Atlas New Manager: Who is Diego Cocca
After a dreadful campaign under Rafa Puente, Atlas announced the appointment of Diego Cocca as Los Zorros’ new leader a few days after dismissing Puente. La Fiel is no stranger to Cocca, who defended Atlas’s colors as a defender from 99-02. Cocca comes to Atlas after the expiration of his contract with Rosario Central in his native Argentina. Cocca was able to becalm Rosario and had moved them to 9th on the table, having taking over when the team was in the relegation zone. This became a moot point as the Argentinian league suspended relegation for two years due to the COVID pandemic.
Cocca has vast coaching experience, having coached six teams in Argentina, two in Mexico, and a brief stint in Colombia. His preferred formation is the 4-4-2 double six, but he’s been know to use the 4-3-3 attacking and defending formations and the 4-2-3-1. Atlas fans will hope he can transform the team like he did Racing in his first stint with the club where he won the Argentina League. In his first go-around with Racing, he coached 62 games winning 36, drawing 13, and losing 13, with a PPM of 1.95, his team scoring 93 goals and only receiving 52.
Cocca’s overall PPM in 257 games is 1.46, which is a vast improvement to Puente’s 1.05 career PPM and .57 PPm while in charge of Atlas. Cocca has gotten a reputation as a transitional coach who gets brought in to secure teams in relegation danger, then moves on to the next challenge. Will Cocca be able to stabilize La Academia and get them back to the top of the table, or will he be another in a long list of failed attempts to bring stabilization and consistency to the team?
