After a winless first five games in Chivas' post-Johan Cruyff era, 22-year-old midfield Jorge Enriquez could only bring out one of those classic soccer cliches in Monday's press conference.
"The tournament is very long and we should focus on what’s coming up," churned out the Olympic gold medal winner.
Enriquez is not wrong. Positive-minded Chivas fans will note that there are 36 points still to play for and their team is only one win off potentially moving into a playoff position. They could add that the team has only lost once so far this season, despite injuries and suspensions to key players and the hiring of coach Benjamin Galindo on the eve of the new season.
On the other side of things, Chivas is a team struggling for confidence. The last really good result Guadalajara obtained was back in October, a 3-1 victory in the Estadio Azteca against bitter rivals America. Since then, it has won only against relegation-strugglers Atlas and Queretaro in league play.
The low confidence has manifested itself in individual errors that have plagued the team this season. Two weekends ago, it was Kristian Alvarez getting sent off with over 30 minutes to go against Morelia. Last weekend, it was Miguel Basulto being turned inside out for lowly San Luis' equalizer in the Estadio Omnilife. In the first round of games, experienced striker Miguel Sabah lashed out in the final minutes of the game, earning himself a red card and a needless suspension.
To be fair to coach Galindo, the way he arrived at the club was hardly ideal, with the players undergoing a full preseason under Dutchman John Van't Schip. A bedding-in period was always likely to occur as the team adapts to the new coach. But one thing that can no longer be said is that the patchy form is due to a talented, adolescent team experiencing natural growing pains. Chivas has been transformed in the last 12 months, with Rafael Marquez Lugo, Sabah, Luis Perez, Adrian Cortes and Sergio Perez all having been brought in. The average age of the team that faced San Luis was 27.5 years and five of the eleven starters were over 30 years. They are the type of players that should know failing to win home games against San Luis is inexcusable for a club like Chivas, especially in front of a good crowd of 25,000.
Perhaps generally more worrying for Chivas is that in vintage periods, they provided the players that formed the backbone of the Mexican national team. The Mexicans-only club not only produced players in the youth system, but would also dip into the transfer market to buy other national team players from other clubs.
For Wednesday's World Cup qualifier against Jamaica, Marco Fabian is the only current Chivas player in the squad and even he is unlikely to start the game, while Club America, famous for splashing the cash, has a total of four players in the squad. That isn't something Chivas fans like to see, especially when Las Aguilas are flying high in third position in the Liga MX having scored 12 goals in their five games.
The gap between Mexico's biggest two clubs is wide in terms of points and, at this stage, it is a concern for Chivas. As Galindo has admitted, the lack of a real fightback in the San Luis game after the visitors equalized was not good.
But while logic suggests that Chivas have shown in periods that they will get themselves together sooner or later, next weekend's trip to Monterrey is unlikely to provide the Rebano Sagrado with any rest. After that comes the trip to a rejuvenated Puebla, followed by a home game against Leon.
If the club is without a win after those three games, alarm bells will really start to ring.
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