In this edition of Oppo Research, Hudson River Blue spoke with Eric Gomez of ESPN to learn more about Querétaro FC, New York City FC's opponent in the Leagues Cup on Sunday night. Here is your NYCFC vs Querétaro preview.
• League Form: L-L-L-L
• Record: 0W, 0D, 4L | 0 points, 18th place
• Scoring Leader: Pablo Barrera, Samuel Sosa, Víctor López, 1 goal
• Assist Leader: Federico Lértora, Samuel Sosa, Alan Medina, 1 assist
1. Querétaro has tough schedule, lost key players
Hudson River Blue: Querétaro has started the Liga MX Apertura season poorly, losing all four matches. After finishing 10th overall in Liga MX last season, what’s led to the rough start to the Apertura season?
Eric Gomez: Outside of Tijuana, Queretaro started the season by facing three of the top four teams in Liga MX: Monterrey, América, and Guadalajara. Their luck in doing so was compounded by losing their best player, goalkeeper Fernando Tapia, who went over to Tigres. Meanwhile, they also lost young striker Ettson Ayón who came on strong for them in 2022 to León, and midfielder Jordan Sierra to Mazatlán. Querétaro is essentially looking to reload with several new players like Ake Loba and Lucas Rodríguez, who both came over from Xolos.
2. Age is not a problem for Pablo Barrera
HRB: Liga MX veteran Pablo Barrera led Querétaro last season with seven goals and nine assists. His 16 goal involvements were by far the most on the team, with the next player having just seven goal involvements. With Barrera now being 37 years old, are the expectations for him still the same? Or will his age hinder his stats this season?
EG: Barrera is the ageless wonder of Liga MX. There have been several instances over the course of his career in which it seemed like it was the last dance for him. He keeps proving people wrong. It’s not necessarily fair to expect the same level of production from a 37-year-old player, but it seems unwise to think that he’ll fall off a cliff this season barring injury. Barrera continues to be the main draw for a Gallos offense that outperformed expectations in the Clausura 2024.
