LIGA MX 2015 APERTURA SCHEDULED RELEASED

TIJUANA (June 8, 2015)- The Mexican Soccer Federation kicked off “Soccer Week” in Cancun Monday with the annual meeting of league officials and team owners. A status report of the 2014-15 year was presented and the schedule for the upcoming Apertura 2015 season was released.

Club Tijuana will begin the season with a handful of high-profile matches against a pair of championship teams. The Xoloitzcuintles will begin the season by facing three of last season’s playoff teams in its opening four matches: at Pachuca (Week 1), at Santos Laguna (Week 3) and home against Veracruz (Week 4).

The Xoloitzcuintles under new head coach Ruben Romano open the season on the road against Pachuca FC, a team that reached the semifinals after eliminating heavy favorite Club America. Santos Laguna is the defending champion and Veracruz finished in second place in the standings last season. Squeezed between the season opener and the match against the 2015 Clausura champion Santos is the Xoloitzcuintles home opener, a Friday night match against Dorados de Sinaloa July 31 at Estadio Caliente. Dorados won promotion to the First Divison after beating Necaxa in the 2015 Clausura promotional playoff.

The home opener against Dorados could be an interesting affair. Dorados is part of Grupo Caliente, the main Club Tijuana sponsor. Dorados could carry a handful of former Club Tijuana players into Estadio Caliente that night, some who led the team to its first LIGA MX title in the 2012 Apertura and grew out of the Xoloitzcuintles youth system.

Part of the set of eight home matches will include visits by three of Mexico’s most popular and more historic teams: Club America, Chivas and Pumas UNAM. That trio is considered to be part of the “Big Four,” which includes Cruz Azul of Mexico City. Club America (12 league titles) comes into Tijuana Week 13, while Chivas of Guadalajara (11 league titles) visits Week 8 and Pumas UNAM (7 league titles) plays here during Week 15.

The home games schedule also includes two mid-week matches with Veracruz and Toluca coming for a pair of Tuesday night matches in what will be a double week each time, with matches also on the weekend. Times for the Tuesday matches are to be determined. Club Tijuana will also compete nine games on the road, including a Week 5 match at Cruz Azul and Week 14 against Monterrey at the soon to be inaugurated BBVA Bancomer stadium.

Club Tijuana also drew into Group 5 in the Copa MX where it will face Toluca, Zacatepec and Necaxa. This will be the Xoloitzcuintles third participation in the cup competition of Mexican soccer. Club Tijuana won its group and advanced to the quarterfinal stage in its previous two appearances. Copa MX is a tournament featuring teams from the First and LIGA de Ascenso (Second Division) that runs during the same semester calendar as the LIGA MX competition.

CLUB TIJUANA 2015 APERTURA SCHEDULE:

Week 1: at Pachuca | July 25 | 6:06 p.m. (Pacific) | Estadio Hidalgo

Week 2: vs. Dorados Sinaloa | July 31 | 7:30 p.m. | Estadio Caliente

Week 3: at Santos Laguna | Aug. 7| 7:30 p.m. | TSM stadium

Week 4: vs. Tiburones Rojos | Aug. 11 | time TBD | Estadio Caliente

Week 5:  at Cruz Azul | Aug. 15 | 3:00 p.m. | Estadio Azul 

Week 6: vs. Tigres UANL | Aug. 21 | 7:30 p.m. | Estadio Caliente

Week 7: at Monarcas Morelia | Aug. 29 | 6:30 p.m. | Estadio Morelos

Week 8: vs. Chivas Guadalajara | Sept. 11 | 7:30 p.m. | Estadio Caliente

Week 9: at Club Leon | Sept. 19 | 6:06 p.m. | Nou Camp

Week 10: vs. Jaguares FC | Sept. 25 | 7:30 p.m. | Estadio Caliente

Week 11: at Toluca | Sept. 29 | Time TBD | Nemezio Diez

Week 12: at Club Queretaro | Oct. 2 | 5:30 p.m. | Estadio Corregidora

Week 13: vs. Club America | Oct. 16| 7:30 p.m. | Estadio Caliente

Week 14: at Monterrey | Oct. 24 | 5:00 p.m. | BBVA Bancomer

Week 15: vs. Pumas UNAM | Friday Oct. 30 | 7:30 p.m. | Estadio Caliente

Week 16: at Puebla FC | Nov. 8 | 3:00 p.m. | Universitario BUAP

Week 17: vs. Atlas FC | Nov. 21 | 7:30pm | Estadio Caliente