El Rebano Sagrado took on Pachuca for what many dubbed the game of the week due to the recent falling out of the transfer of Victor Guzman from Pachuca to Chivas due to positive drug test results back in Week 4 of last years Apertura tournament.
Chivas started the game on the wrong note. Shots were far and between for Guadalajara who going forward looked amazing against Juarez the previous week. Against Los Tuzos their offense stalled due to stopping Chivas’ focal point of attack Jose Juan Macias. Alexis Vega didn’t help either being taken out before the second half started. Players as young midfielder Fernando Beltran and defender Gilberto Sepulveda looked great for Chivas, but they were on their back legs for most of the game.
Then when the substitutions happened at the half and going forward coach Tena made a decision of putting in two defensive backs, that granted are gifted going forward but are defensive players none the less. Chivas head coach Luis Fernando Tena was outcoached by Pachuca’s coach Paulo Pezzolano. Pachuca’s team had a combined 21 shots combined with Chivas 12. Pachuca also had 54% possession with Chivas having 46%, and even more alarming were the 12 corners Pachuca had compared to el Rebano Sagrado’s 1 corner. As mentioned earlier Chivas were defensively stout thought thanks to the duo of Hiram Mier and Tibu Sepulveda.
Tena’s was brought on last year to help Chivas avoid relegation and succeeded, they even almost made a run for the Liguilla. New Director Ricardo Pelaez was brought on to help reinforce the team and turn them into a contender. Millions were spent on players as Uriel Antuna, Cristian Calderon, Jesus Angulo, Alexis Francisco Pena Lopez, Jose Juan Macias, and Jose Juan Vazquez. One thing coaches Luis Fernando Tena, Tomas Boy, and Jose Cardozo all have had in common is their distrust of youth and the way players should be implemented onto the team.
Don’t be mistaken Luis Tena has had success most notably winning the 2012 Olympic Gold in Football defeating Brazil 2-1. The way he is bringing on the youth is alarming and draws similarities to previous Chivas coaches Tomas Boy who would play Oribe Peralta who transferred to Chivas for free over Alexis Vega when Chivas paid 9 Million for Alexis Vega. Oribe Peralta would go onto score 0 goals in all competitions for Chivas in the 2019 year. Along with other bad coaching decisions, it would cost him his job.
This time it’s not just one player in Alexis Vega, but variously talented players in positions Chivas needed. Players as Jesus Sanchez Garcia, Miguel Angel Ponce, Jesus Molina, and Isaac Brizuela have helped Chivas a lot in previous years under previous coaches, but these new players were brought on to replace them. Its frustrating seeing players played out of position, and not seeing the ideal 11 that every fan had theorized would play. These players brought to the team are great talents and shouldn’t be relegated to being on the bench for half the game, or all of the game.
All eyes are on Luis Tena to integrate these players, but as far as today Chivas are leading Liga MX with 4 points. There may be already murmurs of fans calling for Luis Tena to be out of a job. The difficult question is what if Tena does go? Who would Director Ricardo Pelaez replace him with?
Then again maybe the fans are overreacting and we may just need to trust the process. What do you think? Should Chivas press the panic button, or is the season too early to do so?