Santos Laguna has been disappointing to start off this Liga MX Apertura 2017, currently in 14th place with only seven points. Los Guerreros just picked up their first win of the tournament, a 2-1 victory against Leon away from home in the seventh round of matches in the competition and could be starting to turn things around.
A significant factor in Santos Laguna’s unproductive start has been the absence of club captain Carlos Izquierdoz due to an injury. The Argentine centre-back has missed all seven games in this Apertura 2017 and it is unclear when he is set to return. Jose Manuel de la Torre opted to start defensive midfielder Jorge “Chaton” Enriquez in the centre-back role for the first five rounds of play, a decision that was costing the team dearly.
Ventura Alvarado was an option but de la Torre had not even considered him for the match day roster until the fourth round of matches. The Mexican-American had featured in the Copa MX in two games and Santos did not concede in those games. Enriquez was a mess in a position that he was unfamiliar with, playing further up the pitch than midfielder Ulises Rivas throughout the games he participated in.
“Chepo” de la Torre did not decide to give Ventura Alvarado a chance in that centre-back slot until the week 6 encounter against Chivas. The American defender has had a rough career in Mexico never really amounting to much and even being a laughing stock to the fans in his tenure with Club America. With Izquierdoz out and Enriquez struggling it was time for the Arizona native to step up to the plate.
Santos has been undefeated in both games that Alvarado has featured in with a 1-1 draw against Chivas and a 2-1 win against Leon. The former Aguila has really maintained order for Jose Manuel de la Torre and showed an ambitious spirit in his two games played. Alvarado has played 180 minutes out of 180 possible in Santos Laguna’s last two games.
In Santos’ 2-1 win against Leon, the American showed that ambitious grit by almost impeding Mauro Boselli’s goal with a goal-line clearance. The former Club America defender has recovered the ball 34 times in these two games and has had an impressive 77.1-percent pass accuracy better than Nestor Araujo’s mark at 75.5-percent. However, it will be nearly impossible for Alvarado to feature in de la Torre’s starting 11 once Carlos Izquierdoz comes back unless the Mexican manager switches to another formation. The tandem of Izquierdoz and Nestor Araujo is arguably the best in the Liga MX and is arguably the most important component of Santos Laguna’s team. For the meanwhile, Alvarado can get some playing time, grow as a player and start attracting interest for a team that could use him in its starting 11 next tournament.
