By NAYIB MORAN

After six games into the new season, Chivas Guadalajara has sunk itself into a hole and is in desperate need of solutions and positive results.

During the offseason, president Nestor de la Torre, and his brother, Chivas head coach Jose Manuel ‘Chepo’ de la Torre, saw it convenient to let go of 16 players and only bring in four.

The four players that Chivas picked up in the offseason were forward Michel Vazquez, who played his youth football in Chivas, goalkeeper Rodolfo Cota, centerback Oswaldo Alanis and fullback Edwin Hernandez.

Among the departures were former starting goalkeeper Luis Michel, defenders Nestor Vidrio and Kristian Alvarez, midfielders Fernando Arce and Giovanni Hernandez and forwards Erick ‘Cubo’ Torres and Aldo de Nigris.

All of the new players have seen minutes in the Apertura 2015, except for Cota, who has only seen minutes in Copa MX.

It was normal for doubts to be generated around the team once the season started. Chivas started the season with Jair Pereira on the injury list. Pereira and Carlos Salcedo arguably had one of the best centerback partnerships in the Clausura 2015.

After the first match of the season, Marco Fabian and Isaac Brizuela’s names were also added to the injury list. And since then, other Chivas starters, including Carlos Salcido, Alanis, Salcedo, Raul Lopez and Miguel Ponce, have spent time at the hospital.  

On Aug. 18 at Toluca, Chivas saw the returns of Brizuela, Alanis and Fabian from injury just to see Ponce, Lopez and Salcedo leave Toluca with injuries.

In order to cope with the injuries, Chivas has relied on youth talent, and players who have never held leadership roles in the team. At this stage last season, Chivas already had eight points, had netted five goals and had conceded five goals. After six games this season, the team has four points, has scored five goals and has conceded nine goals.

Last season, Chivas also boasted a strong defense with the backline formed by Lopez, Salcedo, Pereira and Ponce, but this season the backline of Lopez, Salcedo, Pereira, and Ponce has yet to have minutes.   

On Saturday night, Chivas played in against the Clausura 2015 first-place team, Club Leon. The average age of Chivas for the game at Estadio Nou Camp was 24 years old.

Thanks to a double mistake from Alanis, one of the experienced players in the team, and goalkeeper Toño Rodriguez, the youngest Mexican goalkeeper that has a starting role in Liga MX, the league leaders scored the only goal of the game and extended its undefeated streak at home.

After the game Chivas coach Chepo analyzed the team’s fourth loss of the season, saying: “We need to have a little bit of more patience. The team is always fighting till the end.”

To a certain extent, de la Torre was correct since Chivas registered two shots on goal against Leon’s four, but as it will be the case for the rest of the season, it’s becoming noticeable that because Chivas has an all-Mexican squad, it lacks the necessary quality to head to the next level and actually compete for a title.

In a league where it’s becoming more common to see teams have lineups with five foreign-born players and sometimes up to three naturalized players, Chivas is placed in a position of disadvantage because in order for Chivas to actually compete with these other Liga MX teams, it needs to have in its starting eleven the best Mexican talent at its disposal, and at the moment, that’s not the case.

De la Torre admitted that it was an error that cost them the result, saying: “Our team was well positioned; we had one fault in one play, and they [Leon] took advantage of it.”

The next four games for Chivas are against Chiapas, Xolos, Queretaro and America, in that order. The hope from de la Torre and the players is that by the time the Super Clásico comes along, Chivas will actually have a fully-fit squad and have footballers of the caliber of Marco Fabian, Isaac Brizuela and Omar Bravo making a difference in the final third. If not, Chivas will be putting itself again as one of the protagonists of the relegation battle.

Talking Points

– “Everything that I have received from you has been exemplary, amazing. You’re always supporting the team, that’s why I think there’s no better way to call you than Guerreros. We, in the Basque Country, have always been Guerreros, in fact we have a word that defines us, gudaris, and it’s because in the era of repression, we had to fight. So we have something in common,” detailed newly appointed Santos head coach Pako Ayestaran said in a room full of reporters and Santos season ticket holders. Ayestaran, who between 2000 and 2007 was one of Rafa Benitez’s assistant coaches at Tenerife, Valencia and Liverpool, will have his second coaching stint in Mexico after coaching Estudiantes Tecos in Second Division between 2013 and 2014.

– El Tri’s interim manager will be Tigres’ current coach, Ricardo ‘Tuca’ Ferretti. In the last 24 years, Ferretti has been coaching nonstop in Liga MX. Tigres president Alejandro Rodriguez stated before Friday night’s game in Tijuana, that Tuca will be coaching Tigres and El Tri at the same time. Right when Tigres was picking up steam, Tuca will also have to focus on leading El Tri in its four upcoming games.

– Due to electrical problems in Rayados’ brand new stadium, the start of the Rayados vs. Santos match was delayed. The final score would end up being a 1-1 tie, and Colombian Edwin Cardona, for the second weekend in a row, scored another golazo.

Results

Queretaro 4-2 Cruz Azul

Xolos 1-2 Tigres

America 3-1 Veracruz

Monterrey 1-1 Santos

Leon 1-0 Chivas

Atlas 1-2 Toluca

Chiapas 3-1 Morelia

Pumas 2-0 Dorados

Puebla 3-2 Pachuca