Deportivo Cali walks towards self-destruction… (Opinion, Ascencio's tournament)

Yes in the Deportivo Cali If they agreed to destroy the team and the institution, it would surely not turn out as well as what is happening now: a club drowning in debt, with liabilities that exceed 100,000 million pesos and with a sporting present that makes the possibility of descending is increasingly closer.

Let's talk first about the ball: a team sunk in football, in which the managers removed the coach, Jaime de la Pavaand they still have not named a replacement in ownership despite the fact that the B is breathing down their necks.

Of the last 24 points, they have only added two, and only the self-esteem of some of the leaders has kept the team from being lower in the two tables. At least the classic against América, on Friday, they faced it with great dignity and managed to save a point with a great goal from Fabian Castillo.

And here comes the second point: that classic could have ended very badly, and because of many 'fans' who don't seem to have more than half a brain and believe that by ending things with blows, throwing objects or invading the field they can fix the problem. Cali problem.

A Wilmar Roldan More calm than usual, he decided to continue the game despite everything that happened. On other occasions he was much more radical. The club comes from sanction to sanction because of these violent events (they had already taken the field the day they lost against Patriotas, a direct rival in relegation) and this time they got it very, very cheap. For much less, Patriotas lost the game against Pereira 3-0. These guys do seem like they did things wrong on purpose.

This week there was a members' meeting, the third attempt after the first two failed due to lack of quorum. And instead of seeking a solution to an increasingly deepening crisis, the issue remains in minutiae. It was proposed to pay an extraordinary fee to hire a top technical director and the issue did not prosper.

And what they did end up approving was one to pay for a forensic audit in order to determine those responsible for the club's financial collapse today. There will be a new assembly on April 27 and to get people to go, Humberto Arias Jr., who has just joined the meeting, proposed to raffle off a stadium suite among those who attend…

The risk of relegation, which seemed to be eliminated if the category was saved this year, will return in 2025, as things are going, because the savings for 2023 are running out. But today the issue is serious. If they lose to Jaguares on Tuesday, Cali will be in the red zone for the first time this year. Deportivo Cali is on a very accelerated path to self-destruction if it does not act soon and intelligently.

JOSÉ ORLANDO ASCENCIO

SPORTS Deputy Editor

@jOSASC

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