The synchronicity with which the events occurred seemed to indicate that they were directly related: Chivas announced the dismissal of its coach, Matias Almeyda recalled the ease with which he could leave the San Jose Earthquakes, and later the Argentineanâs separation from the MLS club was made official. However, Almeydaâs return to Chivas may not be far off, if not practically impossible.
The bond between the Rojiblancos and MatĂas Almeyda seemed close despite their paths parting in 2018. The five titles won by the Guadalajara club during the Argentine coachâs tenure is the closest they have come to their era of greatest glory, the late 1950s and 1960s of the last century.
Even for Almeyda it was clear that the pairing he made with Chivas is not something he can find at every club he manages. With San Jose Earthquakes in MLS, he simply did not come remotely close to the winning ways he did in Liga MX. In four years with the Quakes, Matias only qualified his team to the MLS Cup Playoffs once and leaves with a negative record of 31 wins, 42 losses and 25 draws.
The possible unsurpassable gap between Chivas and Matias Almeyda
Guadalajaraâsfans are unhappy with their team and its management, and saw the return of Almeyda as the ideal remedy to cure their ills. However, despite the apparent possibility of the Argentine coachâs return, there could be bad memories of him within the club.
According to RĂ©cordâs insider El Francotirador, the Chivas board is not even remotely contemplating the idea of MatĂas Almeyda returning as the teamâs coach due to some unethical, and even harmful, practices allegedly carried out by the Argentinean during his three years at the helm of the Rebaño Sagrado.
Chivas fansâ requesting Almeyda to come back to the club. (Alfredo Moya/Jam Media/Getty Images)
Almeydaâs alleged unethical behavior at Chivas
The first harmful behavior of Almeyda, pointed out by the aforementioned insider, is his tendency to request that key positions in the clubâs structure be filled by his friends and acquaintances. This would be due to MatĂasâ intention to be a general manager and not just a coach, so the only one he is accountable to is the owner. There would be no sports director, a position currently held by ex-footballer Ricardo Pelaez.
An example of this, leaked by Record, is the case of the soccer player Carlos Cisneros, who suffered an injury in 2016 and was suggested by Chivasâ trusted medical expert to undergo surgery. However, Almeydaâs assistant in the clubâs sports medicine area recommended not to do it and to approach it with conservative alternative therapies, which was about to cause the playerâs retirement and extended his absence for up to 4 years.
Another of the former San Jose Earthquakes coachâs mismanagement is the excessive and constant demand for tickets, which amounted to more than 100 for each Chivas game that were requested by Almeyda to distribute among family and friends. However, and according to what Record published, most of those tickets were given to the famous Barras Bravas, to keep them on his side, prevent them from criticizing him and put pressure on the board of directors for any requests he might have.
Christian Calderon celebrates his winning goal against Cruz Azul. (Hector Vivas/Getty Images)
