Tijuana Xolos: Diego Cocca Confirms Departure From Club Tijuana
Credit: EVT Sports
Tijuana, Mexico
This Tuesday, October 30, 2018, the Tijuana Xolos held a press conference in which manager Diego Cocca announced his departure from the club. The new interim manager, which is set to be Frankie Oviedo, was not officially presented, as Cocca just gave his final statement before leaving Club Tijuana.
Cocca said, “We talked to the front office and we discussed whether they were convinced in a long-term project because our contract ends in December and the front office was not convinced. We talked and came to an agreement that these last three games were not very important and would better serve for the front office to find a new manager and for us to find a new project.”
The Argentine manager had a decent run with the Aztec Canines as he led Club Tijuana to the semifinals of the 2018 Clausura season. The Xolos are currently in 14th place with 16 points and are coming off a 1-0 loss to Pumas UNAM that extinguished the Border City Dogs chances of making the playoffs. The performance this season ultimately led to Diego Cocca’s departure from the Xoloitzcuintles after an impressive debut season.
Cocca did say that he “appreciates” his time with Club Tijuana and ended his conference by thanking the press and saying “Hopefully, God Willing, we will see each other again on some other field.”
The Argentine manager found success with his second club in Mexico, Club Tijuana, after a rough spell with Santos Laguna back in 2011. There are teams that could be looking for managers in the Liga MX after this season, like Veracruz, Atlas, and Necaxa. There could also be possibilities for Cocca in his native Argentina as he won a league title with Racing Club back in 2014.
Diego Cocca confirms his departure from @xolos_en. #Xolos #LigaMXeng pic.twitter.com/ZWx8ic0jNi
— Francisco Velasco (@FranciscoEfV) October 30, 2018
Cocca lasted 364 days with the Xoloitzcuintles and now the team prepares to start a new era with Frankie Oviedo as the interim manager. Oviedo is set to be officially presented this Wednesday and will likely only round out the season before the Xolos explore other options.
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.