneventful seasons in Monterrey.
Yet Flores thought the 30-year-old forward, six years removed from his only appearance with the Mexican national team, still had something left. So 30 days ago Flores brought him in on a loan and Ochoa responded immediately, scoring a goal in each of his first three games with Chivas.
“It’s been a long journey. But I’m going to work to keep getting the results I’m getting at this point of my life,” said Ochoa, who was born in Michoacan but moved to Baldwin Park when he was 10.
Ochoa showed a flair for scoring early on, netting 100 goals for Sierra Vista High before becoming an All-American at Azusa Pacific. All that earned him was a brief trial with the Galaxy, one that started with Ochoa on the bench and ended with him refusing to enter an exhibition game with five minutes to play.
Embarrassed and angry, Ochoa returned to Mexico, where he played briefly with Necaxa, dropped to second-division Veracruz, then finally made a name for himself in the first division with Tigres, earning a spot on the Mexican national team in 2002.
The bad memories of that 1999 tryout have long since faded -- especially now that Ochoa has returned to Southern California as something of a hero playing for a team whose jersey he long yearned to wear.
“The truth is, when Chivas comes to play here, it’s like we’re playing in Mexico,” he said. “I’m really happy, especially since [the games] are here, where I grew up.”
--
