Liga MX news, scandals dim ‘Super Clásico’ spotlight
Where’s Mexico’s Dave Zirin when you need him? The noted author on the politics of sports (or his Mexican doppelgänger) would have been a very busy man this week and he wouldn’t even have had to mention tonight’s huge Liga MX derby.
Well, OK, that’s not entirely true since the first bombshell of the week involved the Chivas. On Sunday, just six days before facing América in the “Super Clásico,” Guadalajara sacked manager Víctor Manuel Vucetich.
The Chivas are muddling along in the middle of the table and disgruntled fans were increasingly showing discontent with the club’s mediocre performance and blasé style of play even though “El Rebaño Sagrado” was on a four-game unbeaten run.
Academy director Marcelo Michel Leaño was quickly installed as interim coach, prompting all manner of whispers and innuendo.
Liga MX rumor mill shifts into high gear
The precocious Michel, 34 (Vucetich is 66), is a close friend of Chivas owner Amaury Vergara and reports suggest he coaxed his buddy to ditch the pragmatic coach and give him the job … without consulting general manager Ricardo Peláez.
During the press conference to introduce the new coach, Peláez repeatedly emphasized the word “interim.” He also sought to insist the team’s lackluster results prompted the change, not unruly behavior by fans (the owner’s box was pelted with debris during Saturday’s game).
With Michel apparently ensconced on the bench for the rest of the Apertura 2021, the embattled GM must now carry out a coaching search that will determine his own destiny. Pick a winner or be gone.
Former Veracruz owner arrested
Monday featured images of Fidel Kuri being escorted by police to the notorious Almoloya Prison for a judicial hearing on charges of fraud.
The controversial entrepreneur and former politician had been a thorn in the side of Liga MX executives as owner of the Tiburones of Veracruz. He had been banned for a year after physically assaulting the Liga MX Referees Commission director in the stands after a home loss, then violated the ban twice resulting in increased sanctions.
Kuri had a mysterious arrangement with the corrupt state governor (now in jail on multiple charges) that gave the owner control of stadium revenues and he had the habit of mixing politics with sport (Kuri once told Veracruz residents to vote for the ruling party or he would move the team out of the state).
When the Tiburones finished the 2018-2019 cycle in last place, Kuri borrowed money from TV Azteca (the network that televised Tiburones matches) to pay off the 120 million-peso penalty allowing the team to remain in Liga MX.
Kuri then shamed the league when it was revealed that he wasn’t meeting payroll for his teams (the Liga MX players, the women’s team and academy personnel) and was not paying his club and stadium staff. The senior team even staged a protest during a regular-season Liga MX match, standing still for a full 3 minutes after the opening whistle.
Veracruz was kicked out of the league in December 2019 for these financial indiscretions and apparently never repaid TV Azteca. The network filed the complaint that led to the fraud charges that resulted in his arrest this week.
In more mundane Monday news, UNAM cut Panamanian striker Gabriel Torres and acquired Brazilian Diogo de Oliveira ahead of the Sept. 22 deadline that Liga MX imposed on player registration for the season.