Chivas fire Cardozo, name Coyote interim

Sunday's loss turned out to be the final nail in the coffin for Jose Cardozo's career as Chivas manager.

A 2-1 loss to Pumas on Sunday will be the last game in which Cardozo oversees the club, the Guadalajara outfit announced Sunday. 

"Club Deportivo Guadalajara informs that after an analysis of the showings by the club up to now in the Clausura 2019, the results are not going hand-in-hand with the goals set out at the start of the season and the footballing performance has noticeably dropped, which with the squad available doesn't correspond to the situation that had been projected for this stage of the national championship. Because of this, it makes known that as of today, Jose Cardozo is no longer the manager of the team," a club statement read.

"We thank Pepe for the effort, commitment and determination he put forward since he took over our squad and we wish success to him and his coaching staff in their future professional projects."

The last five matches saw Chivas take a significant dip in form, with the club losing four and drawing one. In that period, the club scored just one goal, were knocked out of the Copa MX by its biggest rival and fell out of the Liguilla zone. Chivas currently sit in 11th with five matches left to play and are four points away from the eighth and final Liguilla place.

It now will be Alberto Coyote's job to get the legendary Mexican club, which prides itself on playing only Mexican players, into the playoffs. Coyote spent nearly a decade as a Chivas midfielder and recently has coached the Chivas youth teams and lower-division club Irapuato.

Cardozo took over for Matias Almeyda, who led Chivas to titles in the league, cup and Concacaf Champions League but clashed often with club directors about the lack of investment in the squad. Cardozo ran into many of the same issues, taking a team that struggled in Liga MX play to the Club World Cup and finishing sixth - the worst-ever positioning for a Mexican team.

This winter saw the club bring in a number of reinforcements, with defender Hiram Mier, midfielder Jesus Molina and forward Alexis Vega among the Liga MX veterans who arrived. After a bright start, though, the club has fallen into a slump with Alan Pulido leading the team with three goals in league play after 12 weeks.

Cardozo becomes the eighth manager who has parted ways with his club during the Clausura in the 18-team league.