Notes from the Western Frontera - July 8

It was another huge week for Club Tijuana. Here’s the rundown:

Copa MX assignments: The week started off with the announcement of the Copa MX brackets. Xolos will be in Group 3 with Puebla and Ascenso MX’s Atlante, and the matches will be on Tuesdays during August. Per a Xolos’ press release, the official schedule is:

CLUB TIJUANA IN COPA MX-APERTURA 2017

Week 2 - Aug. 1, Estadio Caliente, Club Tijuana vs. Club Puebla

Week 3 – Aug. 8, Estadio Andres Quintana Roo, Atlante vs. Club Tijuana

Week 4 – Aug. 15, Estadio Cuauhtemoc, Club Puebla vs. Tijuana

Week 5 – Aug. 29, Estadio Caliente, Club Tijuana vs. Atlante

Musto rejoins Chacho: On Tuesday, Xolos announced the signing of Damian Musto from Rosario Central in Argentina. The 30 year old defensive midfielder had previously played under Xolos’ manager Eduardo Coudet at Rosario in 2015 and 2016, and is widely seen as the club’s replacement for Guido Rodriguez.

Coaching classes: Tijuana announced on Wednesday that it would host “classes for those interested in becoming coaches, fitness trainers and referees in the Mexican soccer federation.” Current Xolos players Juan Carlos Nunez and Yasser Corona are among the students who will take part in the classes. From the press release, “Admission tests will take place July 17 and classes will begin July 24. The course is for two years and classes are six hours one day and the rest are online. Registration is now open. For more information visit www.fmf.mx/SNC”

Aguirregaray a Xolo: Uruguayan National Team member Matias Aguirregaray was also signed this past week. The 28 year old can play both wings and had stints with Italy’s Palermo and Romania’s CFR Cluj, most recently playing with Penarol in his native Uruguay.

Eight is enough?: All eight of Xolos’ new signings were unveiled to the media on Thursday, with their squad numbers also being revealed:

4 - Antonio Rodriguez
2 - Alejandro Donatti
13 - Matias Aguirregaray
21 - Enzo Kalinski
5 - Damian Musto
17 - Mauricio Cuero
26 - Luis Angel Mendoza
7 - Gustavo Bou

It remains to be seen if this will be the end of the acquisitions for Xolos or if Chacho Coudet has another player in mind for his squad.

New kit unveiling: While they had been teasing it for a while, Tijuana and Charly Futbol finally released the new kits in a Thursday night extravaganza at Caliente Casino.

I’m on the East Coast, so watching a Facebook Live stream at 12:30 AM on Friday morning is a tough ask for me but I am so glad I did it. These kits look absolutely amazing, and it was a really cool presentation with the players, Xologirls, and La Masakr3 all taking part.

Reserves play a special friendly: The Xolos Reserves played a friendly match at Centro de Reinsercion Social Hongo II - a social rehabilitation center in Baja California. The Xolos Reserves won the match, but honestly that’s not the point. The team spent valuable time with young people who are at a pivotal point in their lives, talking with them, playing soccer with them, and eating a meal with them. These young men could easily be in each other’s shoes, and it’s good for each side to realize this.

Club Tijuana Xoloitzcuintles de Caliente press release

Vegas baby!: Xolos will play their second of three friendlies tonight against Club Leon in Las Vegas, Nevada. It’s the only stop in the United States for Xolos during the preseason. They won against local rivals Cueros JAP 1-0 last week and will face off against Juarez FC at Estadio Olimpico Benito Juarez on July 14.

Rumors worth paying attention to (either because they’ll happen or you can look back and laugh at the absurdity of it all): There were no new rumors this week around Xolos signing anyone, probably because they’ve signed everyone they’ve been linked to this offseason.

Other news and notes:

• Paul Arriola and Joe Corona will be representing the United States in the Gold Cup.
• Greg Garza, who is on loan to Atlanta United in Major League Soccer, was named to the MLS All-Star Starting XI. The MLS All-Stars will face off against Real Madrid on August 2.
• The New York Times ran an article on Club Tijuana’s Academy in Cliffwood, New Jersey.

Anything I missed? Let us know in the comments or drop me a line at golazodelgringo@gmail.com for inclusion in next week’s NFTWF!