Tijuana Xolos: Diego Braghieri Named First Signing Ahead Of 2019 Clausura
Credit: Xolos
On Friday, Dec. 21, 2018, the Tijuana Xolos officially announced the signing of 31-year-old centre-back Diego Braghieri, who last played with Colombian club Atletico Nacional.
The Argentine defender has had a decorated career that started back in 2007 with Rosario Central in his native country.
Braghieri played with Rosario Central up until 2011 before joining Lanus for the first time and then Arsenal de Sarandi in 2012. At Arsenal, the Santa Fe native won a Supercopa Argentina and a Copa Argentina title before rejoining Lanus in 2014.
The South American centre-back had a successful second stint with Lanus as he won three total titles, including an Argentine first division championship. Braghieri then moved to Colombia to play with Atletico Nacional this past year and he added a Copa Colombia title to his list of accolades.
The 31-year-old has a plethora of experience to offer to Xolos’ backline that struggled throughout the 2018 Apertura with inconsistencies. Julian Velazquez proved to be a solid centre-back, but both veteran Juan Carlos Valenzuela and youngster Gustavo Canto proved to be highly inconsistent players throughout the campaign. Valenzuela started to show his age at 34 years old, while Canto showed his inexperience, making the jump to the Liga MX from the Argentine second division.
Our first offseason signing is Diego Braghieri. Welcome to Tijuana.
📝 https://t.co/YirnKadClq #GoXolos #WeAreSoccer #ligamxeng pic.twitter.com/s85tnlzHjC— Xolos (@xolos_en) December 21, 2018
Braghieri stands in at 6-foot-2 with a very good physical presence that should make him a solid addition. The Xolos still need to make more signings to improve next season, but this is a good stepping stone to initiate a new process with new manager Oscar Pareja.
It is very clear that the Xolos need a new striker and it will be interesting to see who Pareja and the front office bring in to address that issue. The Aztec Canines continue their preseason games as they defeated affiliate team Dorados de Sinaloa by a ludicrous 8-0 scoreline in Mazatlan, Sinaloa this Friday.
Francisco, 26, Chula Vista/Tijuana. I have been a Padres fan all my life, did most of the series previews and recaps in the Padres’ 2016 season for EVT. Now I focus more on the local soccer scene. Tijuana Xolos, San Diego Loyal, San Diego Wave.