I’m sure it feels like I pick on Atlas a lot, but now that we’re over halfway through the Apertura, I want to say that they’re actually one of the most fascinating teams we’ve seen in years.
Of course, they’re fascinating for all the wrong reasons: the primary two being that they’re terrible and that they never score. So, sorry Atlas fans, but I’m going to continue to pick on you as long as the team is in this condition.
Atlas aren’t just the worst team in the league; this is a historical level of terrible. They just might have a case for being the worst team in the short tournament era. I’ve gathered up a shortlist of the worst teams since the split season began in 1996-97. Take a look.
| Team | Year | Points | Goals Scored | Final Standing |
| Veracruz | Apertura 2014 | 15 | 8 | 17th |
| Pumas | Apertura 2013 | 11 | 8 | 18th |
| Atlas | Clausura 2012 | 20 | 7 | 10th |
| Indios Juarez | Apertura 2009 | 6 | 7 | 18th |
| Queretaro | Apertura 2003 | 7 | 16 | 20th |
| Tecos | Clausura 2003 | 7 | 15 | 20th |
| Atlas | Apertura 2018 | 2 | 1 | 18th |
*Remember that Atlas 2018 has played only 9 matches so far.
So listed here are a mix of the worst offenses and just the worst teams of the short tournament era. Probably the one that sticks out the most is that 2012 Atlas team that somehow managed to almost make the playoffs despite scoring only seven goals the entire season.
The other that sticks out and the one that most people will point the finger towards as the worst team ever has to be Indios from 2009, who finished dead last with a worst ever six points to their name.
But Atlas, as you can see, are on pace to do much worse than that. If things don’t change, they would end up with four points and just two goals for the entire season, which is almost impossible to imagine.
Now going off the eye test, I’d bet the farm that Atlas of today could beat the Indios team of 2009, but the results are what will be remembered, and if Atlas cannot find a win in the second half of the season, they will go down in history as perhaps the most pathetic team in the history of Liga MX.
