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Liga MX owners set new pink-slip record – an even 10

By Thomas Buckley

MORELIA, MEXICO - AUGUST 31: Rafael Puente, coach of Queretaro shakes hands with Roberto Hernandez, coach of Morelia prior the 8th round match between Morelia and Queretaro as part of the Torneo Apertura 2018 Liga MX at Jose Maria Morelos Stadium on August 31, 2018 in Morelia, Mexico. (Photo by Carlos Cuin/Jam Media/Getty Images)
MORELIA, MEXICO - AUGUST 31: Rafael Puente, coach of Queretaro shakes hands with Roberto Hernandez, coach of Morelia prior the 8th round match between Morelia and Queretaro as part of the Torneo Apertura 2018 Liga MX at Jose Maria Morelos Stadium on August 31, 2018 in Morelia, Mexico. (Photo by Carlos Cuin/Jam Media/Getty Images) /
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Part 1 of 2: León just set a new record for most consecutive wins, surpassing the mark that had stood for 47 years. Now club owners have done some record-setting of their own.

On Monday, we learned that Robert Dante Siboldi is out at Veracruz, becoming the 10th Liga MX coach to be removed this season, setting a new record for most coaches replaced in a short season. The short season was adopted in the summer of 1996.

The previous record was set less than two years ago when 9 coaches were sacked during the Apertura 2017 season. Interestingly enough, José Saturnino Cardozo made both lists. In December 2017, Cardozo was fired by Veracruz and last month the Paraguayan coach was sacked by the Chivas.

The coaches let go during the Apertura 2017 season are as follows (with the week after which they were fired in brackets):

1.     Francisco Palencia, Pumas (Week 6)

2.     Javier Torrente, León (Week 7)

3.     José Manuel “Chepo” de la Torre, Santos (Week 9)

4.     Juan Antonio Luna, Veracruz (Week 9)

5.     Rafael “Chiquis” García, Puebla (Week 11)

6.     Sergio Egea, Pumas (Week 12)

7.     Jaime Lozano, Querétaro (Week 13)

8.     Eduardo Coudet, Tijuana (Week 15)

9.     José Saturnino Cardozo, Veracruz (Week 17)

Of the names on that list, two are currently coaching in Liga MX (Paco Palencia at Lobos BUAP and Javier Torrente at Morelia) and “Chiquis” García is now an assistant coach at Toluca under Ricardo La Volpe, one of the new coaches brought in to replace a coach this season.

Two teams fired two coaches: the Pumas (finished in last place) and Veracruz (finished second-to-last). So far, that hasn’t happened this season. And for the purposes of this list, interim coaches are not considered, otherwise the number of “new” coaches would be a bit higher. You can read Part 2 here.

By the way, in the photo at top, that’s Querétaro’s Rafa Puente Jr. (at left) shaking hands with Morelia’s Roberto Hernández before their Apertura 2018 match. Neither of these coaches would make it to Matchday 9 in the Clausura.

Getting off to an early start

Just three weeks into the season, Pachuca made a move, kicking off the pink-slip season. The Tuzos lost 2 of their first 3 games (5-0 at Monterrey and 3-0 at América) and Pako Ayestarán was replaced by former Boca Juniors star Martín Palermo. The firing was also partly a result of how the Tuzos collapsed at the end of the Apertura 2018 to miss out on the playoffs. With two games remaining last season, Pachuca had its playoff destiny in its own hands but closed out with two draws (0-0 at 17th-place Atlas and 1-1 at home to 14th place León). Palermo has Pachuca in 4th place right now and, even better, has gone 6-0-0 at home with a 22-5 goal differential.

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A week later, the Pumas sacked David Patiño following a 1-0 loss at Pachuca in coach Palermo’s first game. That left the Pumas with a 0-2-2 record, floundering in 16th place after a 3rd place finish in the Apertura 2018. Many pundits attributed the firing as much to the 6-1 rout the Pumas had suffered in the semifinals against América as to the slow start. Former Pumas great Bruno Marioni took over for Patiño although his only managing experience was with Venados of Yucatán in the Ascenso MX. “El Barullo” has had mixed results thus far, going 4-2-4 and moving up only 3 spots (currently in 13th place). Marioni did guide the Pumas to a 1-0 win at home over América in Matchday 7, but the team win again until Matchday 12 (against the Chivas, also at home).

Adios “Ojitos”!

In Matchday 5, Necaxa went into Estadio Cuauhtémoc in Puebla and routed the Camoteros 4-1. Enrique “Ojitos” Meza was fired the following day. Meza, 71, is a venerable manager with a long history in Liga MX. “Ojitos” has coached 14 teams (that includes Cruz Azul 4 times) and won 4 league titles, most recently with Pachuca in 2007. But he could not work any magic with the modest roster at Puebla. Camoteros management brought in José Luis Sánchez Solá (from ESPN) who coached Puebla on two previous occasions. “Chelis” is popular with Puebla fans and players love him, and he has his team challenging for a playoff spot after the 0-1-4 start under Meza.

Querétaro was the next team to take action, booting the youthful Rafa Puente, Jr., and bringing in the wizened Víctor Manuel Vucetich after Matchday 7. The Gallos Blancos had taken apart the team that has qualified for the Apertura 2018 playoffs (selling goalie Tiago Volpi to Sao Paulo and defender Hiram Mier to Chivas) then grew frustrated as coach Puente was unable to keep the Gallos Blancos in playoff contention. Querétaro was winless (0-0-7) when Puente was kicked out and since then the club has gone 2-2-3 under Vucetich, reaffirming his nickname “King Midas” for his ability to come in and quickly turn teams around.

Morelia was 1-1-6 when Monarcas management moved on from Roberto Hernández. The team had only scored 6 goals in 8 matches and was a shadow of the team that had flirted with a playoff spot the previous season. In came Javier Torrente, a member of the Marcelo Bielsa coaching tree who had coached at León from 2016-17. Torrente plays a more attractive style of football than did Hernández, a defensive tactician, and Morelia players have responded, although wins are still hard to come by. But Torrente has only lost once since taking over (1-4-1).

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