As the opening leg of the Champions League approaches, hype for the historic contest continues to grow in Mexico, with over 50 journalists all scrounging to get their sound bites at the team hotel over the last two days, including giant sporting properties ESPN, FOX Sports and Televisa.
Questions on being nervous about playing in front of 100,000 people, in a historic stadium, against one of the most storied clubs in North America, are met with a subdued confidence and lots of smiles.
“You just have to have fun with it,” said Dominic Oduro. “It’s a once in a lifetime thing and we know we have a good team. We can’t be afraid of them. This is one of the biggest stages that our league and our team can experience. This is the final and we are planning to go all out.”
However, just because the team is calm before the storm, doesn’t mean the magnitude of the moment has passed them by.
“We understand that this is a huge moment for both the league and the club,” explained Ignacio Piatti. “Playing in front of a crowd like that in a final is incredible. We are working hard to prepare for the game and soak in the experience.”
With Club América close to announcing a sellout crowd for the first leg on Wednesday night (9pm EDT, TVA Sports, CJAD 800), at Estadio Azteca, the match is emerging as one for the history books, with a new attendance record to be set for the CONCACAF tournament.
“We know the crowd will be amazing,” added Oduro. “The environment is going to be epic!”
