Diego Cocca is an Atlas legend at this point. The manager brought the team a title after 70 plus years, and then he followed that up with another title the next tournament. Even though both championships were controversial we can’t deny the fact that the team played well in both tournaments. They were strong defensively, and featured tough central midfielders, with an inspired Quinones up top, and Julio Furch providing his usual goal tally.
Overall it was a simple team, they played hard on defense, and provided long balls to Quinones, and Furch. This tournament though, it seems like Diego Cocca’s magic has run out. What in the world happened to the two time champion Atlas? In their last game they almost gifted the 3 points to San Luis. At this point in the tournament it’s looking like they don’t even want to be part of the playoffs. That may very well be the case. Can they come back next year though, and compete for another title?
The Tried & True Formula Doesn’t Seem To Be Working Anymore
Atlas won two championships with a very simple play style, which we’ve mentioned. It just hasn’t been as effective anymore, but that may have more to do with the fact that they’ve had to deal with injuries all year. Primarily it has been Julio Furch that has missed time. It just seems like the guys that they’ve brought in to replace him have not been as effective. That could be because neither Jeremy Marquez nor Ocejo are true number 9 materials. They brought in Edison Flores, but he’s played more on the wing. In a sense the team tried to get more dynamic, and be just as vertical as they were before. There are a couple of things that messed that up for them.
For one they haven’t been as solid in the back. Diego Cocca has been messing with his back line the whole year. Granted a lot of times this has been due to injuries. In the middle Aldo Rocha got hurt, and he was showing his age to begin with. He played a key role on the championship teams, but he’s a limited player across the board. He’s been a true defensive midfielder throughout his whole career. When you lose a step or injuries start piling you’re usually in big trouble at that spot. Actually there’s an argument to be made that they haven’t been able to apply their tried and true formula throughout the whole year due to injuries. In trying to be more dynamic the team has lost its solid defense, and midfield presence. Without Furch in the lineup they haven’t found the true number 9.
Where Could The Team Get Better?
They’ve had to play some very young guys in their central midfield thanks to aforementioned injuries. That’s where they could get better for sure, again Aldo Rocha is a very limited player to begin with. However, he got a ton of balls back for the team, and was able to quickly distribute. At this point though the team needs to decide if they want to play with their usual solid 2 back lines ,and send long balls to Furch and Quinones as their main style or if they want to be more dynamic. Maybe they could go to a 4-3-3 scheme. That’s going to add another player up front, but could mean you’ll become a less solid team defensively. That’s pretty much what’s happened. They haven’t been able to transition to a more offensive style of play. At this point can they turn back? Diego Cocca is not going to get sacked after this season. Another bad season at Atlas though, and he could be looking for a job a year removed from back to back championships!
