PACHUCA. - Erick Sanchez has lived several personal milestones with CF Pachuca, the club that forged the Mexican player and gave him his professional debut. He plans to add another achievement to that list when Pachuca hosts the Columbus Crew in the 2024 Concacaf Champions Cup Final on Saturday at Estadio Hidalgo in Pachuca, Hidalgo, Mexico.

“I think it would be something very important, something that the entire team dreams of,” Sanchez said on the meaning of winning the trophy in an interview with Concacaf.com. “We are all fighting for it, but we have to maintain ourselves very humble, and working, to achieve it. I think it would be an important achievement for everyone's career.”

Sanchez, 24, rose through the ranks of the Pachuca academy before making his professional debut at the age of 16 on August 7, 2016, in a Liga MX match against Toluca. In Concacaf club play, he was called to the bench of a group stage match against Olimpia during the 2016-17 edition but did not play.

He witnessed the last Pachuca side to lift the Concacaf Champions Cup trophy from the sidelines in the 2017 final. After a 1-1 away draw in the first leg, the Tuzos won the return match, 1-0, at the Estadio Hidalgo, the site of Saturday’s final and a Concacaf Champions Cup fortress, where the club has yet to be defeated in 30 CCC home encounters.

“It is always important that they are there with us,” Sanchez said in a message to the fans. “Thank them for all the love, everything they have done for us, and tell them to support us, that we will always defend this shield.”

Now, as a regular in the starting midfield, he’ll have his chance to play for the trophy and join the ranks of club legends like Andres Chitiva, Christian Gimenez, Damian Alvarez, and Hirving Lozano.

Sanchez has already contributed in important moments. Under current coach Guillermo Almada, he helped the first team to the Liga MX Apertura 2022 title, earning the team its Round of 16 ticket to this year’s tournament.

Playing in all but one match during the 2024 edition, Sanchez has been integral to the run to the final. He provided two assists against the Philadelphia Union in the Round of 16 and was one of the experienced men in the semifinals against Club America.

“I think it was a very even series and a very important match,” Sanchez said of the semifinal second leg. “I think that, as you saw it there, we worked, put in, fought, all together until the last minute. I think that was the important thing for us to win.”

“Courage, humility,” he added. “I think that's what has carried us forward.”

A 2023 Concacaf Gold Cup winner with Mexico, Sanchez looks to add to his list of achievements as he enters the prime years of his craft. He contributed to the club’s third place in the 2017 FIFA Club World Cup, a tournament he looks to return to with a ticket to the 2025 edition also on the line.

“Keep working, keep fighting,” Sanchez said when asked what advice he would give his younger self. “I think we have never given up. I think that right now, we are at a very important moment in our careers. So, I think he never gave up and never will.”