The match between Mexico and Portugal, scheduled for March 28th during the first FIFA international window of the year, will be played at the Banorte (Azteca) Stadium, even though the renovations are not yet complete, confirmed Emilio Azcarraga Jean, owner of the stadium and Televisa. Azcarraga Jean reported that, unfortunately, the renovations of the iconic, two-time World Cup venue are not on schedule to be fully completed by March 28th, the date set for the World Cup preparation match against Cristiano Ronaldo's Portugal. The television mogul emphasized that despite the efforts made and the fact that work has been intensified in recent weeks, the so-called Colossus of Santa Ursula will not be ready for the international match against the Portuguese team.

“The builders say yes. I'm not a construction expert. I don't see their dates as being correct, but it's going very well. At the beginning there were many difficulties, but now everything is going much more smoothly. The third phase is ongoing, to continue implementing new things,” Azcarraga stated regarding the status of the construction.

Azcarraga Jean even specified that the remodeling work will continue after the World Cup to leave the impressive stadium almost as good as new, since the facelift it needed since 1986, when the second World Cup was played there, ended up being a major undertaking.

“The progress we've made has been the work of a great many people, around 1,300 working at this time. This first stage, which ends now on March 28 with the reopening, is important; then we'll continue with the remaining work for the World Cup.”

“There are even things to keep moving forward with the “work.” Because of the complexity of the project, some things can't be done right away, for example, the large parking lot, so we have to do it after the World Cup."There's also an issue with the column lighting that didn't turn out well and will be addressed later."

Acknowledgement to Alvaro Fidalgo

Azcarraga Jean also took the time to address Alvaro Fidalgo, thanking him for his contributions to Club America, especially as a key part of the historic three-peat that reaffirmed the team's privileged position in Mexican soccer.

"Alvaro, as Carlos Reinoso said, understood his role from the day he arrived." He understood the importance of this institution, “I have understood the demands, I have understood that the criticism can be very harsh at times, even violent, but victories are truly sweet,” Azcarraga stated.

Finally, the leader of the Ollamani Group, which includes Televisa, Estadio Azteca, and Club America, also said that Javier Aguirre, Rafael Marquez, and Duilio Davino have the final say on whether to call up Alvaro Fidalgo after he completed the FIFA transfer process.

“It depends on Javier (Aguirre), Rafa (Marquez), and Duilio (Davino), so it doesn't depend on “They are now responsible for the national team; we are here to support them.” “I think he's a very talented player,” said the head of Televisa.

America won't waste money on reinforcements

The owner of America also addressed the issue of reinforcements and emphasized that they won't waste money just for the sake of it, but rather after careful consideration.

“I hope so (a new reinforcement arrives), we have four days left. “We're not making contact to sign players; we need to understand the system Andre Jardine wants to use, and with that, he'll find the positions that need strengthening,” Azcarraga Jean commented. But I have clarified that this decision won't impact the team's formation to compete for the highest honors, alluding to the slogan they've always used at America: they don't just win games, they win titles. “Hopefully something will come of it, but if not, the truth is that the squad we have is super competitive. In the end, it's America, and America is here to build great things,” the businessman concluded.He understood the demands, he understood that the criticism is sometimes very harsh, even violent, but victories are very sweet,” Azcarraga stated.

Finally, the leader of the Ollamani Group, which includes Televisa, Estadio Azteca, and Club America, also said that Javier Aguirre, Rafael Marquez, and Duilio Davino have the final say on whether to call up Alvaro Fidalgo after he completed the transfer process with FIFA.

“It depends on Javier (Aguirre), Rafa (Marquez), and Duilio (Davino), so it doesn't depend on “They are now responsible for the national team; we are here to support them.” “I think he's a very talented player,” said the head of Televisa.

America won't waste money on reinforcements

The owner of America also addressed the issue of reinforcements and emphasized that they won't waste money just for the sake of it, but rather after careful consideration.

“I hope so (a new reinforcement arrives), we have four days left. “We're not making contact to sign players; we need to understand the system Andre Jardine wants to use, and with that, he'll find the positions that need strengthening,” Azcarraga Jean commented. But I have clarified that this decision won't impact the team's formation to compete for the highest honors, alluding to the slogan they've always used at America: they don't just win games, they win titles. “Hopefully something will come of it, but if not, the truth is that the squad we have is super competitive. In the end, it's America, and America is here to build great things,” the businessman concluded.He understood the demands, he understood that the criticism is sometimes very harsh, even violent, but victories are very sweet,” Azcarraga stated.

Finally, the leader of the Ollamani Group, which includes Televisa, Estadio Azteca, and Club America, also said that Javier Aguirre, Rafael Marquez, and Duilio Davino have the final say on whether to call up Alvaro Fidalgo after he completed the transfer process with FIFA.

“It depends on Javier (Aguirre), Rafa (Marquez), and Duilio (Davino), so it doesn't depend on “They are now responsible for the national team; we are here to support them.” “I think he's a very talented player,” said the head of Televisa.

America won't waste money on reinforcements

The owner of America also addressed the issue of reinforcements and emphasized that they won't waste money just for the sake of it, but rather after careful consideration.

“I hope so (a new reinforcement arrives), we have four days left. “We're not making contact to sign players; we need to understand the system Andre Jardine wants to use, and with that, he'll find the positions that need strengthening,” Azcarraga Jean commented. But I have clarified that this decision won't impact the team's formation to compete for the highest honors, alluding to the slogan they've always used at America: they don't just win games, they win titles. “Hopefully something will come of it, but if not, the truth is that the squad we have is super competitive. In the end, it's America, and America is here to build great things," the businessman concluded. "We need to understand the system Andre Jardine wants to use, and with that, he'll find the positions that need strengthening," commented Azcarraga Jean. But I have clarified that this decision will not impact the team's formation to fight for the highest achievements, alluding to the slogan they've always used at America, which is that they don't just win games, they win titles."Hopefully something will come of it, but if not, the truth is that the squad we have is super competitive. In the end, it's America, and America is here to build great things," the businessman concluded. "We need to understand the system Andre Jardine wants to use, and with that, he'll find the positions that need strengthening," Azcarraga Jean commented. But I have clarified that this decision will not impact the team's formation to fight for the highest achievements, alluding to the slogan they've always used in America, which is that they don't just win games, they win titles. "Hopefully something will come of it, but if not, the truth is that the squad we have is super competitive. In the end, it's America, and America is here to build great things," the businessman concluded.