Liga MX: Chivas walking the relegation tightrope
With every week that goes by Chivas finds themselves closer and closer to relegation.
Year in and year out we see storylines pop up in the world of football of teams fighting to stay in the top flight of their respective leagues. However, it becomes front page news when high-profile teams toe the line of a demotion. Take the two month stretch when Chelsea in the English Premiere League was pushing the limits of what could have been a catastrophic demotion. Good news for them, they’re looking like they will survive another year in the EPL.
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When you talk about big name clubs dealing with relegation, that news becomes synonymous with what happened in Argentina five years ago. River Plate, one of the most recognized squads in South America suffered the most crucial blow to a soccer franchise, by heading down to the second division. Think about the effect, it’s a team that won 36 division one titles in its 114 year history and 15 international cups, including the 2015 Copa Libertadores.
The 2010-2011 season was one to forget for The Millionarios, when they fell in the relegation playoff to second division team Belgrano de Cordoba. A little over a year later River Plate found their way back with a promotion and reclaim the bit glory with the help of French international David Trezeguet and Argentinian Leonardo Ponzio.
Now we fast forward to today as one of Mexico’s most storied names, Las Chivas de Guadalajara, face the challenge of a lifetime. They now sit in spot above the relegation zone, currently held by Los Dorados of Sinaloa. You can say Chivas should be thanking Dorados for their poor play in Apertura and Clausura, it’s inevitable they’re headed to the second division.
Chivas’ issues can be traced back to Apertura 2011 when Chivas made the Liguilla (Playoffs) as the number one team, but failed against upstart Queretaro in the quarterfinals. It can be seen as “The beginning of the end” for Chivas as a dominant team and the club we once knew. From there they’ve only made it back to the playoffs once, and that came a year ago, where they lost in the semis.
Chivas has struggled in a big way totaling only 102 points since Apertura 2013. Take into account that if Sinaloa had done better this season, we could be talking about Guadalajara in the red zone.
The concerns are all over, especially with ownership, Chivas have had nine different managers since January 2013, some notable names have led the team and not been trusted to continue, Benjamin Galindo, Ricardo La Volpe and Ramon Morales. On the field, the struggles at the striker position have been evident. Players like Carlos Fierro, who’s now with Queretaro didn’t live up to expectations, Omar Bravo is struggling, Midfielder Carlos Peña can’t seem to get things going and Goalkeeper Jose Antonio Rodriguez can’t keep the ball out of the net.
Currently in Clausura 2016, Chivas have only amassed six points and with each week they seem to be more of a punchline every time. Last week against Tijuana Omar Bravo had a grand opportunity with a penalty kick and it was sent flying.
Even if things get worse this season, Chivas will survive to play another year in the first division, but they must find it within themselves to reestablish the glory they once had. One of their nicknames is “El Rebaño Sagrado”, but as long as they continue to play as they have, there will be nothing sacred left in Omnilife Stadium in the next year or so.