What did Chivas’ coach say after qualifying for the Liga MX final?

The Serbian Veljko Paunovic Solarov, coach of Chivas del Guadalajara of Mexican soccer, said that the work of the Spanish Fernando Hierro, the team’s sports director, was a transcendental piece to reach the Clausura final.

“Fernando Hierro is a great manager. He has a huge heart, he is a highly experienced professional who has been key to the success of this team. He has guided us to be in this final, ”said the coach after his team’s victory (1-3) against América that allowed him to advance to the final of the tournament in which Tigres UANL will be measured.

Hierro, a former Real Madrid player and former Spanish coach, came to the sports management of Chivas at the end of last year and brought Paunovic to the Guadalajara bench.

Chivas prevailed with a total score of 3-2 in the semifinal, after losing 0-1 in the first leg last Thursday.

In this Sunday’s game played at the Azteca Stadium, Guadalajara took the lead with a goal from Ronaldo Cisneros. In the second half, the team tied with a goal from Chilean Diego Valdés. Chivas made it 1-2 through Alan Mozo and Jesús Orozco made it 1-3.

América ended with 10 players due to the expulsion of the Spanish Álvaro Fidalgo. The Serbian coach explained what was the key for his team to beat the Eagles in the Mexican soccer derby.

“It was not a matter of tactics; today we played with heart, intelligence and balls, that’s why we prevailed. I saw that I am capable of inspiring a great team to bring out its best talent, although we still need the last step, the biggest one”, he assured.

The strategist also congratulated the rival for the duel offered by both teams to the fans.

“I congratulate América because they were a very tough opponent. Today we write a part of history with such an exciting match. The most important thing is that my team showed tremendous character, ”he stressed.

The Clausura 2023 is the first tournament that the Vojvodina-born coach directs in Mexican soccer. In his experience, it stands out that he was champion in charge of the under-15 team of his country in the World Cup in New Zealand 2015.

Paunovic has also been on the bench for the Chicago Fire of Major League Soccer in the United States and the Reading Football Club of the Championship in England.

With information from EFE.