It is a hard time to be a C.D. Guadalajara fan given what is being described by many as the Chivas crisis. A state of emergency has been declared at the Jalisco based club. Eight years after celebrating the club’s 100th anniversary, (arguably) the most popular football club in Mexico finds itself in a situation that fans of the Liga Mx would have never expected. Chivas is now fighting to save themselves from the embarrassment of being relegated for the first time since the creation of the Federacion Mexicana de Futbol Asociacion was founded and the Liga Mayor was introduced as the official national league of Mexico. They have also had nine managers in the past three years. The Guadalajara club currently sits at 16th place out of a total of 18 teams and are fourth from the bottom of the relegation percentage table.
It now seems that desperate times do indeed call for desperate measures. As of October 7, Jose Manuel “Chepo” De La Torre, was once again named the manager of the goats after signing a three-year contract. His older brother, Nestor De La Torre, was reinstated as president of the club on October 3. In a last attempt to save the team from finishing the first half of the season in the relegation zone, the club rehired the personnel who were in charge of the most recent successful run for “El Rebaño Sagrado”. The De La Torre brothers managed the club in 2006, the last time Chivas won a first division title. Chepo De La Torre has been known for being picky with rosters and demanding nothing but the best, which could mean that many of the young players that Chivas pride themselves on developing could see themselves being loaned out, sold, or brought down to Guadalajara’s reserves squad in order to make room for the transfers of more experienced players.
With De La Torre in charge, a better Chivas team is not out of the question. There will undoubtedly be changes at Chivas but only one thing is for sure: the De La Torre brothers will need to find some order in the chaos that is Chivas, and, if they are to save the team from relegation, they will need to find their balance soon.
Photo Credit: Imago7