Tigres UANL announced the departure of head coach Diego Cocca, terminating his contract with the club as he moves on to lead the Mexican national team.
Despite rumors that Cocca would continue working with Tigres through the end of the 2023 Clausura, and simply step away to head Nations League matches with El Tri in March, club president Mauricio Culebro emphasized his fan base deserves “full-time” attention.
“We have decided to terminate the working relationship with Diego Cocca as Technical Director of Club Tigres after knowing his decision to accept the coach position of the Mexican National Team. The institution will always be first, which is why today we will continue our project with the great squad we have assembled and side-by-side with the best fans in Mexico,” said Tigres in an official statement.
“Today, the club must look forward. We know we have full-time fans, and they deserve to have a full-time head coach, players and staff,” added Culebro.
Marco Antonio ‘Chima’ Ruiz will now take over as interim manager for the rest of the Clausura campaign. He served Tigres as a player from 1991 to 1998, before returning as an assistant coach upon retirement.
“’Chima’ is a man who knows the team inside out. He knows what it means to represent this club and has had different responsibilities in Tigres. Three former players widely identified with our values will be part of his team: Marcos Ayala, Hugo Ayala, Anselmo Vendrechovsky ‘Juninho.’ Juan Carlos Ortega will also join as a sports advisor,” said Culebro.
Tigres currently sit in third place of the Liga MX table, after a strong start to the tournament with 11 points in five games and a record of 3W-2L-0D. Chima will lead the team for the first time on Saturday when visiting Pumas at the Estadio Universitario.
“If anyone knows what it means to be a tigre, it is me. I want to thank Mauricio [Culebro] and Toño [Sancho] and I will do my best to achieve the goals the club has set. We must show great commitment and we will seek to get the team the highest it can, in all of the tournaments we are playing in,” concluded Chima.
Click Here to Read the Full Original Article at 90min EN…