Torrent in Rayados: For the unknown desire to be a champion

Domenec Torrent knows what it's like to celebrate major titles in football. He won 22 between 2009 and 2018 with clubs such as Barcelona, Bayern Munich, and Manchester City, but none with the pride of being the head coach. He served as Pep Guardiola's assistant in all of them.

Now 62, the Girona, Spain native will try to experience that feeling with Monterrey, the Liga MX team that offered him a contract for the next 12 months and is the only team still in contention in the current FIFA Club World Cup.

In this competition, Monterrey ranks 20th out of 32 in terms of most expensive squads, according to Transfermarkt, with 71.5 million euros, making it the seventh most expensive in Latin America.

"Being a champion. More than the main challenge, I'd say that's the only challenge he has at Rayados above all else," says Diego Armando Medina, a TUDN journalist and Monterrey correspondent for the Club World Cup, to El Economista .

“He can play well and have a great system, but, as he himself said in his presentation, Monterrey needs to be a champion. Period. Whether he plays poorly, well, or so-so, he's coming to be a champion. If he doesn't, everything else becomes secondary. That's how overwhelming the need and pressure are on Rayados.”

This Wednesday, Domenec Torrent will play just his third match in charge of Monterrey, seeking a place in the round of 16 against Urawa Red Diamonds, a Japanese team that has already been eliminated and is hoping to avoid the bottom of Group E.

But beyond Torrent's team achieving victory and continuing in the fight for the Club World Cup, their real objective is to break a six-year drought in Liga MX .

"The Club World Cup is a new competition, and although he and his coaching staff have taken on the challenge, the training time is very limited and the opponents are very demanding, like Inter, River Plate, and Urawa itself (...) I think the important thing about this tournament will be to see what level Rayados will reach. The important thing will be the reflections the team makes, for example, in terms of defensive line management, if they can define a center midfielder and a center forward, and also the role of Sergio Canales. That way, the team can win and then, in Liga MX, have a better assessment of how it develops," adds Gabriel Peraza, a South American journalist, analyst, and project manager at 'La Pizarra del DT'.

Instantly into the ring

Torrent was introduced as Monterrey's coach on May 26. His contract is for one year, until June 2026, during which time he will have to manage five competitions if he is not dismissed: the 2025 Club World Cup, the 2025 Apertura, the 2025 Leagues Cup, the 2026 Clausura, and the 2026 Concacaf Champions Cup.

After just 23 days in charge, he made his debut against none other than Inter Milan on the opening day of the Club World Cup.

His introduction was met with applause, as he managed to draw 1-1 against the current Champions League runners-up. He then drew 0-0 against River Plate, calming criticism of the defense, which had been the weakest area under his predecessor, Martín Demichelis.

“Two things weighed heavily on Demichelis: the defense of the penalty area and the opponent's actions from set pieces. At least in the match against Inter, there was very good execution of the defensive line, good coordination led by Sergio Ramos. I think he'll be on target in defending set pieces, although we haven't seen much improvement in that aspect yet. Another thing to be decided is who will be the center midfielder, as Rodrigo Dourado was at Atlético de San Luis. Right now it's a matter of who can take on that role because it's very important, and Demichelis also suffered from that,” Peraza adds.

Torrent has only been working in Mexico for a year. He arrived in the 2024 Apertura for Atlético de San Luis and quickly surprised everyone by reaching the semifinals.

However, Monterrey represents a more valuable spot in Liga MX, which in recent tournaments has been filled with signings such as Sergio Ramos, Sergio Canales, Oliver Torres, Lucas Ocampos, Jesús Manuel Corona, and Gerardo Arteaga, all from Europe.

The goal is to win a sixth Liga MX title to stay ahead of their arch-rivals, Tigres, who have eight, and to avoid wasting time, as the last time they lifted the trophy was in the 2019 Apertura.

Expectations and management

Torrent has already begun to define his name in that goal: "They train more with him, and they tell me he's a little more intense. Since these are the first few days, there's real competition; it seems like no one has a guaranteed spot, because hardly anyone is eyeing him up. I think that's the main new thing with him," says Diego Armando Medina.

A key task he must carry out in his pursuit of the title is managing the team's leaders. In the last half of the season, for example, there was a clear rift between Martín Demichelis and Sergio Canales, one of the team's key players on the field.

“Torrent is very direct. He's 20 years older than the team's last managers, so that does end up giving him extra hierarchy and respect, beyond his career and especially the fact that he was with Pep Guardiola. His age will also help him with the group, with the kids, and with Ramos and Canales. Well, he's dealt with these types of figures as an assistant, so I don't think he'll have any problems.”

Gabriel Peraza, for his part, describes: “He is a very capable coach because he had experience as Pep Guardiola's assistant coach. He knows how to deal with people who are leaders, who, through their experience, like Sergio Ramos, have a name and command respect.

"Managing these situations will also depend on the player's conviction through training and understanding how he feels most comfortable, what advantages and tools the coaching staff can provide him to enhance his game. That's where the key lies: making leaders like Ramos and Canales feel comfortable."

After the Club World Cup, Rayados will have until the end of August to look for reinforcements, with Domenec Torrent having known his needs for more than two months by then.

The Spaniard is the fourth option on the bench for current Monterrey sporting director José Antonio "Tato" Noriega. First came Víctor Manuel Vucetich, Fernando "Tano" Ortiz, and Martín Demichelis, but the greatest achievement of all was the runner-up finish in the 2024 Apertura with Demichelis.

Club World Cup 2025

Matchday 3