LIGA MX
Beñat San José unveiled at Atlas
The new technical director has been handed his first objective for the Clausura 2024 - for the team to reach a minimum of 25 points in the next tournament.
Beñat San José was presented as Atlas’ new coach for the upcoming 2024 Clausura tournament on Wednesday. The 44-year-old Basque coach assured that his return to Mexico is not a case of settling unfinished business - he considers the brief time he spent in charge at Mazatlán a couple of years ago as a decent period in his managerial career. With his new club, the board has already established an objective - for the team to finish the regular phase of the new tournament with at least 25 points.
Atlas president José Riestra told reporters at San José's presentation: “It’s very important day for the institution and for all of us who are part of this great club. We begin a new cycle, seeking consolidation. We dream of improving the process, after achieving sporting successes that have helped us to create and develop an infrastructure. The transformation process is now behind us. Today, a new cycle begins with Beñat. I have known him for a long time. We have the same ideals, we are looking for the same thing in this great institution and we are very excited to have you with us and start this new cycle. I am sure that with the help of Beñat we will achieve consolidation”.
Collective objectives
San José thanked the president for his introductory words as he took his turn to face the media: “It’s a very happy day for me as a coach - I have come to a great institution. We had conversations throughout these past few years. I realized that here at Atlas, they have one goal - to make advances in the sporting projects that are already up and running. For me, when the possibility of coming to Atlas arose, I did not hesitate because I see that the club is in a fantastic moment for me to work and to evolve. I am keen to start working, because that is what we have to do - work hard to put Atlas as high as possible, improve as a group and achieve all our goals”.
The Spaniard didn’t deliver the kind of figures expected at Mazatlán and was fired in March 2022 after spending 10 months at the club. He ended with a win rate of 28%, with just seven wins in 25 games and losing almost half of the games while he was in charge. But he defended his first experience coaching in the Liga MX. “I think that the work we did in Mazatlán was very good and very important for the club. It was the beginning of something that the club could build on and for us, because it gave me the experience of getting to know Mexican soccer. I think we did a very important job to lay foundations that have later been fruitful for them. For me it was also a fantastic experience. I think that my experience was ultimately positive,” he explained.
The coach has registered better figures in other leagues - posting a 61% success rate during his time in Bolivia with Club Bolívar and similar figures in Chile during his time at Universidad Católica.