Toluca beats América and is crowned champion of Mexico

(AFP)After 15 years, Toluca were crowned champions of Mexican soccer once again on Sunday with a 2-0 win over América, who were chasing a fourth straight title, in the second leg of the Clausura 2025 final at the Nemesio Diez Stadium.

Brazilian Luan Garcia scored in the 66th minute, and Alexis Vega added another in the 82nd to give the Diablos Rojos a 2-0 win over America across both legs of the final.

"This team already deserved a success," said Antonio Mohamed, Toluca's technical director, at the post-game conference. "They were the three-time champions and it was very difficult to take the crown from them. Now the challenge is for Toluca to get used to these scenarios."

For the final, the stadium stands were decked out in scarlet, with a sea of Diablos fans proudly showing off two massive tifos.

One of the tifos displayed the phrase “For glory” and featured the faces of the current squad’s key players.

The other large banner read “For the family” and featured two iconic figures: Nemesio Diez Riega and his son Valentín Díez Morodo, the historic owners of Club Deportivo Toluca.

The Águilas weren’t fazed and took control of the ball right from the start, stringing together long passing sequences to assert their dominance.

However, América struggled to break into the final third. As the minutes went by, Toluca started winning back possession, but couldn't create much in terms of build-up play.

The goalkeepers were mostly spectators early on, but in the 26th minute, América sparked the first real moment of danger, with two players breaking free from Toluca’s backline.

Right back Kevin Álvarez and center back Reyes exchanged quick, precise passes. Reyes then moved into the box and fired a low, curling shot that hit the base of the left post — but, almost teasingly, the ball rolled just in front of the goal without going in.

Toluca earned a corner kick in the 40th minute, and the fans turned up the volume on their chants. The attack ended with a shot from Argentine Franco Romero that went just wide of the left post.

The work of "Turco" Mohamed

At the start of the second half, Paulinho, Toluca's Portuguese striker, began to appear threatening in the American area, but the defense disarmed him twice when he was about to shoot from close range.

At the 54th minute, the built-up tension sparked a brief exchange of shoves in midfield, but it didn’t escalate further.

The Diablos managed to break through América’s control and scored from a corner kick, with Luan heading the ball in to make it 1-0.

The stadium became a fiery fortress for Toluca as their fans rallied behind the Diablos. They nearly doubled the lead in the 72nd minute when Paraguayan Robert Morales’ header slammed against the crossbar.

The 2-0 goal came from a penalty after Uruguayan Sebastián Cáceres fouled Morales. Vega calmly fired a low shot to the right, beating goalkeeper Luis Malagón.

With this win, Toluca claimed their 11th league title. Their previous ten championships came in the 1966-1967, 1967-1968, 1974-1975, Verano 1998, Verano 1999, Verano 2000, Apertura 2002, Apertura 2005, Apertura 2008, and Bicentenario 2010 tournaments.

Mohamed, for his part, secured his fourth Mexican league title with four different teams. He previously won with Tijuana (Apertura 2012), América (Apertura 2014), and Monterrey (Apertura 2019).