Chivas Guadalajara: the saga at the top | OneFootball

Chivas Guadalajara is one of Mexico's most decorated football clubs. One that has collected 12 Liga MX titles and 2 CONCACAF Champions Cups, but success has dried up in recent times for Los Rojiblancos.

It's been eight years since the club were last crowned champions of Mexican football, and their last continental triumph came in 2018 - an excruciatingly long wait for a club built on glory.

Problems for Chivas extend beyond the pitch. Managerial merry-go-rounds and player departures have left the club in a constant state of rebuilding, with very little to show for it.

Chivas' off-field issues

In recent years, the club have struggled to keep hold of their best players. Known for only fielding Mexican players, Chivas relies on its own academy and ability to spot talent from other clubs in the country before they reach their peak. This system has brought some of the country's most promising players to the Estadio Akron, but we're seeing a pattern of players heading for the exit door much earlier than expected.

Alexis Vega has become one of the most deadly attacking players in the league, but took his game to a new level when he ended a four-year spell with Los Rojiblancos for a return to his boyhood Toluca, who are one of the favourites to lift the 2025 Clausura.

Fellow Mexico international, Jesús "Chiquete" Orozco, rose through the ranks at the club and is quickly fiitng the bill as one of Mexico's best central defenders and that's why fans accepted the idea of the 22-year-old switching Guadalajara for a move to Europe, but what fans didn't anticipate was a move to Mexico's capital. In the summer of 2024, Chiquete signed for Cruz Azul, where he joins one of the best teams in the league, competing in the Champions Cup semi-final whilst also preparing for a quarter-final battle in the Clausura.

There are other examples of young stars who have left the red and white of Chivas prematurely, like César "Chino" Huerta. A regular with El Tri, Chino had a few loan spells away from the club before being allowed to leave the club permanently for Pumas. His two years with Los Universitarios elevated his game to become one of the league's best with the ball at his feet, earning a starting position with the national team and a winter move to Europe, joining Belgian giants Anderlecht.

Crisis at the top

Even at the helm, managers have come and gone without being able to leave any lasting impression. Since Matías Almeyda, who ended a three-year spell with the club in 2018 and was the last in charge to bring silverware to the Estadio Akron, no manager has survived more than 18 months.

In the years after Almeyda's departure, there have been some big-name appointments. Víctor Manuel Vucetich, currently with Mazatlan, is the third highest appearance-maker in Liga MX managerial history, whilst expectations were high when former Real Madrid midfielder Fernando Gago joined the club in December 2023.

But the success that Chivas has become so familiar with has evaded them for seven years. Despite all of these big-name managerial signings, none have come closer to taking the club back to where they belong than Serbian Veljko Paunović.

Paunović, 47, had a luxurious playing career and turned his hand to management in 2012. Starting with the Serbian youth ranks, the former Atletico Madrid player moved onto club football when he joined MLS side Chicago Fire before heading to the English second tier with Reading. Seven years with the two clubs convinced the higher-ups in Guadalajara that he was the man to take them forward for the 2023 Liga MX Clausura.

2023 Liga MX Clausura

Chivas ended the Clausura with 10 wins from 17 games, finishing third in the table. Hopes were high, especially considering their run in the playoffs. Beating city rivals Atlas in the first round, they then sent arch nemesis and Mexico's most successful team, Club America, packing at the Estadio Azteca with a historic comeback.

Wins against their biggest rivals left fans certain that their horrid trophy-less run would come to an end. Anything seemed possible as they were set to meet Tigres in the final.

The away first leg ended goalless, with the title to be decided in Guadalajara.

Everything was going to script in the second leg. Chivas went 2-0 up in the first 20 minutes and were cruising against a Tigres side that finished the regular season in 7th place. However, the Monterrey side fought back. Two goals in the space of seven minutes brought the game back on level terms, meaning that the final would go to extra time. All was set for the trophy to be decided via penalty shootouts, but Tigres had one last say when Guido Pizarro scored the winning goal for the away side, leaving everyone connected with Chivas stunned.

Post Final Downhill

The 2023 Clausura final was seen as a disaster, but also the start of something new. Getting to the final was seen as a success, even if they were unable to get over the line.

However, six months after getting so close to silverware, Paunović was out the door. Chivas finished in 5th and met with Pumas in the quarter-final where a 3-0 loss in the second leg saw the club crash out at the first hurdle.

Since Paunović's departure after the 2023 Apertura, Chivas have had four managers. Gago left the club in stunning fashion, following a league loss to Atlas to return to his boyhood Boca Juniors whilst Óscar García lasted a grand total of 12 games before facing the sack.

The club hit a new low this season, failing to reach the quarter-final of either the Apertura or Clausura. In the former, the side finished 9th but lost in the play-in decider against Atlas before finishing the latter in 11th, failing to even qualify for the play-in.

Reports suggest that former Mexico international manager Jaime Lozano could take over, but it's uncertain who will be next in line to try and get Chivas back to where it belongs.