Javier Aguirre

Javier Aguirre Onaindía (born 1 December 1958), nicknamed El Vasco (The Basque), is a Mexican former professional footballer who played as a midfielder.

After retiring as a player he became a football manager and is currently head coach of La Liga club Mallorca.

Aguirre began his career as a youth product of Club América in 1979, though he was sold to Los Angeles Aztecs of the North American Soccer League.

Club América later bought him back, where he established himself as a midfielder.

He played an integral part in their various title winning seasons, most notably during the 1983–84 season where América reached the league finals against arch-rivals Guadalajara, managing to score a goal in a 3–1 win at the Estadio Azteca.

Aguirre made 59 appearances for the Mexico national team between 1983 and 1992, scoring 13 goals.

Aguirre played for Mexico at the 1986 World Cup, and was twice manager of the team, taking them to the World Cup in 2002 and 2010.

Aguirre also played outside Mexico, signing with Osasuna in Spain in 1986.

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.

He was the first Mexican to be sent off at a World Cup.

In 1987, he transferred to Guadalajara, where he made over 100 appearances up until his retirement in 1993.

After retiring as a player, Aguirre took up managing, first with Atlante and then Club Pachuca, where he won the Invierno championship in 1999.

On 22 June 2001, Aguirre was appointed manager of Mexico when Enrique Meza resigned; 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.

In his first game on 1 July, El Tri beat rivals the United States at home with a single Jared Borgetti goal.

The Mexicans qualified in second place behind Costa Rica after a 3–0 win at the Estadio Azteca against the Hondurans on 11 November.

Also 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.

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 second round.

On 6 June 2002, while leading Mexico at the World Cup, Aguirre joined Spanish La Liga club CA Osasuna when Miguel Ángel Lotina quit for RC Celta de Vigo; he had previously played for the Navarrese club.

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.

In 2004–05, Aguirre went one better, guiding Osasuna to the cup final, where they lost 2–1 after extra time to Real Betis.

He finished fourth with Osasuna in 2006 and Atlético Madrid in 2008, and also took the former to the 2005 Copa del Rey Final.

He also won the CONCACAF Champions League with Monterrey in 2021.

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.

After a fourth-place finish in 2008 confirmed a place in the Champions League, he extended his deal by another year.

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.

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.

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 as Mexico manager in a press conference on 16 April 2009.

At the press conference, he stated: "I add, gentlemen, that I want the player who comes, come with pride, to recover the identity that comes with our love for the shirt" and that a call-up "is a reward and not a punishment, that we're all here because it is a prize for our careers."

His annual salary was reported to be US$1,635,000.

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.

Aguirre apologized to the Mexican fans, media, football players and staff, but never extended such courtesy to Philips or the Panamanian team.

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.