André Jardine: “Our job is to maintain hunger and ambition.”

América is ready to face its fourth consecutive Liga MX final under Brazilian coach André Jardine, with whom they have already won the previous three: Apertura 2023 (against Tigres), Clausura 2024 (against Cruz Azul) and Apertura 2024 (against Monterrey).

A three-time championship doesn't mean a sense of relaxation for the Águilas, as the commitment to more trophies remains one of their pillars, according to Jardine during Media Day prior to the 2025 Clausura final against Toluca.

"This team is working very hard for each achievement, with a clear goal of making history. Our job is to maintain the hunger and ambition we had in our first victory, to achieve new things and once again make the club's history books."

Since taking over as América's manager in the summer of 2023, Jardine hasn't lost a single Liguilla tie. He has won 12 matches so far, from the 2023 Apertura quarterfinals to the 2025 Clausura semifinals.

During that time, América has already made its name a landmark, becoming the first three-time champion in the history of short tournaments in Mexico, which began in 1996.

Beating Toluca in the 2025 Clausura final would consequently make them the first four-time champions of short tournaments, but would equal the only team that has won four consecutive Liga MX titles, which was Chivas between the 1958-59 and 1961-62 seasons, albeit in a long format.

"I think an important part of this period is maintaining a high level of humility and keeping your feet firmly on the ground at all times. Staring at the numbers and records doesn't help much; you have to be very focused, with the desire and hunger just like in the first final we played. Try to stay focused, and this goes for every final and every qualifying round," André Jardine emphasized.

"Continuing to behave this way helps us maintain the right level of humility, because this is the most important thing. What's already been done is already done. We have to look ahead, to the future, but the future can bring a certain amount of anxiety, so we have to focus on the present."

América will open the final at home, at the Ciudad de los Deportes stadium, before attempting to close out its four-time championship at the Nemesio Diez stadium in Toluca.

The Eagles are coming off a 2-0 aggregate victory over Pachuca in the quarterfinals and a 2-2 aggregate victory over Cruz Azul in the semifinals, although they had the advantage of advancing by a tie thanks to the fact that they were runners-up in the regular phase of the tournament.

Against Toluca, there will no longer be any advantage due to a draw. The team that scores the most goals will win the 2025 Clausura title, in an interesting strategic duel between Jardine and Antonio Mohamed, coach of the Diablos Rojos.

“We always treat the qualifiers as four 45-minute matches, or a little longer. Tomorrow are two important matches, playing in front of our fans, which clearly gives us the feeling of having an extra man on the pitch. We have to know how to use this to our advantage, creating a very positive atmosphere like this last match, with the unity between team and fans, trying to make the home advantage count once again, but aware that the big decision will be in Toluca, and we know we're also capable of playing great matches on our opponent's court.”

With one more title, André Jardine will join a select group of coaches with four or more championships in the history of the first division in Mexico. So far, they are Ignacio Trelles (7), Ricardo 'Tuca' Ferretti (7), Raúl Cárdenas (6), Javier De la Torre (5), Manuel Lapuente (5), Víctor Manuel Vucetich (5), and Enrique Meza (4).

One of his key achievements is maintaining the team's competitiveness after three consecutive titles, with the ambition intact to pursue the 2025 Clausura trophy.

“It's always difficult to make comparisons. What I can say is that this is a team that has consistently had a great tournament, quite aggressive since we started, fighting for first and second place the whole time, and we arrived at the Liguilla very solidly. It was another tournament in which we suffered with some injuries, but this strengthened us as a group once again with a defensive system whose numbers speak for themselves and with a good chance of fighting for a title,” the Brazilian concluded.