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USL Orange County SC

Santos Laguna, Léon Ready for Battle

July 4, 2012 - United Soccer League Championship (USL)
Orange County SC News Release


FULLERTON, California - This coming Sunday will see one of Mexico 's most successful sides of the past few years take on a team with tremendous tradition, when domestic champion Santos Laguna battles Club Léon for the Copa Campéon de Campeones at the Home Depot Center in Carson . The high-profile affair, which is presented by the Blues, kicks off at 5 p.m. PT .

In official matches between the two Mexican heavyweights, Santos Laguna and Léon have each earned eight victories and seven draws.

Léon ranks ninth in the all-time domestic standings and has won five league championships. The team was founded as Union Léon in August 1944 with the merger of the state of Guanajuato All-Star team and Union de Curtidores. After a ten-year absence from the Priméra Division, Head Coach Gustavo Matosas's men triumphantly return to the topflight in 2012.

In addition to retaining the core of its roster, the club recently signed Jonny MagallÃ"n, Edgar Mejia, Carlos Ochoa, Edgar Pacheco, Othoniel Arce, Saul Villalobos, Juan Calderon, experienced Argentine defender Javier Munoz Mustafa and Uruguayan Matias Britos.

"After doing mostly fitness work in the early stages of our preparations, we now starting to do ball work and there's is no doubt that the newly acquired talent gives us the weapons to compete at a high level in the first division," Matosas said. "The team has adapted very well and it showed in our results in the four-team tournament we played at our home stadium."

Léon raised plenty of eyebrows with their performances in the tournament, defeating Cruz Azul 2-0 to qualify for the final at Estadio Nou Camp and going on to win the trophy with a 4-3 victory over Pumas UNAM.

Gustavo Matosas and his squad are expected to arrive in Southern California on Friday.

SANTOS LAGUNA - A POWER TO BE RECKONED WITH

Meanwhile, Club Santos Laguna is a relatively young team, having been founded in 1983. The club has played in the Priméra Division since 1988 and has consistently performed at a high level.

While Léon is well supported in the Mexican BajÃ-o region, Santos has established itself in the Laguna region, the country's ninth largest metropolitan area, located in North Central Mexico. The region previously featured 13 lakes, which disappeared following the construction of two dams, with the name remaining as a historical reminder.

In the past five years, Santos has become a team to be reckoned with, as they have won a total of four league championships (1996, 2001, 2008, 2012), the third most in Mexico behind Toluca anD Pachuca . In 2004, the club participated in the prestigious Copa Libertadores. It currently sits in 44th place in the IFFHS World Club Ranking. Mexican surveys have found that Santos has the fourth most fans in the country, trailing only América, Guadalajara, Pumas and Cruz Azul.

The Mexican champions have retained the core of their experienced roster as well, including World Cup veteran Oswaldo Sánchez, Hérculez GÃ"mez, Christian Suarez, Felipe Baloy and Oribe Peralta. While Argentine central defender Santiago Hoyos likely will not return to the team, Santos hopes to strengthen the backline with another Argentine in Jonathan Botinelli. New acquisitions include Édgar Lugo, Walter Sandoval, Alan Zamora and Oswaldo AlanÃ-s.

With the entire team now in full training mode, a possible starting lineup has emerged for Head Coach Benjamin Galindo's men: Oswaldo Sanchez - Ivan Estrada, Felipe Baloy, Rafael Figueroa, Omar Mares - Édgar Lugo, Pablo Rodriguez, Rodolfo Salinas, Christian Suarez - Daniel Ludueña, Carlos Quintero.

Santos Laguna is expected to arrive in Southern California on Thursday.

TICKETS

Tickets for the Copa Campéon de Campeones start at $25 and may be purchased by visiting AXS.com or by calling 888-9-AXS-TIX (888-929-7849) or 714-738-8011. They are also available through The Home Depot Center Box Office, which is open Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. VIP Suites may be purchased by calling 877-604-8777.

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