2023 has meant something transcendental for Club Deportivo Guadalajara: taking a firm step forward in its rebuilding process in multiple aspects and on different fronts.
Is it a coincidence that today ALL Chivas categories are fighting at the top? Not at all. It is part of a process. It was hard work yesterday, it is hard work today and it will continue to be hard work tomorrow and the next day as well.
And it's not a matter of throwing caution to the wind or claiming victory in advance, NO, it's more about realizing where we stand after each and every one of the efforts invested in different areas so that the Red and White Nation can be excited again by the performance of all representatives of El Rebaño Sagrado, as its history and tradition dictate.
In the men's division, the 2023 Clausura Tournament has been one of total reinvention for Guadalajara. Amaury Vergara entrusted Fernando Hierro with the mission of getting Chivas to make a leap in quality, in structure, methodology and results, so that the sports project can move forward and move towards success.
"Without the growth of the youth academy divisions and their coaches who help in the formation of players, it will be impossible to grow in everything else", words of Hierro, which in fact have been one of the most emphasized canons under his guidance.
El Tapatío, which has had its best regular season in the Expansion League, is in the Semifinals and is thus the first affiliate in the silver circuit to reach this stage. Los Chiveríos U20 and U18 teams are also in the run-up to the Grand Final; the former were super leaders for a large part of the season, while the U18s closed strong and beat the leaders in the Quarterfinals. What does this mean? Well, Chivas is the only club with representation in all 3 categories so far in the play-offs.
Now the First Team... Under Veljko Paunovic, Guadalajara has achieved its best campaign in years, it has equaled its best regular season record in the history of short tournaments with 34 points, 10 wins and 28 goals scored, which has earned the team a direct pass to La Liguilla for the first time since the reinstatement of the WildCard stage in 2020.
Beyond the sporting results, Las Chivas de 'Pauno' have achieved something invaluable in a very short time: to assume and demonstrate an identity as a team, to strive for an attractive style of play and to establish a solid and vibrant connection with the entire Red & White Nation.
On another front within the club, and with the special mention they always deserve, our Chingonas continue as permanent protagonists and entertainers of the Liga MX Femenil. With a ticket to La Liguilla already assured and depending on their own efforts to finish the regular seaosn at the top with one match remaining, Chivas Femenil is looking to repeat the semester as the top one in the standings and thus be the team that has scored the most points in the current soccer year.
Under the management of Nelly Simón and the leadership of Juan Pablo Alfaro on the bench, Chivas Femenil aspires to emulate last year's feats, when it won both the League and Campeón de Campeones titles.
In the younger categories, El Rebaño Femenil U-18 is also about to compete in the play-offs after not dropping below second place in its group or the Top 4 of the league standings during the entire season. In addition, as part of the commitment to promote the constant development of the Liga MX Femenil, the first edition of the Chivas U-15 Women's Tournament has just recently concluded and the final was played at the Akron Stadium as a preliminary to the First Division match against las Tuzas.
What's left to do? Continue believing in the process. Keep working with the same conviction that has been seen throughout the club so that today we can be talking about what any Chivas fan wants and deserves: their team fighting at the top and thrilling all their fans with firm steps forward on the road to success.
To do this, TOGETHER, club and fans, a representation of the unbreakable Mexican spirit and that there is no power that can stop us as long as we are united, humble and working as a team, we must continue to look forward, aware that nothing has been won yet, but certain that the progress of the process inspires us to go for way much more.
