Yesterday, it was officially announced that Jose Manuel de la Torre, better known as Chepo, was let go as team manager of Chivas de Guadalajara after a defeat in the border town of Tijuana. Their inability to accumulate points this season left the owners of the team to make a difficult decision, and results provided their answer. In eight games, the red-and-whites were only able to accumulate seven points with two wins, five losses, and one draw.
In addition to Chepo, his older brother Nestor resigned to his position as club president.
But the real reason why the team has been doing so badly for the past few years is not the team managers, or the coaches. The problem goes beyond that, and the problem has a name.
Jorge Vergara.
Since Vergara purchased the team in 2002, Chivas has only won one first division title. That was in the year 2006. Since then, the team has struggled to win games and accumulate points, a situation that has put them on the brink of relegation.
The era of Jorge Vergara at the top of Chivas has even been coined the second dark era, much worse than the first, which happened in the 1980s.
Vergara is Chivas’ sole problem.
The reasons are many.
Doesn’t sign enough players
While other teams like Tigres boast of big name signings like Javier Aquino, Jürgen Damm, and André-Pierre Gignac, the only player Vergara signed was Oswaldo Alanis.
The other two were Rodolfo Cota, on loan to Chivas from Pachuca, and Ricardo Michel Vazquez, loaned to Chivas from Lobos BUAP in the second division of Mexican football.
Vergara spent next to nothing trying to reinforce the weaknesses of the team, and he wasn’t very good at it.
Even after his investment (or lack thereof), the team continues to struggle.
Sends too many players out on loan or lets them go permanently
Of all the teams in the Liga MX, Chivas was the one that got rid of more players than any other team in the league. Chivas let go a total of ten players that were in the first team. Fernando Arce, Luis Michel, Nestor Vidrio and Giovani Hernandez were sent to Dorados de Sinaloa, Vidrio and Hernandez on loan while Arce and Michel were let go.
David Toledo and Pato Araujo were sent to Puebla. Aldo de Nigris returned to the team of his heart, Rayados de Monterrey, while Erick ‘Cubo’ Torres went to try his luck with Houston Dynamo of the MLS. The last of them to leave Chivas was Rafael Marquez Lugo, who was never able to recover from a knee injury and decided to quit football last season.
Jorge Vergara has completely forgotten about the team and is only thinking about his own profit. He let go players like De Nigris and Torres, who were vital to Chivas’ attack, only to make a good profit of them.
Relies too much on homegrown players
This can be both a good and bad thing.
The good thing about this is that he gives the youngsters a chance. By letting them play alongside the senior players, they learn better skills. They also become motivated and can put more effort into a game, as opposed to an older player who no longer has to compete for his spot in the starting line-up. It creates competition within the team, but good competition.
The negative side to this is that he relies too much on the young players. This season, Chivas has one of the teams with the most young players. That is because Vergara got rid of the more experienced players to make way for homegrown players.
Thus far, it has proven to be a flawed plan.
Promises a lot, delivers little
With each new season, Vergara promises many things. He makes promises of new titles, better players, and top team managers. It never happens. But the fans of Chivas know better by now.
While Vergara seems to be milking the team for all it’s worth, Chivas keeps sinking lower and lower in the relegation table.
