Javier Aguirre

For the film director, see Javier Aguirre (director).

In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Aguirre and the second or maternal family name is Onaindía.

Javier Aguirre Onaindía (Spanish pronunciation: [xaˈβjeɾ aˈɣire]; born 1 December 1958), nicknamed El Vasco (The Basque), is a Mexican football manager and former footballer who played as a midfielder. He is currently manager of the Mexico national team.

Javier Aguirre

Aguirre as Atlético Madrid manager in 2007
Personal information
Full name	Javier Aguirre Onaindía
Date of birth	(1958-12-01) 1 December 1958 (age 66)
Place of birth	Mexico City, Mexico
Height	1.73 m (5 ft 8 in)
Position(s)	Midfielder
Team information
Current team	Mexico (manager)
Youth career
	América
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1979–1980	América	9	(1)
1980–1981	Los Angeles Aztecs	30	(4)
1981–1984	América	128	(31)
1984–1986	Atlante	31	(3)
1986–1987	Osasuna	13	(0)
1987–1993	Guadalajara	181	(17)
Total		392	(56)
International career
1983–1992	Mexico	59	(14)
Managerial career
1995–1996	Atlante
1998–2001	Pachuca
2001–2002	Mexico
2002–2006	Osasuna
2006–2009	Atlético Madrid
2009–2010	Mexico
2010–2011	Zaragoza
2012–2014	Espanyol
2014–2015	Japan
2015–2017	Al-Wahda
2018–2019	Egypt
2019–2020	Leganés
2021–2022	Monterrey
2022–2024	Mallorca
2024–	Mexico
Medal record Men's football Representing  Mexico (as manager) Copa América Runner-up 2001 Colombia CONCACAF Gold Cup Winner 2009 United States
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Aguirre played for Mexico at the 1986 World Cup, and is currently manager of the team for his third time, coaching them previously on twice occasions, he took them to the World Cup in 2002 and 2010. He also won the 2009 CONCACAF Gold Cup and led them to the final of the 2001 Copa América. Later, he managed Japan and Egypt.

At club level, Aguirre led six clubs in Spain's La Liga. He finished fourth with Osasuna in 2006 and Atlético Madrid in 2008. He took Atlético and Mallorca to Copa del Rey finals, losing in 2005 and 2024 respectively. He also won the CONCACAF Champions League with Monterrey in 2021.

Early and personal life

Aguirre was born in Mexico City on 1 December 1958, and nicknamed El Vasco as his parents were both from the Basque Country of Spain. His mother was from the town of Guernica and his father was from Ispaster, and they migrated to Mexico in 1950. He qualified for a Spanish passport, which aided his career due to its strength compared to the Mexican one. He gave his three sons Basque names: Iker, Ander and Iñaki.^[1]

Playing career

Club

Aguirre started at the youth academy of Club América before making his professional debut in 1979. After a brief stint with Los Angeles Aztecs in 1980, he returned to Club América, where he helped win the 1983–84 championship by scoring in the final against arch-rivals Guadalajara. He moved to Atlante for two seasons in 1984, then played for Spanish club Osasuna. Aguirre returned to México in 1987 and joined Guadalajara, where he made over 100 appearances before retiring in 1993.

International

Aguirre made 59 appearances for the Mexico national team between 1983 and 1992, scoring 13 goals.^[2] He played in the FIFA World Cup on home soil in 1986, and was sent off in the quarter-final defeat to West Germany; the game went to penalties after a 0–0 draw.^[3] He was the first Mexican to be sent off at a World Cup.^[4]

Managerial career

Early years

After his retirement, Aguirre took up managing, first at Atlante and then Pachuca, where he won his first title as manager, the Invierno 1999 championship.

First spell with Mexico

On 22 June 2001, Aguirre became the manager of the Mexico national team, replacing Enrique Meza; the team were fifth in their qualifying group for the 2002 FIFA World Cup after losing 3–1 away to Honduras, in a run of one win in 12 games.^[5] In his first game on 1 July, El Tri beat rivals the United States at home with a single Jared Borgetti goal.^[6] Mexico qualified in second place behind Costa Rica after a 3–0 win at the Estadio Azteca against the Hondurans on 11 November.^[7]

In July 2001, Aguirre led Mexico at the 2001 Copa América in Colombia. They defeated Brazil, Chile and Uruguay before losing the final by a single goal to the hosts.^[8] A year later at the 2002 World Cup in South Korea and Japan, his side won their group at Italy's expense before losing 2–0 to the US in the Round of 16.^[9]

Osasuna

On 6 June 2002, while leading Mexico at the World Cup, Aguirre joined La Liga club Osasuna after previous manager Miguel Ángel Lotina quit for Celta de Vigo; he had previously played for the Navarrese club.^[10] In his first season in Pamplona, the club reached the semi-finals of the Copa del Rey, losing 4–2 on aggregate to Recreativo de Huelva.^[11]

In 2004–05, Aguirre went one better, guiding Osasuna to the cup final, where they lost 2–1 after extra time to Real Betis.^[12] In the following league season, the Rojillos beat Sevilla FC to a joint-best 4th place and their first qualification to the UEFA Champions League, having led the table after 11 games.^[13]

Atlético Madrid

On 24 May 2006, days after Osasuna finished the season in fourth, Aguirre signed a one-year contract to replace Pepe Murcia at Atlético Madrid.^[14] After a fourth-place finish in 2008 confirmed a place in the Champions League, he extended his deal by another year.^[15]

Aguirre was dismissed from the Vicente Calderón Stadium on 2 February 2009, after a run of two points from five games. He was replaced by the team's former goalkeeper Abel Resino, who arrived from CD Castellón.^[16]

Second spell with Mexico

On 3 April 2009, Aguirre was officially appointed as the new manager of the Mexico national team, replacing Sven-Göran Eriksson. He was officially presented in a press conference two weeks later. At the press conference, he stated: "I am not a savior. I am here to add to the team, to recover our identity and to convince people that together we can do this". His annual salary was reported to be US$1,635,000.^[17]

On 6 June 2009, Aguirre debuted in a 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifier against El Salvador, losing 2–1. However, he rebounded four days later with a 2–1 win over Trinidad and Tobago.

On 9 July 2009, Aguirre was ejected in an incident during the 2009 CONCACAF Gold Cup match versus Panama. During a play along the sideline, Aguirre kicked Panamanian player Ricardo Phillips, triggering Phillips to push Aguirre, causing ejections for both Aguirre and Phillips and delaying the match for over 10 minutes due to the refusal of the player from Panama to leave the field.^[18] Aguirre apologized to the Mexican fans, media, football players and staff, but never extended such courtesy to Philips or the Panamanian team. He was suspended for three games and the Mexican Football Federation was fined US$25,000 by CONCACAF.^[19]

On 26 July 2009, Aguirre led Mexico to its fifth Gold Cup title and its first win against the United States outside of Mexico since 1999.^[20] He then led Mexico to a comeback win over the same opposition at the Estadio Azteca on 12 August 2009 and followed it up by winning 3–0 in Costa Rica, putting Mexico closer to a qualifying spot for the World Cup that seemed to be an impossible task at the time when Eriksson was sacked. On 10 October 2009, Mexico beat El Salvador in the Estadio Azteca 4–1, qualifying Mexico for the 2010 FIFA World Cup.

After that, in their last hexagonal game against Trinidad and Tobago, they tied 2–2, ending the World Cup qualifying journey.

On 30 June 2010, Aguirre resigned as coach of Mexico following their failure to reach the quarter-finals of the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa. Mexico finished second in Group A, ahead of hosts South Africa and France, but their progress was halted in the round of 16 where they were defeated 3–1 by Argentina.^[21]

Aguirre's decision-making during the qualifying stages and during the World Cup garnered criticism, with journalist José Ramón Fernández calling him the worst coach at the World Cup after France's Raymond Domenech.^[22] His insistence on playing team-less striker Guillermo Franco, while keeping Manchester United striker Javier Hernández on the bench bewildered many fans and commentators.^[23] Aguirre came under additional criticism for his refusal to explain his decisions.^[24]

During the run up to the World Cup Aguirre expressed his desire to coach in the Premier League in England, but did not receive any offers.^[25]

Real Zaragoza

On 17 November 2010, Aguirre became the manager of Real Zaragoza.^[26] On 29 December 2011, he was dismissed from his position after the club ended up in relegation zone.^[27]

Espanyol

Aguirre managing Espanyol in December 2013

On 28 November 2012, Aguirre was named manager of Espanyol, at that point 20th in the La Liga table. He kept them up in the 2013–14 season by three points. Aguirre announced he was leaving Espanyol on 16 May 2014,^[28] and was replaced 11 days later by former player Sergio.^[29]

Japan

In August 2014, Aguirre became the new manager of the Japan national team, replacing Alberto Zaccheroni, who had resigned following the World Cup.^[30] At the 2015 AFC Asian Cup, Japan won all three of its group matches, scoring seven goals and conceding none, though was knocked out in the quarter-final by the United Arab Emirates.

On 3 February 2015, the Japanese Football Association announced the termination of Aguirre's contract, after they confirmed that Spanish anti-corruption investigators had indicted Aguirre, who they alleged was involved in an ongoing match-fixing investigation over Real Zaragoza's 2–1 win over Levante on the final day of the 2010–11 season, while Aguirre was manager of Zaragoza.^[31]

Al Wahda

On 18 June 2015, Aguirre was hired as new manager of the Al-Wahda FC from United Arab Emirates.^[32] On 21 May 2017, after leading Al Wahda to the President's Cup championship victory, Aguirre decided to step down as manager.^[33]

Egypt

In July 2018, Aguirre was on a four-man shortlist for the vacant Egyptian national team manager job.^[34] He was appointed manager in August 2018.^[35] During the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations, which was hosted in Egypt, the national team was eliminated by South Africa in the Round of 16. As a result, Aguirre was sacked along with the whole technical and administrative staff of the national team for the disappointing result.^[36][37]

Leganés

In November 2019, Aguirre returned to La Liga, taking over Leganés after the dismissal of Mauricio Pellegrino.^[38] In July 2020, he stepped down from his position after the club was relegated on the final day of the season.^[39][40]

Monterrey

In December 2020, Aguirre returned to Liga MX for the first time since 2001, signing a two-year deal at Monterrey.^[41] On 26 February 2022, he was dismissed from his position after a run of disappointing results.^[42]

Mallorca

On 24 March 2022, Aguirre returned to La Liga, joining Mallorca, who were one point inside the relegation zone with nine games to go.^[43] He kept the team up on the final day at the expense of Granada CF, by winning away at his former club Osasuna.^[44]

Nineteen years after reaching the final with Atlético Madrid, Aguirre led Mallorca to the 2024 Copa del Rey final, where they lost on penalties to Athletic Bilbao after a 1–1 draw at the Estadio de La Cartuja in Seville.^[45] On 22 May 2024, Aguirre and Mallorca parted ways.^[46]

Third spell with Mexico

On 22 July 2024, the Mexican Football Federation announced Aguirre as the new manager of the national team.^[47]

In November 2024, Aguirre was hit by a beer can, leaving him bloodied after his team’s 2-0 loss to Honduras in the Nations League quarter-final. Despite the injury, Aguirre downplayed the incident, focusing on congratulating the victors. The Mexican Football Federation condemned the attack, urging CONCACAF to act, while CONCACAF promised an investigation. Rueda also expressed disappointment over the violence.^[48] The incident was also condemned by FIFA President Gianni Infantino, calling it "horrible" and called for an investigation of the incident.^[49]

Managerial statistics

As of 19 November 2024

Managerial record by team and tenure

Team	From	To	Record								Ref
			G	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Win %
Atlante	1 February 1996	30 June 1996	11	2	4	5	12	17	−5	018.18
Pachuca	10 September 1998	20 June 2001	93	35	23	35	164	158	+6	037.63
Mexico	21 June 2001	1 July 2002	27	17	3	7	40	19	+21	062.96	[50]
Osasuna	1 July 2002	19 May 2006	177	66	49	62	207	221	−14	037.29	[51]
Atlético Madrid	23 May 2006	2 February 2009	131	61	31	39	206	147	+59	046.56	[52]
Mexico	3 April 2009	30 June 2010	32	19	7	6	60	24	+36	059.38	[53]
Zaragoza	18 November 2010	29 December 2011	45	13	10	22	43	68	−25	028.89	[54]
Espanyol	28 November 2012	27 May 2014	69	22	18	29	79	88	−9	031.88	[55]
Japan	24 July 2014	2 February 2015	10	6	2	2	19	10	+9	060.00	[56]
Al-Wahda	18 June 2015	20 May 2017	78	34	21	23	154	108	+46	043.59	[57]
Egypt	1 August 2018	7 July 2019	12	9	1	2	25	7	+18	075.00	[58]
Leganés	4 November 2019	20 July 2020	30	9	11	10	30	36	−6	030.00	[59]
Monterrey	7 December 2020	26 February 2022	53	23	17	13	75	44	+31	043.40
Mallorca	24 March 2022	22 May 2024	97	34	28	35	103	106	−3	035.05	[60]
Mexico	22 July 2024	present	5	3	1	1	9	2	+7	060.00	[61]
Total			870	353	226	291	1,227	1,055	+172	040.57	—

Honours

Player

América

• Mexican Primera División: 1983–84

Manager

Pachuca

• Mexican Primera División: Invierno 1999

Osasuna

• Copa del Rey runner-up: 2004–05

Al-Wahda

• UAE President's Cup: 2016–17
• UAE League Cup: 2015–16

Monterrey

• CONCACAF Champions League: 2021

Mallorca

• Copa del Rey runner-up: 2023–24^[62]

Mexico

• CONCACAF Gold Cup: 2009
• Copa América runner-up: 2001

References

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2. "Mexico record international footballers". RSSSF. Archived from the original on 30 July 2014. Retrieved 30 December 2011.
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External links

• Real Zaragoza official profile (in Spanish)
• Javier Aguirre player profile at BDFutbol
• Javier Aguirre manager profile at BDFutbol
• Javier Aguirre at National-Football-Teams.com
• NASL Players profile
• 2010 FIFA World Cup profile
• Javier Aguirre – FIFA competition record (archived)