After a convulsive day at Deportivo Cali, coach Máyer Candelo will continue in office and the same will happen with the president of the institution, Luis Fernando Mena.
This was determined this Monday night after a prolonged meeting of the Executive Committee at the administrative headquarters of the sugar team.
Before that meeting, President Mena had expressed his individual support for Candelo, despite the fact that the coach has not won a single match he has faced in the League.
“I had made a decision, but today I change it and fully support Máyer Candelo as Cali coach,” Mena said at a press conference prior to the Executive Committee meeting on Monday night.
At the appointment with the media, Mena arrived with the resignation letter in hand and although he did not make his resignation public, he told El País that he felt exhausted and wanted to step aside if he was the problem.
“They have threatened me, they have messed with my family and that is why I could not bear the insults they made to me on Sunday night at the stadium at the end of the match with Bucaramanga (1-1),” said Mena, visibly affected by the situation.
The top head of the ‘sugar’ institution admitted that he sat down with Jaime de la Pava to offer him the technical direction, and said, immediately afterwards, that he had committed a flippancy.
For Mena, Candelo should continue to be the coach of Deportivo Cali, thinking of a future project with the youth squad, who “are the club’s safe deposit box.”
Simultaneously, Gabriel Robayo, a member of the Executive Committee and who is said to disrupt the team internally, arrived at the Vásquez Cobo headquarters with his letter of resignation.
“They point out to me that I am the one that generates divisions in the team and I don’t have that much power,” said Robayo, who declared himself in favor of Máyer Candelo continuing.
In that same sense, Hárold Losada, another of the members of the committee, declared that it is best that Máyer continue to lead the team.
Since he arrived at the bench in Cali, Candelo has led 10 matches, of which he has tied five and lost five, thus adding five points that have Cali at the bottom of the standings.
Today, in addition to the 95 billion pesos that Cali has indebtedness, what most worries the “sugar” fans is the sports crisis that as of 2023 could leave the Verdiblanca institution on the verge of relegation.
At the press conference, Mena acknowledged that there have been conflicts between Candelo and captain Teófilo Gutiérrez, a situation that has worsened the internal crisis of the squad.
“There are no children here, nor is this a kindergarten, Máyer and Teófilo must respect each other and shake hands to guide the team on its course,” said the ‘sugar’ president.
Likewise, Mena announced, without giving details, that he is managing the arrival of new resources that could significantly alleviate the financial deficit.
Thus the things, president and technician will continue in their positions, after a day in which both were practically out.
