Chivas part ways with sporting director Ricardo Pelaez

Chivas de Guadalajara parted ways with sporting director Ricardo Pelaez, terminating his contract after the team’s 5-4 loss on penalties to Puebla in the first round of the Liga MX playoffs.

Head coach Ricardo Cadena is expected to stay with the team for the time being.

"[Ownership] came to the conclusion that I'm not going to continue with the institution," Pelaez said in a statement. "I fully agree with the decision. Why? Because changing the coach or changing three or four players is not enough. I came here to find solutions and in the end I wasn't able to do so...I came here to bring titles and I didn't do it."

Alejandro Manzo, the brother-in-law of current Chivas owner Amaury Vergara, will take over as sporting director after serving as the team’s secretary general and board member.

"We want to thank Ricardo for his work and dedication to his role in the club from November 2019 to today," Chivas said in a statement. "We are clear that the project stalled in team performance and results, and therefore the need to change its leadership."

Pelaez first joined the project as sporting director in November 2019, promising to lift Chivas to its accustomed success. But the team has yet to reach a Liga MX final since their title run during the 2017 Clausura, causing concern.

Chivas holds the second-highest tally of Liga MX trophies with 12 in total, just one behind rivals Club America. With a high reputation and demanding fans, reaching the first round of playoffs was seen as a failure.

2022 has seen the team undergo several changes as a reflection of results on the pitch. Following issues in the 2022 Clausura, the club parted ways with former manager Marcel Michel Leano to bring in Cadena. The current head coach started as an interim, before earning the permanent title ahead of the Apertura.

But the results did not improve.

The team managed a 5W-5L-7D record this season, concluding in ninth to enter the Liguilla repechaje. They faced Puebla last Sunday in the first round, drawing 1-1 before losing in penalties. 

"As coach, I accept that we failed in the search of, in the intent of the minimum that we planned at the beginning of the tournament, which was to qualify [for the quarter-finals]," Cadena said in the post-game press conference. "In that sense, we failed."

The team now has a couple months to prepare for the new season, kicking off in January.