Atlas Packs Estadio Jalisco with Nearly 48,000 Fans for Anniversary, a Sign of a Club on the Rise

Just two months ago, talk of a sellout crowd at Estadio Jalisco sounded like little more than a fantasy. Today, with 47,593 fans packed in to celebrate the club's 110th anniversary, that fantasy has become the second best attendance mark in all of Liga MX this season. Something has shifted at Atlas, and while it didn't happen overnight, it did happen in a surprisingly short span of time.

The group behind that turnaround is Grupo PRODI, which just marked its first 60 days in charge of the Rojinegro institution under the leadership of Jose Miguel Bejos. It's still early to draw firm conclusions, but the club's opening moves already point clearly to where this project is headed.

A transfer window unlike any other

With Andoni Zubizarreta running the sporting department, Atlas dared to do something almost no Mexican club attempts: look seriously toward Europe. That's how Duk arrived, coming over from Spain's Alaves despite holding Cape Verdean nationality, along with Luis Esteves, who left Portugal's Gil Vicente to become the most expensive signing in the club's history. Morocco's Ryan Mmaee joined them as well, a player who finished last season among the top ten in the Golden Boot race and arrived from Omonia Nicosia.

The South American market wasn't ignored either. Florian Monzon bolstered the attack and has already racked up three goals in six matches, a more than solid start. There was also a move rarely seen in Mexican soccer: the front office terminated Gustavo Ferrareis's contract to free up a foreign roster spot so it could register Argentine defender Adonis Frias. That's no small detail. It shows a management group willing to shuffle uncomfortable pieces in order to strengthen the roster.

The fanbase believes again

The excitement was building even before the tournament kicked off. Preseason season ticket sales topped 15,000, a club record, and the promotion bundling next season's jersey sold out ahead of schedule. The result? An Estadio Jalisco with the lower bowl far fuller than it had been in recent tournaments.

The home debut against Rayados, which also marked Hernan Crespo's first game in charge, drew 46,460 fans. Then came the anniversary celebration against Tigres, with those 47,593 in attendance, and later, against Queretaro, another 37,141 Rojinegros filled the stands as part of a promotion that also included the Clasico Tapatio against Chivas.

The blow nobody saw coming

Not everything went smoothly. Just five days before the season opener against Leon, Diego Cocca stepped down as head coach, the same manager who guided Atlas to the historic 2021-2022 back-to-back titles and who, in his second stint, had brought the team back to the Liguilla after three years away from it. The exit came as a shock given Cocca's winning history with the club.

Zubizarreta moved quickly and convinced Hernan Crespo, a coach with titles at Defensa y Justicia and Sao Paulo and experience in Asian soccer, to take over. Crespo, however, had to wait: personal matters kept him from coaching the first two matchdays, and when he finally made his debut against Rayados, the start was rough. Atlas also fell to Columbus Crew and Charlotte FC in the Leagues Cup.

That's when the response came. Atlas reeled off three straight wins against FC Cincinnati, Tigres and Cruz Azul, and after six matchdays of the Apertura 2026 sits in sixth place with 12 points. A start marked by uncertainty that is, little by little, starting to show signs that the project is taking shape.