XOLOITZCUINTLES AND CRUZ AZUL PLAY IN CONCACAF CHAMPIONS LEAGUE SEMIFINALS

MEXICO CITY –Club Tijuana Xoloitzcuintles de Caliente faces Cruz Azul FC in the second leg of the CONCACAF Champions League semifinals Wednesday April 9 at Estadio Azul (5 p.m. Pacific).

The Xoloitzcuintles lead the series 1-0 after beating “La Maquina Celeste” April 1 at Estadio Caliente.

The team coached by Cesar Farias trained in Tijuana before traveling to Mexico City Tuesday to face Cruz Azul in a match for a pass into the championship final that ultimately decides the team to represent the region in the 2014 FIFA Club World Cup.

“We are prepared and ready to play the second leg of the semifinals against Cruz Azul,” said Farias upon arrival in Mexico City. “We have a lot of faith that we can advance to the final and it is one of our objectives. We know that it will be difficult but we are confident in our players.

“We are going to try and play with initiative and try to give a great game. We have been ever to play well and be entertaining in all the fields we’ve played in. We are not desperate because the team has shaped well and it has been able to control the ball in the last games.”

Team captain Javier Gandolfi talked about this moment as the team competes in the CONCACAF Champions League.

“We need to be calm. We know that we played a good first 90 minutes and we know there are 90 left and we need to play a good intense game,” Gandolfi said. “We need to play with ball control, be intelligent and we need to standout as a team. Our team has found a peaceful rhythm and we will go out and look to get more goals.”

A great match is expected Wednesday night as the Xoloitzcuintles closed out preparations Tuesday night at the team hotel.