Did Chivas win Liga MX the last time they reached 30 regular-season points?
After beating Cruz Azul at the weekend, Chivas Guadalajara have hit the 30-point mark in a Liga MX regular season for the first time in over a decade.
There were plenty of sceptics when Chivas Guadalajara sporting director Fernando Hierro brought in Veljko Paunovic as the new head coach ahead of the Clausura 2023 tournament.
Chivas challengers for title after fine regular season
However, despite having no previous experience of Mexican soccer, the Serb has guided the Rebaño Sagrado to the top spots in the regular-season standings. Ahead of the postseason playoffs, Chivas are shaping up as one of the major contenders for the Liga MX title.
It’s not often that Guadalajara have hit the 30-point mark in the short-tournament era, but after beating Cruz Azul on Sunday, the 12-time domestic champions now have 31, with one game still to play in the league phase. It’s the first time in 12 years that Chivas have reached 30 points.
The Guadalajarans last managed it in the Apertura 2011, a tournament that saw the club change coach midway through the regular season. After a 4-1 home defeat to Puebla, then-club president Jorge Vergara fired José Luis Real, replacing him with Fernando Quirárte. The new man in charge, who hadn’t coached a Mexican club in six years, was tasked with pushing Chivas back up the standings. And he did just that.
Quirárte guides Chivas to top... but Gallos Blancos cause upset
Under Quirárte, Chivas beat Estudiantes Tecos, América and Tigres, and drew with Toluca, Atlas and Pachuca, to top the table with 30 points.
In the playoffs, Chivas came up against a Querétaro side who were taking part in the Liga MX playoffs for the first time in their history. Guadalajara went into the quarter-final clash as heavy favourites, but in the opening leg at the Estadio Corregidora, Los Gallos Blancos sprang a surprise with a 2-1 win, thanks to a double by Carlos Bueno. Jorge Enríquez scored for Chivas.
In the return on home turf, Guadalajara came out all guns blazing as they sought to turn the tie around, but came up against an inspired performance by Querétaro goalkeeper Liborio Sánchez. A 0-0 draw sent the underdogs through, as Mexico’s ‘curse of the superlíder’ once again struck.
Since the short-tournament format was introduced in the Liga MX in 1996, the regular-season champion has gone on to win the title in the playoffs on only eight occasions.