Who is Veljko Paunovic, Chivas technical director?: Performance and career

After confirmation of the arrival of Fernando Hierro to the sports director Chivas, the movements within his management began; The first of these was the nomination of Veljko Paunovic as the team’s new coach.

The Serbian, naturalized Spanish, was the bet of the director of the Guadalajaraconsidering that with his experience in other leagues he can contribute new ideas to both the rojiblanco team and Mexican football.

Paunovic’s arrival at Chivas raised a series of doubts as he had not coached in Mexico, but he broke those myths and qualified the team for the league in third place with 34 points.

Pauno achieved an important record that silenced the football community alongside powerful players such as Rayados de Monterrey, América and Toluca.

In GOAL We present you the profile of the Chivas strategist:

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WHO IS VELJKO PAUNOVIC?

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Veljko Paunovic 45 years old, he was a professional football player since 1994, where he made his debut with Partizan Belgrade and retired in 2011 in the ranks of Union of Philadelphia. He served as a striker and had an outstanding career in Spanish football with clubs such as Mallorca, Atlético de Madrid, Oviedo, Tenerife, Getafe and Almería. In that country he won the Copa del Rey and the Spanish Super Cup.

Years after his retirement he started as a coach in youth teams of Serbian and he had the opportunity to lead that country’s national team in the 2015 Under 20 World Cup, which he won by beating Brazil in the final.

That same year, he got the chance to reach the MLS with the Fire in Chicagoa club where he was until 2019 and where he was chosen in 2017 to lead that league’s star team to Real Madrid.

Finally the last experience of Veljko Paunovic as a coach he was with Reading of the English second division between 2020 and 2022. The numbers were not favorable to him and he left the institution with just over 41% effectiveness.

HOW HAS CHIVAS BEEN?

Since taking charge of Chivas, Veljko Paunovic got the chance to travel with the team to Spain in the pre-season for friendlies against Getafe And athletics club. Against Getafe el Rebaño took the 0-1 win; in the game against Athletic they went down 0–2.

Prior to the start of the Clausura 2023, Chivas had an excellent participation in the 2022 Sky Cup, taking four wins in a row in their matches against Tigres, Santos, Atlas and Mazatlán to advance to the final losing to Cruz Azul .

At the end of the regular phase of the tournament, Pauno posted enviable numbers where he finished third with 34 points, the product of 10 wins, four draws and three losses. El Rebaño managed to beat Víctor Manuel Vucetich’s Rayados.