Diego Cocca will try to win as a coach what he could not as a player in the Pachuca vs Atlas match

Diego Cocca will try to win as a coach what he couldn't as a player in the Pachuca vs Atlas duel, as the Argentinean coach and his team have a score to settle with the team from Hidalgo.

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It has been 23 years since the rivalry between the Tuzos and Zorros began, and it did so precisely in a Liguilla: the Invierno of 1999, in which both teams clashed, seeking to reach the final of that year's Liga MX, in a duel that not only confronted both teams but also represented the clash between two strategists in their prime.

Diego Cocca is the only Atlas player left from that semi-final against Pachuca

There are wounds that do not close and after 23 years, Diego Cocca's wound is still open, as he is the only one left from Atlas, from that semifinal of the 1999 Winter Tournament, when both teams met on the field, looking for a ticket to the final of the tournament.

At that time, things were very different for both teams, starting with the coaches, since at that time Atlas was coached by Ricardo Antonio La Volpe, a coach who was revolutionizing Mexican soccer with his tactical scheme, which later became known as Lavolpismo.

This style of play is characterized by having as its basis ball possession, building from the goal and numerical superiority when defending, in addition to the famous five-man line, where the wingbacks serve to provide depth and narrow the field when retreating.

This coach would clash in that match with Javier "Vasco" Aguirre, a coach who had just saved Mallorca from relegation in La Liga, after a painful stint with Rayados de Monterrey. 

Aguirre's style in that semi-final is similar to the one he still practices today: a 4-3-3-3 formation (below), which becomes 4-5-1 when he does not have the ball. In addition, his teams usually have a 4-2-3-1 formation as a second variation, a practical style of play that seeks to generate circuits in which his teams keep possession of the ball.

And in the middle of these two giants, Diego Cocca, who at that time played as a central defender, had to face forwards of the stature of Alejandro Glaría, Pablo Hernán Gómez, who also had Cesáreo Victorino on the field. 

Pachuca was unstoppable and annihilated Atlas

In that semifinal, the Pachuca Tuzos won the first leg 2-0 at the Hidalgo Stadium with goals by Pablo Hernán Gómez, and in the second leg, the Atlas Zorros won 1-0 at the Jalisco Stadium, with a goal by Hugo Norberto Castillo, which was not enough to overcome the Tuzos, who went on to the Final. 

And in the final of the 1999 Invierno Tournament, Pachuca was crowned with a 2-3 aggregate score against Cruz Azul, thus sealing what would be the team's first championship in Liga MX, and initiating a tough rivalry with Atlas, in which Diego Coccam played, who this week will try to take revenge for that elimination in the next Liga MX final. 

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