Sergio Canales Ends Up in Hospital After Dispute with Demichelis

Sergio Canales has been known throughout his extensive career as a refined and elegant footballer, a role model for young players. However, there are always exceptions to the rule, and moments when tempers flare. This is especially true when facing your coach, particularly if that coach is the uncompromising Argentine Martín Demichelis, known for his no-nonsense approach during his time with the Argentine national team, River Plate, Bayern Munich, Málaga, Atlético Madrid, Manchester City, and Espanyol.

The 34-year-old Cantabrian midfielder, a key figure for Mexican club Monterrey, is now doubtful for Saturday's match against Guadalajara due to a significant foot injury that required hospital treatment and ten stitches. This injury was not sustained during a match or training session, but rather from an uncharacteristic act for a professional of Canales' experience.

According to local media reports, Canales engaged in a heated argument with his coach and, following the altercation, kicked a door, unfortunately injuring himself in the process. Demichelis, upon learning of the incident, attempted to downplay it, stating that his philosophy is open to players and denying any conflict with Canales, who, according to Demichelis, was merely expressing his technical views during training.

Monterrey has not commented on the alleged differences between the player and coach, nor on Canales' injury. Canales is a key player for the Rayados, having played 39 matches this season with an impressive contribution of 17 goals and 12 assists. These are challenging times for this historic Mexican football club, which also features Spanish player Sergio Ramos, who returns for the clash against Guadalajara after serving a suspension.

Monterrey currently sits ninth in the standings and risks missing out on the top eight of the Clausura tournament, which will compete for the title. In the Concacaf Champions Cup, they were eliminated by Canada's Vancouver Whitecaps. Tension is palpable in a team that is inconsistent and defensively vulnerable, despite the high-profile signing of Ramos. The continuity of Argentine coach Demichelis, who was a distinguished central defender and defensive midfielder during his playing career, is in serious jeopardy.

This is the second time in recent years that Canales has made headlines for controversies rather than his subtle touch, elegant play, dribbling, vision, and goal-scoring ability, which he displayed at clubs like Racing Santander, Real Madrid, Valencia, Real Sociedad, and Betis. The previous incident occurred in October 2023, during a match between Cádiz and Betis at the Nuevo Mirandilla, which ended goalless and saw Canales receive his first career red card after two yellow cards for dissent within nine seconds.

The referee for that match was the Valencian Mateu Lahoz, now a controversial commentator at odds with the refereeing community, who accuse him of "generating hatred" among those who were his colleagues a year ago by claiming that clients of Negreira's son in 'coaching' sessions had more success in the European refereeing hierarchy. In the controversial case of Canales' expulsion, Mateu Lahoz simply noted in the report that the first caution was for "making remarks about the referee" and the second for "repeating his remarks after being warned."

That episode deeply affected the Betis player, who claimed that Mateu had "premeditated" the expulsion. Canales was initially handed a four-match suspension but took the case to ordinary courts and won. He did not have to serve the remaining three-match ban or pay the 601-euro fine imposed by the sports justice system.