Early offseason moves continue apace in Liga MX

Sly Zorros look to climb out of Relegation Zone

Atlas finished the Guardianes 2021 a very respectable 7-4-6 despite watching its best-laid plans blow up before the season started.

Forward Julio Furch was acquired from Santos Laguna to lead the Zorros attack but broke his left ankle in a preseason training session. The high-scoring Argentine returned for the final four games of the season but was limited to less than 20 minutes in each.

With Furch back at full strength, coach Diego Cocca can expect to have a more dangerous attack (only three Liga MX teams scored fewer goals last season) next season.

Cocca was surely pleased with the performance of his young squad, especially academy products-turned-senior team starters Angel Márquez (midfielder), Jonathan Herrera (winger) and Jairo Torres (winger), as well as promising forward Christopher Trejo.

Since their season ended last month against Puebla, the Zorros have subtracted three veterans who figured to see their playing time reduced. Gone are Víctor Malcorra (a 33-year-old multi-purpose player who was starting to become a bit error-prone), forward Javier Correa (little more than a late sub who had trouble finding the net – 1 goal in 16 games) and left back Armando Escobar (just 1 appearance last season).

Also missing will be flashy winger Renato Ibarra who was acquired from América on a loan deal, but will not be kept on the squad.

The only new face thus far is Julián Quiñones, a powerful 24-year-old forward who was picked up from the Tigres. The Colombian is a year removed from a knee injury that limited his productivity last season. Quiñones arrived to the Liga MX in 2016 but enjoyed his best success while on loan to Lobos BUAP in 2017-2018 (16 goals in 28 games).

A Furch-Quiñones front line could provide the power and spacing that will allow the speed and energy of the Kiddie Corps to thrive. That is a necessity since Atlas will start the Apertura 2021 with “relegation” concerns again (the Zorros were forced to pay a 70 million-peso fine for finishing second-last in the “Relegation Standings” last season).