The uphill task facing Antonio Mohamed at Pumas
‘El Turco’ is back in management and will face an uphill battle to try and secure a post season place in the 2023 Clausura for the university side.
Pumas UNAM are having a disastrous Liga MX 2023 Clausura campaign and the ‘Universitarios’ languish in 16th place towards the bottom of the table with poor results leading to the dismissal of Rafael Puente del Río from his position as head coach.
Argentinian journeyman head coach Antonio Mohamed has been selected to oversee Pumas with the former player recently coaching the likes of Celta Vigo, Huracan, Monterrey and more recently Brazil’s Atletico Mineiro.
¡Antonio Mohamed es DT de Pumas! 👊
— PUMAS (@PumasMX) March 27, 2023
Bienvenido a tu nueva casa, dejemos toda la garra en la cancha. 🐾#SoyDePumas #OrigenDeLaPasión pic.twitter.com/vUod4OANqk
In his presentation to the media, the new coach made it clear that he is motivated and happy to take on the challenge in propelling the ‘Auriazules’ back to higher reaches of the Liga MX table. The 52-year-old now begins preparations for this weekend’s clash against the Gallos Blancos from Queretaro, however the Argentine will not be in the dugout as he will return to to Buenos Aires for personal commitments.
‘El Turco’s’ first game in charge of Pumas will be the matchday 14 clash when the UNAM side host Atletico San Luis at the Estadio Olimpico Universitario.
Pumas in the hunt for the play-offs
Despite having only recorded just three wins in the current campaign, the ‘Auriazules’ are in 16th place in the overall standings with 11 points they are just one point behind Atlas, the 12th-placed team in the standings. (Teams ending in 5th-12th progress into the wildcard round). However, Pumas face a tricky run-in after the Querétaro and Atlético San Luis games as they take on top placed teams in Toluca, América and Rayados de Monterrey.