Club Tijuana, manager Diego Cocca part ways

Club Tijuana and manager Diego Cocca have parted company, effective immediately. Cocca himself made the announcement via a press conference held at Estadio Caliente today. Said Rodríguez broke the news yesterday that the team had informed the players earlier and said that coach Franky Oviedo had been named interim manager through the end of the 2018 Apertura.

Cocca took over on December 8, 2017 for caretaker manager Diego Torres, who himself had taken the reins when Eduardo Coudet left just over a month before. Cocca leaves after compiling a record of 10 wins 11 draws and 10 losses. While he was able to take Xolos to the semifinals of the 2018 Clausura Liguilla, Cocca’s pragmatic, defensive style wasn’t the most exciting to watch in the best of times however with the club scoring just 10 goals in 14 games it became increasingly apparent that a change was warranted. Cocca’s contract was up in December but the sides agreed it was best to terminate it now.

With missing the Liguilla all but a mathematical certainty, Xolos will instead focus on the 2019 Clausura and rebuilding under a new manager. Dorados de Sinaloa manager Diego Maradona is a big favorite to take the job, although an announcement probably won’t be happen until after both clubs have finished their 2018 Apertura obligations.

While known for his illustrious playing career, Maradona has also had a decent managerial career. He has managed Racing Club and the Argentina National Team in addition to Al Wasi and Al Fujairah in the United Arab Emirates. Maradona took over at Dorados in September, and defeated Cocca when the teams played a friendly earlier this year.