Javier Torrente returns to Mexico to coach Monarcas Morelia

Argentine manager Javier Torrente has been named Monarcas Morelia’s new coach for the Clausura 2019 season.

Torrente, a former Marcelo Bielsa assistant from 1996-2004 and then again from 2014-15, comes back to Mexico after having coached Club Leon from August 2016 - August 2017. He most recently coached Chile’s Club Deportivo Everton, another club under the Grupo Pachuca umbrella like Leon, from June-December 2018.

During his time with Los Panzas Verdes, Torrente was famously known for his “lucky” blue button-up shirt that he wore on the sidelines as he led Leon to a 10-match undefeated streak in his first 10 games and made it all the way to the Liga MX semifinals in his debut season.

Eventually, his luck ran out and he was gone from Leon a year later after failing to reach the liguilla in the 2017 Clausura.

His best managerial success comes from the Paraguayan league, where Torrente managed teams to a runners-up medal four times, twice with Cerro Porteño and twice with Libertad.

He replaces Roberto Hernandez, who was let go after Morelia became the first team to lose to Queretaro in the 2019 Clausura on Feb. 23. Morelia have just four points in the league with a record of 1-1-6.

Hernandez, a former Morelia player and caretaker manager, got the job full-time in 2017 after saving Morelia from the brink of relegation and then led Monarcas to three liguilla berths over the next four seasons.

In the league, Morelia faces Club America next on March 1 and will take on Tijuana in the Copa MX quarterfinals on March 12.

Will Torrente get another streak of good luck with Morelia? Was it right for Monarcas to let go of Roberto Hernandez? Let us know in the comments below!

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