Pumas and Chivas to the rescue of greatness

The first three points of Pumas and Chivas in the tournament give a touch of feeling that this tournament could be the one of redemption or the one that buries the past of few goals statistics and games with zero points, regularly every weekend. week.

Both teams began another chapter of statistics, analysis and planning at the hands of their new coaches: Rafael Puente del Río and Veljko Paunovic, who have the main task of ending the title drought. Los Pumas have gone 11 years without a first division trophy, looking for the eighth, while El Rebaño was crowned in the Clausura 2017 and they have not done justice to the greatness of 12 titles in the showcase.

Rafa Puente manages his fourth team in the Liga MX (Lobos BUAP, Querétaro, Atlas and Pumas) achieving the best result as a coach with Lobos, promoting the team to the First Division in 2017. On Sunday at the Universitario stadium he made his debut with a win 2-1 against FC Juárez. The Argentines Eduardo Salvio (77′) and Juan Dinenno (87′) turned the score around, after going down after Alan Medina’s score (30′). Dani Alves, the Brazilian full-back, was included in the lineup in the second part of the game and meant a recharge of motivation for the cats.

“In the end it will always be important to win and start adding three at home, then the analysis will come. The first half was far from what we have trained and worked on, in the second against a context that anyone thinks we have an advantage, everything becomes very complex against such a low block. We were very patient and capable of generating dangerous options to access a victory that the fans longed for”, the coach mentioned in a conference at the end of the game.

“(About Dani Alves) it is up to us to evaluate and make the most assertive and fair decision, today we consider that the fairest thing to do with Dani, taking into account that he joined in the last part of the preseason, should enter as a change,” he added. .

The Apertura 2022 tournament revealed for Pumas that even bringing hierarchy reinforcements they were left without what was necessary to even enter the repechage. Players with a high weekly salary profile remain in the squad, such as: Dani Alves (962,000 pesos), Eduardo Salvio (522,000 pesos) Juan Ignacio Dinenno (467,000 pesos), Adrián Aldrete (357,000 pesos), Gustavo Del Prete (329,000 pesos), figures recorded by the specialized portal salarysport.com. For the Clausura 2023 only Jesús Molina entered via free transfer. The 34-year-old midfielder has played with Tigres, América, Santos, Monterrey and Chivas.

“Rafa Puente is an innovative coach, prepared, respecting his style no matter what happens in any situation. I hope they give him the benefit of the doubt because both he and we want to be champions,” Molina said prior to the start of C2023.

On the following date, Pumas travels to Torreón to face Santos Laguna.

deportes@eleconomista.mx