Notes from the Western Frontera - June 9

Preseason started on Friday for Tijuana. Manager Diego Cocca hinted at things to come for Xolos in an interview transcript sent out via press release. “We will have a preseason very similar to last season,” Cocca said. “We know each other well. We have three new players and we will surely have more into the group. The idea is the same and we have great expectations for this season.”

Moves

With the Liga MX “draft” held earlier this week, we saw rumored moves become official. Xolos acquired both Luis Fuentes and Erick “Cubo” Torres from Pumas.

Fuentes is a left back, which means he’ll be competing with Damián Pérez for minutes. Pérez was a critical component of the Xolos defense that was among the best in Liga MX in the 2018 Clausura, so the competition should be fierce. Cubo Torres on the other hand is on his fifth or sixth second chance, and should be considered cover in the event Gustavo “Pantera” Bou, Juan Lucero, and José Alberto “Beto” García are all injured or suspended.

Xolos also picked up Argentine center back Julián Velázquez from Cruz Azul. Having come up through the Boca Juniors youth system and getting experience in Romania and Croatia before joining Cruz Azul, Velázquez will be relied on to help fill the hole left by the departure of Pablo Aguilar.

Xolos also announced they made right back Omar Mendoza’s move permanent. The right back had been on loan from Cruz Azul last season and had cemented himself into Cocca’s lineup.

With all of those arrivals, there were also moves made to make room for the new players. The rumored moves of Juan Iturbe and Ignacio “Nacho” Malcorra to Pumas happened. Iturbe never panned out for Xolos prior to suffering a knee injury during the Clausura, while Nacho seemed to fall out of favor with Cocca during the Clausura.

Right winger Luis “Quick” Mendoza was sent to Toluca. Mendoza showed glimpses of brilliance for Xolos, however even with the injury to Iturbe he couldn’t seem to take the starting position as his own.

Long-time Xolos defender Michael Orozco was also moved, heading to Puebla to join Lobos BUAP. Orozco had been with the club since transferring from Chiapas in 2015.

Rumors

With actual moves being made, the rumors were scant this week. They’re sure to fire up before the start of the 2018 Apertura though and we’ll be keeping an eye out for them.

Xolos Femenil

Another quiet week for Xolos Femenil. With the new season starting July 13, news should start coming out as well.

Copa MX

The groupings of the 2018 Copa MX Apertura were released on Tuesday, and Xolos will be in the same group with Toluca and FC Juárez.