Goal.commentary: Instability Destroyed Chivas

Francisco Ramirez | Doomed manager started off season in charge.

There are only 17 games in the Mexican league, yet there were three managerial changes for Chivas. Francisco Ramirez led for seven games, Raul Arias for seven, and finally Jose Luis Real was promoted from within the Chivas ranks for three games. Under Ramirez Chivas only won once. Defensively Chivas were at their worst receiving 18 goals and scoring 11. Then came defensively-minded Raul Arias; Chivas were scored on seven times and scored six. However, El Clasico against America was lost. Finally, Jose Luis Real arrived. Under the final manager a game was added to each result category but the traditional playing style returned to Chivas. Six goals were scored and four conceded. Against Indios, Real’s first game in charge, another win could have been chalked up except for the last minute goal from the opponent.

Change after change after change affected the team. No other team was subject to owner Jorge Vergara’s whims that frequently changed administration. Francisco Ramirez was carried over from the previous season, but even in the Clausura it was easy to see that his philosophy with such a popular team wasn’t working out.  

Then under Arias team played a defensive style, although it didn’t necessarily work out. Although the team received less goals, they weren’t enough to combat the rough patch that the team was going through. In addition it seemed like internal problems surrounded the team.

Ramoncito Morales | Key player, both when he played and in his absence.

Ramon Morales unexpectedly gave up his role as captain, and out of form Omar Bravo took the armband. After that, the former captain and long-serving player was sent to the bench and one of Chivas’ assets subdued. The way that was played wasn’t the way that was equated with Chivas and the players didn’t seem to like it either; they didn’t look to be trying their best.  

Real arrived and things changed a bit. The players had a different spark. Real’s short term at the helm turned the style around to something that the players, and Vergara, were more accustomed to. Morales was restored to the team and better results ensued.  

The common denominator throughout the season was the managers. The team had no stability and could not carry out work. As soon as the team possibly started adjusting, a new manager was in place. Consistency was key and a set ideology couldn’t be perfected and carried out with the many changes

Chivas’ preseason tour in Europe was another factor that damaged Chivas going into the season. The tour was meant to give the team an advantage by pitting them against better opposition, but the teams faced weren’t anything out of the ordinary. The tour was also scheduled at an inconvenient time. Ten days passed between the last game of the tour and the first day of the regular season. That wasn’t nearly enough time in-between to recuperate and use those games as improvement. The games might have generated interest abroad, but they didn’t serve the real purposing of preparing the team. Games against local opposition, the kind of opponents that Chivas would regularly face, would have served a better purpose.  

Missing Magallon | Chivas missed internationals such as Jonny Magallon.

The absence of players also hurt the team. Jonny Magallon, Alberto Medina, and Omar Arellano were gone from preseason training because of duty with the national team. Jonny Magallon had plenty of activity during the Gold Cup and was then also called on to play additional games with Mexico without any rest; Alberto Medina had a similar schedule. Omar Arellano was called on for the cross country tournament but ended up injured missing games for Chivas in the recovery process. Aaron Galindo was another player that was called up for games although his absence time wasn’t as great. These players must have been tired from going from one season, to playing during the summer, to starting the season with their club teams once more; they had very little time to recover, especially Magallon. Those absences didn’t let the team work out problems in the beginning and in-between other dates hindering growth.  

Between call ups, injuries, and suspensions Chivas had difficulty obtaining a complete squad for a game. It wasn’t until the game against Morelia, in the Jornada 14, that Chivas finally had the complete team; it wasn’t until towards the end of the season that Chivas looked to have improved.  

Omar Bravo | Took over as captain midway through the season, but returns were mixed.

There was also one addition on the field; Omar Bravo. The once again Chivas forward contributed a grand total of three goals. Yet, despite the low return Bravo played fifteen games. Bravo wasn’t up to the fitness that was expected but he remained on the field. The player returned, but it doesn’t seem like the move was clearly analyzed. Would he still fit in the team? Did the current manager want him? He didn’t quite fit into the team anymore, but he remained at the persistence of the managers. But the low levels weren’t unique to Bravo. Several other players had a low output and the way it was handled certainly did not help confidence levels. Although the constant change of managers was an important factor in Chivas’ season, the performance of players was also a problem.  One glaring example is Edgar ‘Tepa’ Solis. His performances were poor as well and several times he was removed from the field early into games.

Luis Michel | One of few solid performers during the season.

Consistent performances from players were rare for Chivas. Goalkeeper Luis Michel was a bright spot for the team and helped the team from suffering embarrassing defeats. Javier ‘Chicharo’ Hernandez another, with his rather high goal scoring tally for the tournament. Save those two players, Chivas performed together but for the worse.  

Another season can be added to the failure column for Chivas. For the third consecutive tournament Chivas have not qualified for the post season tournament. The problems are not all exclusive to the current season but have been building up over time. But things can get better for the team. The key to improvement will be consistency. Whoever ends up taking managerial charge at Chivas will have the tough task of pleasing Jorge Vergara and staying over a period of time, but that will help the team run. With a consistent manger the players will get a better system to work with. The preseason will be carried out so that it can benefit the team in the long run; players will have a strong authority figure to respond to. With continuation things can only get better.

Andrea Martinez covers Mexican football for Goal.com.

For more coverage of the Mexican Primera Division, visit Goal.com's Mexico page.