Club América interested in sister team in MLS

Is Club América on the verge of following Chivas into Major League Soccer? Three years ago, Chivas de Guadalajara began an intriguing experiment by starting a sister team north of the border. Chivas USA joined MLS in 2005, and three years later is one of the top teams in the Western Conference.

Although there have been rumors that Chivas' fiercest rivals, Club América, have been looked into purchasing an MLS team of its own, those rumors usually proved to be just hearsay. In truth, América's owner, Emilio Azcárraga was watching from Mexico City, waiting to see how Chivas's experiment went.

It seems now that they think it went very well, as Azcárraga, and América's new president Michel Bauer, say that the club is seriously interested in a sister club of its own in the United States.

Bauer was speaking with the press in Mexico City about his plans to reshape the organization following Club América's bottom finish last season, its worst-ever finish in the Mexican Primera. One of the most popular and successful Mexican clubs, América has won the Mexican championship 10 times and in '08 reached the semifinals of the Copa Libertadores for the third time in six tournament participations.

"For the international project, we are looking to bring competitive games to our fans in the United States and the international expansion of the brand, also in the United States," Bauer said. "We also look for constant participation of the team in important competitions at the worldwide level, and agreements of collaboration with the world's best teams."

Bauer also introduced the América's new coach, Ramon "Pelado" Diaz, who recently signed the most lucrative coaching contract in North America, reportedly $3.5 million a year. Bauer expects Diaz's side to play "balanced, attractive soccer, and in the end also to get results. Obviously, the results [of last season] demonstrated that we needed a change in the team," he said.

-- Goal.com