In the current landscape of world soccer, it simply does not make sense that Chivas de Guadalajara has been as bad as it has been recent years. It is arguably the largest club in Mexico, rivaled in size only by Club América. Its fan base is one of the most passionate in the world, taking pride in the fact that Chivas is the only team in Liga MX that fields only Mexicans. Its owner, Jorge Vergara, recently valued the club at $800 million dollars, and Vergara himself has a reported net worth in the range of $1.5 billion.
With that following, inspired by that passion, contributing to that immense pool of wealth, Chivas should be the Liga MX equivalent of Barcelona to Club America’s Real Madrid. Instead, Chivas is battling relegation.
To say that things are going badly would be an understatement, but the club itself would have you believe that is is in the process of righting the ship. Contrary to what the rest of the league might believe, success is closer than it might appear.
That false confidence is exactly why avoiding relegation this season could prove to be far worse than relegation itself. Some think Chivas has already hit rock bottom, but the club is not acting with the determination and resolve that bottoming out so often inspires. Chivas has developed a culture of losing, and it needs to be shaken out of it.
If Chivas’ situation does get worse before it gets better, and the club is relegated, that cataclysmic failure might just be that catalyst needed to force owner Jorge Vergara to overhaul the team. No team ever turned itself around by wallowing in mediocrity.
So far, Jorge Vergara has let Chivas fall into disarray. From top to bottom, from the office to the pitch, a culture of failure permeates Chivas.
Firstly, Vergara’s Chivas USA was nothing more than a failure and a distraction. Every day that Chivas USA existed was a day that Chivas de Guadalajara did not get the attention it deserved. Now Vergara has sold Chivas USA, he is free to focus more on its Liga MX counter part, but there is no guarantee he will actually invest the riches he limped away with in Chivas de la Guadalajara, and not some other business venture.
Even the crown jewel of Chivas, the $200 million Estadio Omnilife, is a monolithic reminder of the poor judgement of Jorge Vergara. The stadium is poorly located and its tickets are prohibitively expensive, so attendance is lower than ever before. Some even think that the stadium’s high price tag has stretched Vergara too thin financially, and has disabled him from properly investing in Chivas.
Fans are far from flocking. Photo: @dukekeith | Twitter
Whether or not Vergara is truly strapped for cash is still up for debate, but Chivas’ recent transfer history has shown it poorly handles the money it does have. Too often the club has splashed the cash, only to be left with nothing. One journalist even went to far as to say Chivas has become “a black hole into which talent is sucked and disappears.”
To make matters worse, two of Chivas’ most recent signings, Marco Fabian and Miguel Ponce, were players that had fallen into that black hole, and were then sent away. Both had shined in Mexico’s Gold Medal run at London 2012, but once they donned the red and white, they were shadows of the players they were hoped to be.
Those two, along with Isaac Brizuela and the unproven Erick “Cubo” Torres, are the singings that Chivas made in preparation for the relegation battle of all relegation battles. Not exactly the kind of cavalry one would hope to have in order to stave of the first relegation in the entire history of a club.
Having never been relegated is one of the last remaining points of pride for Chivas. It would be devastating to lose, but it may be just what Vergara needs in order to see the writing on the wall: Chivas de Guadalajara is a failing franchise.
Yes, Chivas’ 11 titles mean that the club is, historically, one of the most successful in Liga MX, but the majority of those title came over 40 years ago. Before the advent of Liguilla, Chivas won 8 titles between 1956 and 1970, but, for the mathematically challenged, they have only one 3 since. That’s three in 44 years, with only one since 1997.
In the same 44 year span, 15 other clubs have won a Liga MX title. 10 have matched or exceeded Chivas’ three, with América, Cruz Azul, Toluca, UNAM, Monterrey, Santos Laguna, and Pachuca all recording more.
The only thing that separates Chivas from the rest of the league are the heights from which it has fallen, but as long as it stays in the top flight Vergara has no real reason to make any drastic changes.
He knows that, as long as Chivas remains in the top flight, the clubs’ passionate fans will always tune in to watch their favorite club play on TV. Relegation would mean that the international TV coverage that Chivas depends on for revenue would be no more.
Vergara knows first division play means financial security for the club. Unless the club is relegated, he has no reason to invest more in it, or make sure that it is headed towards long-term success. The club has everything it needs for that future - fans, size, and money - but the Vergara has no reason to risk disrupting the cash cow he already has.
Hopefully, Chivas will be able to pull itself out of its downward spiral without relegation, but it seems that is as unlikely as avoiding relegation itself. If Chivas does go down, it will truly have hit rock bottom, but as all those who have failed know, the only way to go from there is up.
Vergara is a powerful man, and he got to where he is today partially because he only respects one thing: the bottom line. Let’s see what happens if and when his club goes under.
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