Three things of note as the Liga MX playoffs heat up

With a day off in between the Liga MX quarterfinals series, we had some time to scour the headlines and listen to the grapevine to see what’s happening across the league.

In just over two weeks, the Guardianes 2021 champions will be crowned and by then El Tri will be occupying center stage, first with a May 29 friendly against Iceland and then on to the Concacaf Nations League, the Gold Cup and the Tokyo Olympics.

Of course, Team Mexico debate and controversy will always steal headlines as witnessed by the recent arguments about whether or not Javier “Chicharito” Hernández deserves to be invited back to the national team.

We’ll leave those quarrels for another time and focus on happenings in the domestic league.

There’s no place like home

Through the first eight games of the Liga MX playoffs, home field has proven to be a rather significant advantage. No visiting team has won a game thus far although Toluca slipped past host León in the wildcard round by holding on for a 2-2 draw and then winning a penalty-kick shootout.

After all four lower seeds won home games to open the quarterfinals, visiting Liga MX teams are now 0-1-7 in the postseason with a –13 goal differential. The results beg the question: Could we see a repeat of the Apertura 2019 when all four lower seeds advanced out of the quarterfinals?

In that season, No. 8 seed Monterrey went on to hoist the Liga MX trophy by defeating No. 6 América. The Rayados routed top-seeded Santos (6-3 aggregate) in the quarterfinals while the Aguilas toppled No. 3 Tigres by winning the second leg 4-2 at “El Volcán.”

Of course, if the trend in favor of home teams continues, the higher seeds will win the second-leg matches in their home stadiums and the regular-season Liga MX table would hold form. Unless, the lower seeds can take advantage of the away-goals rule, that is.

Chivas preparing for a rebuild?

Since barely qualifying for the playoffs and then bowing out meekly in the Wildcard Round in the face of a second-half Pachuca onslaught, the Chivas have made it clear that changes will be made … at least as far as player personnel goes.

Guadalajara ownership has already announced that coach Víctor Manuel Vucetich has signed a 1-year contract extension and embattled general manager Ricardo Peláez is also staying on. But fans of “the most popular Liga MX team” should not be surprised at the coming roster makeover.

This current crop of Chivas has earned the reputation of caring more about night-life than game-night. Four players were booted off the team for partying during the pandemic last October, while two others were suspended a game for the same violation earlier that same season.

With regard to new faces, the latest whispers suggest Peláez is moving to shore up the back line, targeting versatile Pachuca wingback Erick Aguirre and Tijuana fullback Jaime Gómez. The Chivas are also negotiating with Team Mexico defender Néstor Araujo in an effort to convince him to return to Liga MX from Spain.

As far as players likely to move on, young midfielders Fernando Beltrán and César Huerta appear set to suit up for Necaxa next season. This transaction is related to the debt still owed to Necaxa for the December 2019 haul that was Peláez’s first major move as GM. “El Rebaño Sagrado” acquired Cristián Calderón, Jesús Angulo and Alexis Peña for $20 million dollars. A year-and-a-half later and Angulo is the only one of the trio in the starting line-up.

Two others who might have played their last game in the iconic red-and-white-striped jersey are J.J. Macías and Uriel Antuna, both also brought in with much fanfare by Peláez in December 2019.

Liga MX coaching carousel slows down

For whatever reason (financial considerations, mostly), only two coaches were sacked during the season, and none until after Matchday 11. Such longevity had never been seen in the 78-year-history of professional soccer in Mexico.

After Matchday 11, coaches at FC Juárez (Luis Fernando Tena) and Necaxa (José Guadalupe Cruz) got pink-slipped. Those openings were filled by Alfonso Sosa and Guillermo Vázquez, respectively.

Once the regular season ended, Atlético de San Luis and Mazatlán FC promptly fired their head coaches (Leonel Rocco and Tomás Boy, respectively).

In addition, two very successful managers –Ignacio Ambriz at León and “Tuca” Ferretti at Tigres – were jettisoned after contract-extension talks broke down.

On Wednesday, we learned that the Esmeraldas had plucked Ariel Holan from Santos of Brazil while the Tigres appear to be close to signing former América and El Tri manager Miguel Herrera.

For now, we are left to speculate who might take over in Mazatlán and San Luis. While there has been little rumor-mongering related to the former, there has been gossip linking “Tuca” to the Tuneros post.