Tuesday, 29 June 2010

Aguirre resigns, Bielsa / De la Torre to take his place?

Mexico manager Javier Aguirre has officially resigned from his post as Mexico boss in a press conference in Mexico City today.

"I was responsible for the elimination and it's a very responsible decision to leave the post," said Aguirre. "I hope that the person that comes in can carry the process forward until Brazil."

"I have a lot of faults as a coach and as a person but I always had in mind the well-being of Mexico. It manifested itself in many ways but the only concrete truth is that I put the interests of the national team above my own."

Although heavily criticised during the World Cup for his out-of-the-ordinary selection choices in the games against Uruguay and Argentina, one newspaper poll suggests over 60 percent of Mexicans wanted Aguirre to carry on.

Two names have cropped up in all todays daily Mexican newspapers regarding Aguirre's replacement: José Manuel "Chepo" de la Torre of Toluca and Marcelo "El Loco" Bielsa who looks likely leave Chile's national team.

De la Torre, 49, may be young for a national team manager but he's had a meteoric rise as a manager and was a successful player in the Mexican league. De la Torre also seems to be popular within the Mexican Football Federation (FMF), not least because his brother is the general director of the national team.

The Guadalajara man has won three titles in the past four years in Mexico and it seems unlikely that current club Toluca would stand in his way if the FMF came calling. A young and fresh coach might be exactly what the new generation of Mexican players require as they try to break the vpodoo of exiting the World Cup in the round of 16.

However, it's been reported in Chile that a pre-contract agreement exists to bring Argentine Bielsa to Mexico for 10 million dollars a year.

Aguirre's future is unknown. There is a report that he may manage Bolton Wanderers in the Mexican press, but that seems unlikely. More probable is that he'll take his time and take over a Spanish club, although his dream is to manage a team in the English Premier League.

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