The most important series in Sporting Kansas City’s international history is just around the corner. On April 4 and 11, Manager Peter Vermes’ side will battle Mexican giants CF Monterrey in the 2019 Scotiabank Concacaf Champions League Semifinals. The second leg is slated for 8 p.m. CT on April 11 at Children’s Mercy Park, with tickets now on sale at SeatGeek.com.
In the buildup to this titanic clash, SportingKC.com is relaunching the Champions League Countdown to give readers a comprehensive look at Sporting’s semifinal opponent. This 10-part series, running from March 25 to April 3, will shed light on all things Monterrey—ranging from players to watch and recent performances to past history in the Champions League and more.
The Champions League Countdown took a position-by-position look at Monterrey from Wednesday to Friday as we familiarized ourselves with a miserly backline, a versatile midfield and a dangerous attacking corps.
At the halfway point of our 10-day march to the Champions League Semifinals between Monterrey and Sporting, let’s shine the spotlight on the man tasked with molding each of these pieces into a winning club.
That would be 43-year-old Diego Alonso, who, despite his relatively young age, boasts an impressive resume as one of the most respected managers in Liga MX.
Like Sporting KC Manager Peter Vermes, Alonso enjoyed an accomplished playing career that spanned more than 15 years. The striker scored well over 100 professional goals for club and country, representing Uruguay from 1999-2004 and featuring for the likes of Valencia, Atletico Madrid and Malaga in Spain as well as Mexican side Pumas UNAM and Chinese powerhouse Shanghai Shenhua.
Alonso’s accolades as a player include a runners-up medal with Uruguay at the 1999 Copa America, a trip to the 2000 UEFA Champions League Final with Valencia, helping Atletico secure promotion to La Liga in 2002, winning the Liga MX Apertura title with Pumas in 2004 and propelling Uruguayan giants Peñarol to a second-place finish in the 2011 Copa Libertadores.
Alonso transitioned to the technical side in 2011, directing boyhood club Bella Vista in the Uruguayan capital of Montevideo before taking managerial duties and rescuing the side from relegation at the end of the 2011-12 campaign.
From 2012-2014, Alonso yo-yoed between Paraguay and Uruguay, coaching heralded clubs Guarani (2012-13), Peñarol (2013) and Olimpia (2014). He then landed his first Liga MX gig with Pachuca in December 2014 and promptly established himself as a winner.
Under Alonso’s guidance, Pachuca won the 2016 Clausura championship to qualify for the 2016-17 Concacaf Champions League. Los Tuzos would cash in on their appearance by winning the continental title, bulldozing through the group stage before ousting Deportivo Saprissa, FC Dallas and Tigres UANL in the knockout rounds. The triumph punched Pachuca’s ticket to the 2017 FIFA World Cup, where Alonso’s men would finish in third place, defeating Wydad Casablanca and Al-Jazira on either end of a narrow semifinal loss to Brazilian outfit Gremio.
Pachuca were unable to replicate these lofty achievements over the next few seasons, missing the Liga MX playoffs in the 2017 Clausura and Apertura as well as the 2018 Clausura. This brought an end to Alonso’s tenure at the club.
Monterrey seized on Alonso’s job vacancy, naming him their manager in May 2018. Since then, he has racked up a solid 26-9-10 record in all competitions. Rayados are firmly in the hunt for the 2019 Clausura title, occupying third place in the Liga MX table with a 6-1-4 record, and have conceded just 11 goals in 15 competitive matches since the start of the year.
Diego Alonso: Coaching Accolades
- 2016 Liga MX Clausura champion (Pachuca)
- 2016-17 Concacaf Champions League champion (Pachuca)
- 2017 Copa MX Apertura runner-up (Pachuca)
- 2017 FIFA Club World Cup: Third Place (Pachuca)
Diego Alonso: Player Accolades
- 1999 Copa America runner-up (Uruguay)
- 2001-02 Spanish Segunda Division champion (Atletico Madrid)
- 2004 Liga MX Apertura champion (Pumas UNAM)
- 2009-10 Paraguayan Primera Division champion (Peñarol)
- 2011 Copa Libertadores runner-up (Peñarol)
