Getting to manage one of the biggest teams in Latin American soccer is a privilege afforded to few people, and it looks like one of those people is on his way out of that exclusive club. Ricardo La Volpe, Club América’s current boss, is in the hot seat after an unfortunately weird week that saw him get a red card during El Súper Clásico for tripping a Chivas player, an act that sees him banned for one game as punishment. Now, reports are emerging that the club is not only looking to replace La Volpe, but they also have his replacement in mind.
La Volpe’s woes started in the 74th minute of El Súper Clásico, Mexico’s biggest soccer rivalry: for some reason, the América manager not only stepped onto the field proper (already a no-no), but he deemed it wise to tackle Chivas’s Jesús Sánchez to prevent a counterattack:
Sure, Sánchez was running with the ball after play had been whistled dead due to a foul, but it is never a good idea for a manager to get involved in play in any way. Due to his momentary brain-fart, América had to play without their manager for 15 minutes, and their discombobulation was evident as they failed to grab an equalizer in a 1-0 loss that propelled their rivals to second place on the Liga MX table.
The hits kept on coming on Tuesday morning, as ESPN’s John Sutcliffe reported that La Volpe would be leaving the club shortly, and that his replacement would be Víctor Manuel Vucetich, also known in soccer circles as King Midas. Frankly, losing to a rival during a trying season would be enough to get anyone thrown to the wolves, but given La Volpe’s comical action on Saturday night, it’s almost the logical choice to move on from the Argentinian. La Volpe should be no stranger to getting fired from a Súper Clásico team, though: Chivas relived him of his duties in 2014 due to alleged misconduct around a female employee of the club.
No news yet as to when this change would occur, but it seems likely that the most successful club in Mexican soccer history will enter the Apertura 2017 season with a new boss.