In the Clausura 2012, Atlas had the second best defense of the tournament behind Xolos of Tijuana with only 13 goals against. However, they also had one of the worst offenses in the history of the league with only 7 goals. Atlas ended the league in a surprising 10th place, 7 points away from a playoff position and enough points from demotion.
Although saved from demotion in the Clausura 2012, they will begin the Liga MX Apertura 2012 in second to last place just above newly promoted Leon in the demotion percentage with a mere 1.000 rating. Atlas will need to focus early on attaining points which can be done if their defense is as strong as it was last season. Their defense was left intact with only the departure of right winger Arturo Paganoni leaving to Toluca. Most importantly, the Atlas administration focused this offseason on strengthening their poor offense by signing goal poacher Hector Mancilla, Vicente Matias Vuoso, and Luis Alonso Sandoval.
Atlas is a well coached staff that had great player arrivals since the Mexican league player draft. They will be a very difficult team to beat with its strong defense, a good offense led by Hector Mancilla, and a good mixture between experienced and young players. This team will be a playoff contender and it will be hard to imagine that they will be in last place of the demotion table once the Aperura 2012 ends.
Coach: Juan Carlos Chavez
Players In: Hector Mancilla, Luis Alonso Sandoval, Vicente Matias Vuoso, Sergio Amaury Ponce, Christian Sanchez, Luis Bolaños
Players Out: Jorge Villalpando, Francisco Torres, Alonso Zamora, Arturo Paganoni, Giancarlo Maldonado
Players to Watch: Hector Mancilla, Leandro Cufre
Prospect Players: Hugo Isaac Rodriguez, Ricardo Bocanegra
Possible Lineup: Miguel Pinto, Hugo Isaac Rodriguez, Leandro Cufre, Sergio Amaury Ponce, Facundo Erpen, Lucas Ayala, Luis Bolaños, Flavio Santos, Luis Alonso Sandoval, Vicente Matias Vuoso, Hector Mancilla
Playoffs Contender: Yes
Title Contender: No
Power Ranking: 9 of 18
