Tijuana Xolos part ways with manager Ricardo Valiño
This Saturday, Feb. 4, 2023, the Tijuana Xolos officially announced that the club and the now-former manager Ricardo Valiño had parted ways. Club Tijuana made the announcement via a press release on all social platforms, stating that Valiño had left the club.
The Argentine manager was only in charge of the Xoloitzcuintles for 22 games where he held an uninspiring record of four wins, nine losses, and nine draws.
The border city club was currently on a dismal 13-game winless streak under Valiño, dating back to last season. The Xolos were winless in this Clausura 2023 Liga MX season with one loss and four draws from five games played.
The final straw for Club Tijuana’s front office was a 1-1 away result against Necaxa. Xolos continued with their usual road struggles this season but also failed to capitalize on their home advantage in three home games.
Under Valiño, the Aztec Canines had the third-worst home record last season, which heavily contributed to the team’s downfall. The border city team finished in 15th place last season with only 17 points from 17 games played.
The appointment of Valiño was a bit puzzling to begin with as the Argentine manager did not enjoy success in his former Liga MX projects. The former Xolos manager almost sent Puebla to relegation a few seasons ago and was clearly not the best fit for Tijuana.
The Tijuana Xolos have had a serious problem maintaining a managerial project over the past few seasons. It has been nearly four years since the border city team has made the Liga MX playoffs, last appearing in the liguilla in the Clausura 2019 season.
Oscar Pareja was the last manager to get the Xoloitzcuintles to the playoffs as five managers after him have failed to achieve that goal. Club Tijuana has failed to even make a 12-team playoff system since its inception as the team is in dire need of leadership.
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There is potential on this Xolos side, especially with the recent signing of Lucas Cavallini. There is plenty of offensive prowess, which Valiño failed to take full advantage of with just three goals in five games this season.
There are currently no closely linked names to fill in for Ricardo Valiño, but there are some big names available like Miguel Herrera. It will be interesting to see which direction Xolos takes its project and if that new project can have a prolonged stay in the border city.
With relegation coming back into the Liga MX soon, the Aztec Canines must start worrying, currently in penultimate place on the relegation table.
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.