Who will be the next Chivas Manager?

After 10 months with Los Rojiblancos, Fernando Gago announced he would leave Guadalajara to return to his boyhood club, Boca Juniors, in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Gago, 38, guided the club to a Clausura semi final, where they would eventually suffer defeat to arch-rivals Club América. In the current Apertura campaign, Chivas has only four wins of its opening 11 games under the former Real Madrid player, losing the Clásico de Tapatío with city rivals Atlas along with another Clásico de los Clásicos defeat to out-of-form América.

Now, Chivas are fighting for a spot in the playoffs. Finding themselves in 8th place, they are three points adrift off a secured playoff place and are in one of the play-in spots. The current standings show that if they are to reach the playoffs, they will need to get past the likes of San Luís, rivals Club América and Atlas.

TUDN confirmed that Arturo Ortega will take the reigns of the first team until the end of the Apertura season, with the aim to find a permanent successor ahead of the Clausura which begins in January 2025.

Ortega, 48, was an attacking outlet during his playing time but failed to maintain a career in the top flight. Turning his hand to management in 2015, he rose through the youth ranks at Querétaro before becoming assistant manager of Los Gallos under the leadership of legendary manager Víctor Manuel Vucetich.

In 2022, Ortega was offered a management role with the Under 20's Chivas team before moving on to the Liga de Expansión MX with Tapatío, the reserves team to Chivas. In that time, he won 16 matches from 44, but they currently find themselves top of the league having won eight from 13 games.

Since he took over the team after the 3-2 loss to Atlas in the Clásico de Tapatío, Ortega led the team to two straight wins over Pachuca and Necaxa before a most recent 1-0 loss to Puebla, handing them their first win in six matches.

With three games left to go, Chivas face Pumas, Santos Laguna and San Luís as they look to confirm a place in the play-in.

Who could take over in 2025?

The Chivas fan page 'Rebaño Pasión' looks at a number of former Chivas players and managers who could take the helm which includes the following names:

Joel Sánchez
Camilo Romero
Javier Ledesma
Ramón Morales
Fernando Quirarte

Nación Fútbol mentions the recently dismissed Atlanta United manager Gonzalo Pineda, a former defensive midfielder who played 128 games for Los Rojiblancos but his managerial career has been spent in the MLS with the Seatle Sounders and in Atlanta before facing the sack in June of this year.

Another name on the list of potential candidates includes Brazilian Ricardo Ferretti. Aged 70, Ferretti has done the rounds within Mexican football, managing the likes of Pumas, Toluca, Tigres, Juárez and most recently Cruz Azul. Amongst those includes four years with Los Rojiblancos between 1996 - 2000, where they did win the 1997 Clausura. After three spells with Tigres, could the Brazilian be making a return to Guadalajara?

The final name is the current Mazatlán manager and one who helped shape the career of Arturo Ortega is Víctor Vucetich. Recording the third largest number of wins across any manager within Mexican football, Vucetich has had a long and illustrious career, going as far back as 1989. Winning league titles with Pachuca and Monterrey, the 69-year-old has managed the likes of León, Tigres, Cruz Azul, Monterrey, Puebla, Veracruz and now Mazatlán.

Who do you think will become the permanent manager of Chivas? Will Ortega keep the position, or will one of these other names be tipped for the position? Let us know!